M&S has released the initial results from its first retailer-run autonomous field trial. The UK retailer will sell lower-carbon parsnips this November. In partnership with long-term supplier Huntapac, the first fully autonomously farmed parsnips will be available in seleced M&S stores.

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 and carbon impact. Much like when agriculture moved from horse and plough to mechanical tractors, these latest technologies offer a future of farming that can aid farmers, create more highly skilled jobs in the industry and attract new talent.

Keeping carbon locked in soil

The team has adopted a minimum till approach to help keep carbon locked into the soil, a green fertilizer and the new tech, which uses significantly less diesel than a traditional tractor to reduce carbon emissions. 

Green fertilizer is not only produced with a lower carbon footprint than traditional methods but also works by removing nitrogen dioxide from the air and converting it to nitrogen, which plants use for photosynthesis. Initial data shows a 46% carbon reduction compared to standard methods.  

In addition to the carbon impact, the use of the new technology has other benefits, including improved quality and quantity of crop yields. AI was used to monitor and improve crop health, and autonomous technology can reduce weather impact. 

For instance, in March this year, following the wettest six months in England since 1871, the team was able to get in and plant the field with the autonomous robot which wouldn’t have been possible with a traditional tractor. This has also contributed to an increase in the quality and number of parsnips and reduced waste, with a 16% higher yield of grade-one vegetables compared to Huntapac’s other parsnip fields.  

The field also includes various measures from M&S’ Farming with Nature program to improve biodiversity of both wildlife and the soil, including AgriSound boxes and wildflower borders. AgriSound technology monitors pollinator numbers with specialist on-farm listening devices. 

Net Zero accelerator fund 

The trial was the first M&S Food project to be funded by the M&S Plan A Net Zero accelerator fund, which the retailer launched to find innovation projects to enable rapid action towards net zero to meet its Plan A goal of being a Net Zero business across its entire supply chain by 2040. 

Andrew Clappen, technical director at M&S Food, says: “Our Plan A Accelerator Fund offers us the opportunity to tap into the entrepreneurial spirit of our suppliers. Projects like this help us move toward being a Net Zero business across all our operations and entire supply chain by 2040, while 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. Trialing new ways to support our Plan A roadmap to Net Zero is an important step on the journey and this project has helped deliver more parsnips at M&S quality, a carbon reduction and brings together new technologies which if adopted more widely would create more highly skilled jobs and attract new talent into the sector.” 

Meanwhile, Stephen Shields, technical and sustainability director at Huntapac, adds: “Not only are we seeing a reduction of the carbon impact, but we are also seeing 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.”