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Case study
Case study
Case study
Mixed farming
Mixed farming
Mixed farming
How a Scottish farm turned its soil management into evidence for its supply chain
How a Scottish farm turned its soil management into evidence for its supply chain
How a Scottish farm turned its soil management into evidence for its supply chain
About
J C Bell
David Bell runs J C Bell from Upper Magus Farm, west of St Andrews in Fife, a mixed farming and contract farming business that supplies beef, cereals and potatoes to well-known quality brands in food and drink. The farm operates as an integrated system that links its livestock and arable enterprises: arable straw provides bedding and feed for the cattle, silage forms part of the rotation, farmyard manure returns to the fields, and a local brewery malts the farm’s barley and returns it to the farm. David describes himself as a livestock farmer with his cattle and with “my worms, my biota, my beasties in the ground.”
About
J C Bell
David Bell runs J C Bell from Upper Magus Farm, west of St Andrews in Fife, a mixed farming and contract farming business that supplies beef, cereals and potatoes to well-known quality brands in food and drink. The farm operates as an integrated system that links its livestock and arable enterprises: arable straw provides bedding and feed for the cattle, silage forms part of the rotation, farmyard manure returns to the fields, and a local brewery malts the farm’s barley and returns it to the farm. David describes himself as a livestock farmer with his cattle and with “my worms, my biota, my beasties in the ground.”
About
J C Bell
David Bell runs J C Bell from Upper Magus Farm, west of St Andrews in Fife, a mixed farming and contract farming business that supplies beef, cereals and potatoes to well-known quality brands in food and drink. The farm operates as an integrated system that links its livestock and arable enterprises: arable straw provides bedding and feed for the cattle, silage forms part of the rotation, farmyard manure returns to the fields, and a local brewery malts the farm’s barley and returns it to the farm. David describes himself as a livestock farmer with his cattle and with “my worms, my biota, my beasties in the ground.”
Scotland
location
Scotland
location
Scotland
location
222
hectares
222
hectares
222
hectares
Mixed Farming
Programme
Mixed Farming
Programme
Mixed Farming
Programme
64,115 tCO₂e
Programme reach
64,115 tCO₂e
Programme reach
64,115 tCO₂e
Programme reach
challenges
Good soil management that buyers, auditors and lenders could not see
Potato crops put pressure on soil structure and soil organic carbon, so David manages the rest of his rotation, including cattle farmyard manure, to help the soil recover between potato years. Potatoes return to each field no more than once every six years, and he uses minimum tillage, controlled traffic and direct drilling where possible to limit soil disturbance and reduce establishment costs, ploughing only where a field requires it.
challenges
Good soil management that buyers, auditors and lenders could not see
Potato crops put pressure on soil structure and soil organic carbon, so David manages the rest of his rotation, including cattle farmyard manure, to help the soil recover between potato years. Potatoes return to each field no more than once every six years, and he uses minimum tillage, controlled traffic and direct drilling where possible to limit soil disturbance and reduce establishment costs, ploughing only where a field requires it.
challenges
Good soil management that buyers, auditors and lenders could not see
Potato crops put pressure on soil structure and soil organic carbon, so David manages the rest of his rotation, including cattle farmyard manure, to help the soil recover between potato years. Potatoes return to each field no more than once every six years, and he uses minimum tillage, controlled traffic and direct drilling where possible to limit soil disturbance and reduce establishment costs, ploughing only where a field requires it.
challenge 1
Field-level crop records had no soil carbon equivalent
David benchmarks his crops field by field, an approach he developed through years of entries to Yield Enhancement Network (YEN) that replaced blanket treatment with targeted management. He had no comparable soil organic carbon records to track each field year on year.
challenge 1
Field-level crop records had no soil carbon equivalent
David benchmarks his crops field by field, an approach he developed through years of entries to Yield Enhancement Network (YEN) that replaced blanket treatment with targeted management. He had no comparable soil organic carbon records to track each field year on year.
challenge 1
Field-level crop records had no soil carbon equivalent
David benchmarks his crops field by field, an approach he developed through years of entries to Yield Enhancement Network (YEN) that replaced blanket treatment with targeted management. He had no comparable soil organic carbon records to track each field year on year.
challenge 2
Supply chains require independent evidence of farm practice
Supply chains and the audits that serve them now ask farmers to evidence their practice with data. A farmer’s own account of their soil, however accurate, rarely meets that requirement.
