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Case study
Case study
Case study
Landed Estate
Landed Estate
Landed Estate
How Cholmondeley Estate turned thirty years of good practice into price premiums.
How Cholmondeley Estate turned thirty years of good practice into price premiums.
How Cholmondeley Estate turned thirty years of good practice into price premiums.
About
Cholmondeley Estate
For more than three decades, Cholmondeley Estate has invested in practices that build long-term resilience, from taking land back in-hand and extending rotations to establishing cover crops and herbal leys. The benefits were visible across the estate, but until recently, they had not been measured in a way that could support commercial conversations, reporting requirements, or future opportunities.
About
Cholmondeley Estate
For more than three decades, Cholmondeley Estate has invested in practices that build long-term resilience, from taking land back in-hand and extending rotations to establishing cover crops and herbal leys. The benefits were visible across the estate, but until recently, they had not been measured in a way that could support commercial conversations, reporting requirements, or future opportunities.
About
Cholmondeley Estate
For more than three decades, Cholmondeley Estate has invested in practices that build long-term resilience, from taking land back in-hand and extending rotations to establishing cover crops and herbal leys. The benefits were visible across the estate, but until recently, they had not been measured in a way that could support commercial conversations, reporting requirements, or future opportunities.
United Kingdom
location
United Kingdom
location
United Kingdom
location
4,850
HA
4,850
HA
4,850
HA
18
Tenant farmers
18
Tenant farmers
18
Tenant farmers
20
Farms
20
Farms
20
Farms
challenges
Proving the work
Cholmondeley Estate had spent thirty years rebuilding its land by taking fields back in-hand, reversing a legacy of poor management, and committing to slow-return decisions like cover crops, herbal leys and longer, more diverse rotations. But as the market shifted from paying for practices to paying for verified outcomes, decades of good management had no quantitative record behind it.
challenges
Proving the work
Cholmondeley Estate had spent thirty years rebuilding its land by taking fields back in-hand, reversing a legacy of poor management, and committing to slow-return decisions like cover crops, herbal leys and longer, more diverse rotations. But as the market shifted from paying for practices to paying for verified outcomes, decades of good management had no quantitative record behind it.
challenges
Proving the work
Cholmondeley Estate had spent thirty years rebuilding its land by taking fields back in-hand, reversing a legacy of poor management, and committing to slow-return decisions like cover crops, herbal leys and longer, more diverse rotations. But as the market shifted from paying for practices to paying for verified outcomes, decades of good management had no quantitative record behind it.
challenge 1
No historical baseline
Despite thirty years of regenerative work, the estate had no number to show for it - only a strong sense that the approach was working. Without a baseline, the work couldn't be evidenced.
challenge 1
No historical baseline
Despite thirty years of regenerative work, the estate had no number to show for it - only a strong sense that the approach was working. Without a baseline, the work couldn't be evidenced.
challenge 1
No historical baseline
Despite thirty years of regenerative work, the estate had no number to show for it - only a strong sense that the approach was working. Without a baseline, the work couldn't be evidenced.
challenge 2
Rising demands for proof
Supply chain buyers and incoming reporting obligations were increasingly asking not what the estate had done, but what it could prove. Evidence had become as commercially important as the management itself.
challenge 2
Rising demands for proof
Supply chain buyers and incoming reporting obligations were increasingly asking not what the estate had done, but what it could prove. Evidence had become as commercially important as the management itself.
challenge 2
Rising demands for proof
Supply chain buyers and incoming reporting obligations were increasingly asking not what the estate had done, but what it could prove. Evidence had become as commercially important as the management itself.
challenge 3
A market that had already disappointed
The estate had engaged various consultants and tools and spoken to most of the market without getting a robust answer. Estate Manager James Hall arrived at his first meeting with Downforce openly sceptical, expecting to find the flaw in the methodology.
challenge 3
A market that had already disappointed
The estate had engaged various consultants and tools and spoken to most of the market without getting a robust answer. Estate Manager James Hall arrived at his first meeting with Downforce openly sceptical, expecting to find the flaw in the methodology.
challenge 3
A market that had already disappointed
The estate had engaged various consultants and tools and spoken to most of the market without getting a robust answer. Estate Manager James Hall arrived at his first meeting with Downforce openly sceptical, expecting to find the flaw in the methodology.
Our response
Reconstructed the record
Downforce mapped soil organic carbon (SOC) across the estate at 10-metre resolution, annually, back to 2018, turning three decades of stewardship into a field-level, defensible dataset.
Our response
Reconstructed the record
Downforce mapped soil organic carbon (SOC) across the estate at 10-metre resolution, annually, back to 2018, turning three decades of stewardship into a field-level, defensible dataset.
