National award highlights the role of healthy soils in helping farms adapt to a changing climate
A Devon farmer has been recognised as one of the UK’s leading innovators in soil health and regenerative agriculture, highlighting how practical changes on farms can help build resilience to climate change while supporting productive and profitable businesses.
Paul Baker of Wishay Farm, Devon, was awarded second place in the 2026 Soil Farmer of the Year competition at the Groundswell regenerative farming festival. The awards celebrate farmers who are improving soil health while strengthening the resilience and long-term sustainability of their businesses.
The judges praised Paul’s approach to regenerative farming, which combines plant tissue analysis, cover cropping, mob grazing and reduced cultivation techniques. Together, these methods have improved soil health and farm performance while significantly reducing agricultural inputs. Paul has also cut diesel use by around 75% without compromising crop productivity.
Healthy soils are increasingly recognised as a vital tool for climate adaptation. Well-managed soils can hold more water during periods of drought, improve drainage during heavier rainfall, reduce erosion and runoff, and support long-term food production in the face of changing weather patterns.
As Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly experience more frequent extremes of weather, including intense rainfall and longer dry periods, approaches that improve soil structure and water retention can help farming businesses become more resilient to future climate risks.
The Soil Farmer of the Year awards, organised by Innovation for Agriculture and Farm Carbon Toolkit, recognise farmers who are demonstrating how investment in soil health can strengthen business resilience, improve profitability and help farming systems adapt to increasingly challenging conditions.
Paul’s success also demonstrates the wider benefits of working with natural systems. Regenerative farming practices can help reduce flood risk, improve biodiversity, enhance soil fertility and support more sustainable food production while helping farms adapt to a changing climate.
The competition organisers noted that all this year’s winners showed how investing in soil health can reduce costs, improve resilience and create more profitable farming businesses over the long term. Award winners will also host farm walks over the coming year to share lessons learned and encourage wider adoption of climate-resilient farming practices.
Read more on the Farm Carbon Toolkit website.
How is this helping DCIoS adapt to climate change?
Action NEB 1: Promote and Improve soil management techniques (Min-till cultivation, cover crops, ley-arable rotations) to protect soil structure / nutrient levels and increase resilience to adverse weather / aridity impacts. Consider adoption of a systems thinking approach such as the Land Use Framework.
Action NEB 4: Farmers to engage with the Resilient Farming Futures (RFF) programme; undertake a farm resilience plan to identify climate impacts and opportunities; and assess suitable on-farm adaptation options to increase resilience.
Action NEX 2: Promote soil health, reduce runoff, surface water flooding and adopt soil conservation techniques (e.g. cover crops, wider crop rotations, contour ploughing to reduce soil erosion); preventing landslips and land movement, and reduce compacted soils and improve aeration of soils to increase rate of infiltration and absorption. To address soil wetness and aridity.
Action NEX 10: Improve drainage systems (in the right place and done properly), insert buffer strips, hedgerows etc.
