Intercropping - new Thinking in Crop Production

Through the right combination of crops, it is possible to reduce the impact of crop production on the environment by improving soil health, reducing reliance on bagged fertiliser and agri-chemicals, at the same time contributing to more sustainable and profitable farms.  

Who did we work with?

Intercrop Values is an EU Horizon Europe Research and Innovation project being funded by Innovate UK since the UK left the EU. In total, there are 27 partners in the project, representing 16 different countries. SAOS is the UK industry partner alongside SRUC, the UK academic partner. Gathering the experiences from other partner countries is fascinating and a good route to fast-track our own understanding. It is a 4-year project, which started in 2022.

We are working closely with a group of organic oilseed rape producers who have been producing organic rapemeal for animal feed, and bottled premium organic rapeseed oil for the consumer market. “ÒR-ganic” is the only organic rapeseed oil produced in the UK. 

What did we do?

To date, intercrops have largely been grown for livestock feed.The project aims to demonstrate the benefits of intercropping and the opportunity for its development into high value markets for food and drink products. 

The whole supply chain is involved in this project; growers, processors, distributors and retailers, as understanding the barriers, challenges and key issues along the supply chain is vital.

A key challenge is the lack of expert knowledge on what crops can be grown together, seed rates, harvesting dates, etc  - the growers have to carry out the development work themselves. The project provides the opportunity to fast track the learning by co-ordinating and sharing experiences between the group. We are also working closely to support the processor involved to support the market development.

Why?

Organic farmers have been practising intercropping for many years for their own use as livestock feed. However its use and understanding is not widely known in Scottish Agriculture. Getting the right crops to work together has the potential, not only to reduce the impact of growing them on the environment by reducing GHG emissions, but also to build more resilient and sustainable farm systems. Also key, is the possibility to produce high value food and drink products from intercropping.

The work contributes to the Scottish Government’s vision for agriculture as a leader in sustainable and regenerative farming.

How did SAOS help?

• SAOS supported a group of organic OSR growers under a RISS project for three years. It involved a learning journey to Sweden to see organic OSR production in practice.
• We helped the growers form an Association in 2022 – “Scottish Organic Canola Growers” (SCOCAN).
• SAOS is the UK industry partner working closely with our academic partner, SRUC
• One of SAOS’s main roles in the project is to lead the work on the ‘co-innovation case study’ with the SOCAN growers
• SAOS also provides expert knowledge around the challenge of launching and promoting a new premium food product in a very competitive market; exploring routes to market, packaging, labelling, product quality and promotional materials.

What next?

The project highlights the important role farm co-ops can play, showing what's possible by providing the leadership and resources to help their famer members take action and make things happen. 

We see potential opportunities for some of our co-ops to develop new potential products/markets grown from intercropping systems.

Ultimately, the main outcome is to encourage more farmers to practice intercropping in the future.