challenge 2
Supply chains require independent evidence of farm practice
Supply chains and the audits that serve them now ask farmers to evidence their practice with data. A farmer’s own account of their soil, however accurate, rarely meets that requirement.
challenge 2
Supply chains require independent evidence of farm practice
Supply chains and the audits that serve them now ask farmers to evidence their practice with data. A farmer’s own account of their soil, however accurate, rarely meets that requirement.
challenge 3
New income streams depend on data
Tightening margins have led David to spread the business’s income across several streams. Markets that reward good soil management typically require data before they pay for it.
challenge 3
New income streams depend on data
Tightening margins have led David to spread the business’s income across several streams. Markets that reward good soil management typically require data before they pay for it.
challenge 3
New income streams depend on data
Tightening margins have led David to spread the business’s income across several streams. Markets that reward good soil management typically require data before they pay for it.
Our response
An eight-year, field-level record of the whole rotation
We started with Upper Magus, using the farm’s boundaries, then measured soil organic carbon with satellite data calibrated to local conditions, at ten-metre resolution every ten days from 2018 to 2026. The eight-year record sets a 2018 baseline and tracks soil organic carbon through every stage of the rotation, including potato years, so David has evidence of his past management from the outset.
Our response
An eight-year, field-level record of the whole rotation
We started with Upper Magus, using the farm’s boundaries, then measured soil organic carbon with satellite data calibrated to local conditions, at ten-metre resolution every ten days from 2018 to 2026. The eight-year record sets a 2018 baseline and tracks soil organic carbon through every stage of the rotation, including potato years, so David has evidence of his past management from the outset.
Our response
An eight-year, field-level record of the whole rotation
We started with Upper Magus, using the farm’s boundaries, then measured soil organic carbon with satellite data calibrated to local conditions, at ten-metre resolution every ten days from 2018 to 2026. The eight-year record sets a 2018 baseline and tracks soil organic carbon through every stage of the rotation, including potato years, so David has evidence of his past management from the outset.
response 1
Consistent measurement tracks each field through the rotation
We applied the same method to every field each year, so David can compare each field before, during and after any crop, especially potatoes, and after his livestock graze it.
response 1
Consistent measurement tracks each field through the rotation
We applied the same method to every field each year, so David can compare each field before, during and after any crop, especially potatoes, and after his livestock graze it.
response 1
Consistent measurement tracks each field through the rotation
We applied the same method to every field each year, so David can compare each field before, during and after any crop, especially potatoes, and after his livestock graze it.
response 2
The analysis covers soil health and drought exposure alongside carbon
The analysis reports soil health and resilience indicators alongside soil organic carbon, including the farm’s exposure to drought.
response 2
The analysis covers soil health and drought exposure alongside carbon
The analysis reports soil health and resilience indicators alongside soil organic carbon, including the farm’s exposure to drought.
response 2
The analysis covers soil health and drought exposure alongside carbon
The analysis reports soil health and resilience indicators alongside soil organic carbon, including the farm’s exposure to drought.
response 3
Oxbury delivered the data with no sampling visits to organise
David received the analysis through the Oxbury Transition Facility, with no sampling visits to organise or host. Oxbury invests in providing this data to farmers because, as a long-term lender to agriculture, it views farmers who invest in soil health as better able to withstand extreme weather and therefore a lower risk to finance.
response 3
Oxbury delivered the data with no sampling visits to organise
David received the analysis through the Oxbury Transition Facility, with no sampling visits to organise or host. Oxbury invests in providing this data to farmers because, as a long-term lender to agriculture, it views farmers who invest in soil health as better able to withstand extreme weather and therefore a lower risk to finance.
response 3
Oxbury delivered the data with no sampling visits to organise
David received the analysis through the Oxbury Transition Facility, with no sampling visits to organise or host. Oxbury invests in providing this data to farmers because, as a long-term lender to agriculture, it views farmers who invest in soil health as better able to withstand extreme weather and therefore a lower risk to finance.
Key findings
Evidence at work
Key findings
Evidence at work
Key findings
Evidence at work
01
David can share the evidence with buyers, assurers and auditors
Oxbury notes that buyers want this data for the same reason a lender does: to identify farmers who can continue to supply them over the long term. David can now share the record with his supply chain, with organisations such as LEAF and in the carbon audits that form part of selling his crops, and he uses it to track whether the farm’s soil is moving in the right direction.
01
David can share the evidence with buyers, assurers and auditors
Oxbury notes that buyers want this data for the same reason a lender does: to identify farmers who can continue to supply them over the long term. David can now share the record with his supply chain, with organisations such as LEAF and in the carbon audits that form part of selling his crops, and he uses it to track whether the farm’s soil is moving in the right direction.
