A company which supports regenerative food production methods through unique partnerships with farmers, foresters, and landowners, has been announced as the winner of the Royal Agricultural University’s (RAU) inaugural, ‘Farm491 Challenge Prize’.
The competition was launched earlier this year by Farm491, the RAU’s agritech incubator, under the theme of ‘Mixed Land Use’, in recognition of companies currently developing innovative products and services in support of nature friendly, multifunctional land use.
The winner, RegenFarmCo, fielded stiff competition from 15 other entrees, six of which were shortlisted for final appraisal by the judging panel, which comprised of RAU professor Tom Macmillan, Baroness Young of Old Scone, and funding manager at Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Will Steadman.
The company, which supports design projects that apply regenerative food production methods to enable novel supply chain opportunities through unique partnerships with landowners, received Farm491’s top prize of £50,000.
While runner-up, Agile Property and Homes, which designs and delivers affordable, safe, and low-carbon homes using bio-based materials and modern construction methods, was awarded an additional £25,000 to invest in the expansion of their business model.
Regenerative food production
Prof. Tom MacMillan, Elizabeth Creak chair in Rural Policy and Strategy at the RAU, who led adjudicating panel, said: “It was a privilege to meet and hear from such a brilliant group of finalists which included several strong contenders for prizes.
“RegenFarmCo won us over with their deeply ecological approach to landscape design, the pace at which they’d taken on and transformed their pilot site in Yorkshire, and the impressive set of commercial partners who were already engaged.
“And I was really impressed the model of sustainable housebuilding presented by Agile Property and Homes, where the value created through training and carbon storage helps to make the houses affordable, addressing key challenge facing rural places.”
This year’s competition, which was supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, was the first instalment in a three-year series of the Farm491 Challenge Prize.
It is hoped that the annual competition will enable companies developing innovative ways to solve challenges in the natural world, to invest in their businesses with the view to expanding their ecological impact.
Managing director of RegenFarmCo, Dr. Vincent Walsh, said: “As we face the growing challenges of land scarcity and climate change, the need for solutions that harmonise agricultural practices with sustainability has never been more urgent.
“Our work focuses on stacking land uses to promote agroforestry and the intercropping of food and non-food crops, creating synergies that maximise productivity while supporting the environment.
“We are so grateful to Esmée Fairbairn Foundation for providing the funding that makes this achievement possible. The judges’ feedback was incredibly encouraging and reinforced our belief in the transformative potential of circular and regenerative approaches to land use.
“The prize money will be crucial for driving our growth in 2025, enabling us to enhance our team’s capabilities, diversify our project initiatives both on and off-site, expand our workshop programmes, and further develop the RegenFarmCo brand.”