Our response
Reconstructed the record
Downforce mapped soil organic carbon (SOC) across the estate at 10-metre resolution, annually, back to 2018, turning three decades of stewardship into a field-level, defensible dataset.
response 1
High-resolution historical mapping
Annual SOC data at 10-metre resolution going back to 2018 showed exactly which fields were building carbon, which were holding steady, and which still carried the legacy of past management.
response 1
High-resolution historical mapping
Annual SOC data at 10-metre resolution going back to 2018 showed exactly which fields were building carbon, which were holding steady, and which still carried the legacy of past management.
response 1
High-resolution historical mapping
Annual SOC data at 10-metre resolution going back to 2018 showed exactly which fields were building carbon, which were holding steady, and which still carried the legacy of past management.
response 2
Granular validation
The data flagged a herbal ley paddock as an outlier, performing better than almost any comparable grassland in the entire dataset - a result James was able to confirm on the ground, standing in the field itself.
response 2
Granular validation
The data flagged a herbal ley paddock as an outlier, performing better than almost any comparable grassland in the entire dataset - a result James was able to confirm on the ground, standing in the field itself.
response 2
Granular validation
The data flagged a herbal ley paddock as an outlier, performing better than almost any comparable grassland in the entire dataset - a result James was able to confirm on the ground, standing in the field itself.
response 3
An audit-ready evidence record
The output gave the estate a time-stamped, field-level record it could use immediately in supply chain disclosures and in its ongoing relationship with Oxbury Bank.
response 3
An audit-ready evidence record
The output gave the estate a time-stamped, field-level record it could use immediately in supply chain disclosures and in its ongoing relationship with Oxbury Bank.
response 3
An audit-ready evidence record
The output gave the estate a time-stamped, field-level record it could use immediately in supply chain disclosures and in its ongoing relationship with Oxbury Bank.
Key findings
Evidence at work
Key findings
Evidence at work
Key findings
Evidence at work
01
Outlier performance, confirmed
The herbal ley paddock outperformed almost every comparable grassland field in the Downforce dataset.
01
Outlier performance, confirmed
The herbal ley paddock outperformed almost every comparable grassland field in the Downforce dataset.
01
Outlier performance, confirmed
The herbal ley paddock outperformed almost every comparable grassland field in the Downforce dataset.
02
A consistent trend since 2018
The historical trajectory confirms a pattern consistent with the estate's management approach - showcasing a trend visible across the full annual record.
02
A consistent trend since 2018
The historical trajectory confirms a pattern consistent with the estate's management approach - showcasing a trend visible across the full annual record.
02
A consistent trend since 2018
The historical trajectory confirms a pattern consistent with the estate's management approach - showcasing a trend visible across the full annual record.
03
Field-by-field comparison, for the first time
The estate can now compare performance field by field, identifying which management choices are working hardest and directing future investment accordingly.
03
Field-by-field comparison, for the first time
The estate can now compare performance field by field, identifying which management choices are working hardest and directing future investment accordingly.
03
Field-by-field comparison, for the first time
The estate can now compare performance field by field, identifying which management choices are working hardest and directing future investment accordingly.
04
Part of a growing portfolio
Cholmondeley sits within Oxbury Bank's expanding programme of farm-scale SOC assessments, now covering more than 600 farms.
04
Part of a growing portfolio
Cholmondeley sits within Oxbury Bank's expanding programme of farm-scale SOC assessments, now covering more than 600 farms.
04
Part of a growing portfolio
Cholmondeley sits within Oxbury Bank's expanding programme of farm-scale SOC assessments, now covering more than 600 farms.
05
A premium built on evidence
The estate supplies organic milk to McDonald's via Arla, which pays a premium for certified organic supply. That premium depends on the estate's ability to evidence how the land is managed, exactly what the Downforce data now provides.
05
A premium built on evidence
The estate supplies organic milk to McDonald's via Arla, which pays a premium for certified organic supply. That premium depends on the estate's ability to evidence how the land is managed, exactly what the Downforce data now provides.
05
A premium built on evidence
The estate supplies organic milk to McDonald's via Arla, which pays a premium for certified organic supply. That premium depends on the estate's ability to evidence how the land is managed, exactly what the Downforce data now provides.
customer perspective
We had a natural feeling that it was going in the right direction, but for the first time, we needed the science to back that up.
James Hall
Estate Manager, Cholmondeley Estate
customer perspective
We had a natural feeling that it was going in the right direction, but for the first time, we needed the science to back that up.
James Hall
Estate Manager, Cholmondeley Estate
customer perspective
We had a natural feeling that it was going in the right direction, but for the first time, we needed the science to back that up.
James Hall
Estate Manager, Cholmondeley Estate
On-farm outcome
Cholmondeley is using the continuous record to support carbon scheme participation, strengthen supply chain relationships, and build the evidence base that incoming standards, including the CRCF and the GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals Standard, will require from 2027 onwards.
On-farm outcome
Cholmondeley is using the continuous record to support carbon scheme participation, strengthen supply chain relationships, and build the evidence base that incoming standards, including the CRCF and the GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals Standard, will require from 2027 onwards.
On-farm outcome
Cholmondeley is using the continuous record to support carbon scheme participation, strengthen supply chain relationships, and build the evidence base that incoming standards, including the CRCF and the GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals Standard, will require from 2027 onwards.