01
David can share the evidence with buyers, assurers and auditors
Oxbury notes that buyers want this data for the same reason a lender does: to identify farmers who can continue to supply them over the long term. David can now share the record with his supply chain, with organisations such as LEAF and in the carbon audits that form part of selling his crops, and he uses it to track whether the farm’s soil is moving in the right direction.
02
The record quantifies how quickly the soil recovers
Soil organic carbon rises and falls from year to year as different crops, cultivations and weather move through a rotation, so measuring across the full rotation and the whole farm gives a clearer picture of soil health than any single crop or field can. On this farm, soil organic carbon fell by 4.7% in 2019 and returned above the 2018 baseline by 2021, with a 744-tonne gain between 2020 and 2021, the largest single-year change in the record. After further declines in 2023 and 2024, stocks rose by 682 tonnes (2,503 tCO₂e) in 2025, a 4% increase in one year. Read one year at a time, 2019, 2023 and 2024 would each look like a loss, while the whole-farm record shows soil carbon returning to growth after each dip, which supports what David has observed in his fields for years.
02
The record quantifies how quickly the soil recovers
Soil organic carbon rises and falls from year to year as different crops, cultivations and weather move through a rotation, so measuring across the full rotation and the whole farm gives a clearer picture of soil health than any single crop or field can. On this farm, soil organic carbon fell by 4.7% in 2019 and returned above the 2018 baseline by 2021, with a 744-tonne gain between 2020 and 2021, the largest single-year change in the record. After further declines in 2023 and 2024, stocks rose by 682 tonnes (2,503 tCO₂e) in 2025, a 4% increase in one year. Read one year at a time, 2019, 2023 and 2024 would each look like a loss, while the whole-farm record shows soil carbon returning to growth after each dip, which supports what David has observed in his fields for years.
02
The record quantifies how quickly the soil recovers
Soil organic carbon rises and falls from year to year as different crops, cultivations and weather move through a rotation, so measuring across the full rotation and the whole farm gives a clearer picture of soil health than any single crop or field can. On this farm, soil organic carbon fell by 4.7% in 2019 and returned above the 2018 baseline by 2021, with a 744-tonne gain between 2020 and 2021, the largest single-year change in the record. After further declines in 2023 and 2024, stocks rose by 682 tonnes (2,503 tCO₂e) in 2025, a 4% increase in one year. Read one year at a time, 2019, 2023 and 2024 would each look like a loss, while the whole-farm record shows soil carbon returning to growth after each dip, which supports what David has observed in his fields for years.
03
Neighbouring fields show opposite trends in the same year
On the southern block, adjacent fields have recorded opposite trends in the same year, with one losing soil organic carbon while the next gained. At ten-metre resolution, David can match each field’s record to its cropping and management history, using the same field-by-field approach he uses for his crops.
03
Neighbouring fields show opposite trends in the same year
On the southern block, adjacent fields have recorded opposite trends in the same year, with one losing soil organic carbon while the next gained. At ten-metre resolution, David can match each field’s record to its cropping and management history, using the same field-by-field approach he uses for his crops.
03
Neighbouring fields show opposite trends in the same year
On the southern block, adjacent fields have recorded opposite trends in the same year, with one losing soil organic carbon while the next gained. At ten-metre resolution, David can match each field’s record to its cropping and management history, using the same field-by-field approach he uses for his crops.
04
The southern block holds most of the farm’s soil carbon potential
Downforce mapped soil organic carbon across Upper Magus and compared each field with similar land in the region, showing how much more carbon the farm can store and exactly where that capacity sits. The farm can store an additional 14,748 tonnes of soil carbon, and most of that potential lies in a small number of fields on the southern block, some with more than 140 tonnes per hectare of headroom. The northern block already performs close to the best comparable land in the region, so it offers far less room to build. This field-level picture gives the farm a clear priority: focus management changes on the southern fields, where each hectare has the most capacity to build soil carbon and where progress will show most clearly in the farm’s soil carbon record.
04
The southern block holds most of the farm’s soil carbon potential
Downforce mapped soil organic carbon across Upper Magus and compared each field with similar land in the region, showing how much more carbon the farm can store and exactly where that capacity sits. The farm can store an additional 14,748 tonnes of soil carbon, and most of that potential lies in a small number of fields on the southern block, some with more than 140 tonnes per hectare of headroom. The northern block already performs close to the best comparable land in the region, so it offers far less room to build. This field-level picture gives the farm a clear priority: focus management changes on the southern fields, where each hectare has the most capacity to build soil carbon and where progress will show most clearly in the farm’s soil carbon record.
