The trial is using some of the latest farming technology and forms part of M&S’ ambitions to reach net-zero by 2040
M&S has launched a new trial to autonomously farm parsnips, which looks to reduce carbon and improve crop quality and quantity.
According to the retailer, it has partnered with long-term supplier Huntapac to develop and grow the first autonomously farmed parsnips in Yorkshire.
On sale in select stores this November, M&S will become the first retailer to sell lower-carbon parsnips as part of its journey to go net-zero across its entire operations by 2040.
To create the lower-carbon parsnips, the team has brought together some of the latest technology to farm with a significantly lower environmental impact.
The technology includes two robots for bed forming, planting and weeding, two different types of drones to monitor and maintain crop health, and the latest scientific testing on soil health.
The team has also adopted green fertiliser, which uses significantly less diesel than a traditional tractor and works by removing nitrogen dioxide from the air and converting it to nitrogen, which is used by the plants for photosynthesis.
Use of the new technology will aid farmers and is expected to create more highly skilled jobs for the sector and attract new talent.
Boosting crop yields
On top of the carbon impact, the use of the new technology has other benefits including improved quality and quantity of crop yields. For example, AI was used to monitor and improve crop health, and autonomous technology can reduce weather impact.
M&S revealed that this has contributed to an increase in quality and number of parsnips as well as reduced waste, with a 16 per cent higher yield of grade one vegetables compared to Huntapac’s other parsnip fields.
Additionally, the field includes various measures from M&S’ Farming with Nature programme to improve biodiversity of both wildlife and the soil, including AgriSound technology, which monitors pollinator numbers with specialist listening devices situated on farm.
The trial was also the first M&S Food project to be funded by the M&S Plan A Net Zero accelerator fund.
Technical director at M&S Food, Andrew Clappen, said: “Innovation is at the heart of M&S Food and our Plan A Accelerator Fund offers us the opportunity to tap into the entrepreneurial spirit of our suppliers.
“Projects like this help us move towards being a net-zero business across all our operations and entire supply chain by 2040, whilst focusing on the quality of produce that M&S is famous for. Agriculture is one of our biggest contributors to emissions, so it’s important that we find new lower-impact farming methods.”
Technical and sustainability director at Huntapac, Stephen Shields, added: “Our 40-year relationship with M&S has gone from strength to strength and we couldn’t have done this project without the Plan A Accelerator Fund.
“Not only are we seeing a reduction of the carbon impact but more parsnips at higher quality, due to us being able to plant the seeds despite bad weather earlier this year.
“This would have a fantastic impact on our business at scale and we’re aiming to deliver multiple fields farmed this way for next season.”