04
The southern block holds most of the farm’s soil carbon potential
Downforce mapped soil organic carbon across Upper Magus and compared each field with similar land in the region, showing how much more carbon the farm can store and exactly where that capacity sits. The farm can store an additional 14,748 tonnes of soil carbon, and most of that potential lies in a small number of fields on the southern block, some with more than 140 tonnes per hectare of headroom. The northern block already performs close to the best comparable land in the region, so it offers far less room to build. This field-level picture gives the farm a clear priority: focus management changes on the southern fields, where each hectare has the most capacity to build soil carbon and where progress will show most clearly in the farm’s soil carbon record.
05
Soil organic carbon held steady through a demanding rotation and challenging weather conditions
Over 222 hectares and eight years, soil organic carbon ranged from 75.7 to 83.2 tonnes per hectare, with an average soil carbon content of 3.01%. In 2025, stocks sat within 2.5% of the 2018 baseline, across a rotation of cereals, peas and potatoes that David works with minimal soil disturbance. The farm held that range through eight years of volatile weather in eastern Scotland, including the record UK summer of 2018, the region’s wettest October on record in 2023 when Storm Babet stalled over the east coast, and Scotland’s warmest year on record in 2025, which also brought the country’s driest spring since 2001.
05
Soil organic carbon held steady through a demanding rotation and challenging weather conditions
Over 222 hectares and eight years, soil organic carbon ranged from 75.7 to 83.2 tonnes per hectare, with an average soil carbon content of 3.01%. In 2025, stocks sat within 2.5% of the 2018 baseline, across a rotation of cereals, peas and potatoes that David works with minimal soil disturbance. The farm held that range through eight years of volatile weather in eastern Scotland, including the record UK summer of 2018, the region’s wettest October on record in 2023 when Storm Babet stalled over the east coast, and Scotland’s warmest year on record in 2025, which also brought the country’s driest spring since 2001.
05
Soil organic carbon held steady through a demanding rotation and challenging weather conditions
Over 222 hectares and eight years, soil organic carbon ranged from 75.7 to 83.2 tonnes per hectare, with an average soil carbon content of 3.01%. In 2025, stocks sat within 2.5% of the 2018 baseline, across a rotation of cereals, peas and potatoes that David works with minimal soil disturbance. The farm held that range through eight years of volatile weather in eastern Scotland, including the record UK summer of 2018, the region’s wettest October on record in 2023 when Storm Babet stalled over the east coast, and Scotland’s warmest year on record in 2025, which also brought the country’s driest spring since 2001.
customer perspective
We believe farmers who are investing in soil health and improving the general soil quality will be able to withstand extreme weather events in the future, and that makes them a lower risk for us to finance.
Carolien Samson
Head of Sustainable Banking, Oxbury Bank
customer perspective
We believe farmers who are investing in soil health and improving the general soil quality will be able to withstand extreme weather events in the future, and that makes them a lower risk for us to finance.
Carolien Samson
Head of Sustainable Banking, Oxbury Bank
customer perspective
We believe farmers who are investing in soil health and improving the general soil quality will be able to withstand extreme weather events in the future, and that makes them a lower risk for us to finance.
Carolien Samson
Head of Sustainable Banking, Oxbury Bank
On-farm outcome
David was confident in his soils before the analysis, and now has data to reinforce that confidence to buyers, assurance bodies, and auditors. Oxbury uses soil health as one of several indicators of farm resilience. Farms like Upper Magus give the bank an evidence base for the transition, supporting lending decisions and showing the link between how farmers manage their land and the resilience of the business behind it.
On-farm outcome
David was confident in his soils before the analysis, and now has data to reinforce that confidence to buyers, assurance bodies, and auditors. Oxbury uses soil health as one of several indicators of farm resilience. Farms like Upper Magus give the bank an evidence base for the transition, supporting lending decisions and showing the link between how farmers manage their land and the resilience of the business behind it.
On-farm outcome
David was confident in his soils before the analysis, and now has data to reinforce that confidence to buyers, assurance bodies, and auditors. Oxbury uses soil health as one of several indicators of farm resilience. Farms like Upper Magus give the bank an evidence base for the transition, supporting lending decisions and showing the link between how farmers manage their land and the resilience of the business behind it.