A Waitrose and Land App Partnership. Find out more about our partnership here.
Meet The Grower
RBOrganic is a resilient, organic root vegetable producer working across the expansive Houghton Estate in Norfolk. However, operating within a vast, multi-enterprise estate undoubtedly brings unique challenges. RBOrganic needed a way to evidence the nature-friendly farm management practices already in place, gain clear oversight of existing agri-environment schemes, and coordinate with the estate on nature-positive plans.
That’s where Land App came in. With support from a Land App Accredited Professional, RBOrganic used the platform to consolidate critical land use data, integrate their John Deere cultivation maps, and build a clear picture of how cropping and conservation co-exist on their rented land. The result is a shared, evidence-based map that improves oversight, supports scheme delivery, and strengthens the working relationship between RBOrganic and Houghton Estate.
“The support I received to create a Land Management Plan through Land App has been a game-changer. It’s helped me take a closer look at how I can balance production with protecting and improving the environment, even on a tenanted farm” — Chris Negus, Burgess Farms
About the Farm
- Location: Norfolk
- Size: 120 hectares.
- Farming Type: Organic root vegetables, including carrots, onions, and leeks.
- Association: RBOrganic was established nearly 20 years ago to specialise in organic root vegetables and sustainable land management. RBOrganic operates as the farming division of Burgess Farms.
- Land Use Context: Situated within a water-stressed catchment, making careful soil and water management essential.
The Mapping and Planning Journey
The first step in this journey was to build a clear picture of Houghton Estate itself. By importing the estate’s Single Business Identifier (SBI) into Land App, the Accredited Professional helped to generate a full Best Guess Baseline habitat map for the entire estate. The benefits of this starting point were twofold:
- For RBOrganic, it created something of real value that they could share back with the estate, helping to set the tone for a more collaborative relationship from the outset.
- And for the estate owner, it meant gaining a comprehensive, estate-wide resource to inform future planning across both regions.
With this foundation in place, the focus shifted to the land RBOrganic farms today. The Accredited Professional helped to separate out the habitats specific to their tenancy, providing a simple, accurate snapshot of the fields in rotation and the areas already managed for biodiversity. Working alongside the estate’s land agents, Brown & Co., further layers of detail were added, including existing SFI options.
Finally, RBOrganic brought in their John Deere cultivation maps. By importing these into Land App, cropped areas were overlaid with the estate’s habitat and SFI data, producing a high-resolution, field-by-field view showing where produce is grown and where land is left for nature.
RBOrganic’s Baseline Habitat Assessment, as mapped on Land App
Zoomed in view of RBOrganic’s Baseline Habitat Assessment, as mapped on Land App
Turning Insight into Action
With their comprehensive maps now complete, RBOrganic could begin making more informed, nature-friendly decisions. By clearly identifying which areas were in production and which were managed as habitat, the RBO team gained the clarity they needed to plan rotations, meet agri-environment obligations, and enhance collaboration with the estate.
1. Integrating Technology
RBOrganic already had John Deere precision maps to plan where crops would go, but until now, those maps lived in isolation. They showed production, but not how the land around it was supporting wildlife. By bringing that data into Land App, the team could see crops and biodiversity side by side. For instance, seeing exactly where wild bird seed plots, pollinator strips, and game cover sat alongside the fields in rotation.
This brings with it the benefits of:
- Faster planning: With cropping and habitat mapped together, rotation decisions become quicker, simpler, and more informed.
- Data that works harder: The farm’s existing John Deere data now feeds directly into Land App, giving a complete picture without duplicating effort.
- Stronger collaboration: The visual maps make it easy to explain plans to the estate, sparking productive conversations and building trust.
- Maximising impact for nature: By clearly identifying margins and habitats, the farm can ensure wildlife features are effectively managed and connected across the landscape.
2. Gaining Oversight of SFI Options
Tenant farmers often lack visibility over which agri-environment actions are already in place on their rented land, or how previous management might affect soil health, weed pressure, or habitat outcomes.
Therefore, by layering the estate’s scheme data into Land App, RBOrganic gained full visibility of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) options across their fields. The mapping process showed exactly which areas required management for wild bird seed, pollinator strips, or other agri-environment actions, even when those measures had been put in place before they arrived.
3. Centralising Data for Better Management
Bringing everything together—habitat data, cropping maps, and agri-environment plans—allowed RBOrganic to centralise their farm management in one place. Instead of relying on separate systems or ad hoc conversations, they could now visualise their entire operation in a single, shared map.
This visual clarity supports more strategic planning across the cropping rotation and gives the team a quick and credible way to evidence their nature-friendly practices to both the estate and buyers like Waitrose.
4. Strengthening Collaboration Across the Estate
Perhaps most importantly, the mapping work helps to foster better collaboration between RBOrganic and Houghton Estate. With Land App providing a single, shared view of the land, cropping plans and conservation goals can finally be aligned, and conversations about field history, environmental schemes, or what success looks like become far more productive. In an estate setting with multiple tenants, this kind of ‘joined-up thinking’ is key.
RBOrganic’s Farm Report
With Land App pulling together all this information, RBOrganic now has a clear and credible record of how its land is managed. This not only helps the team plan more confidently but also provides stakeholders like Houghton Estate and buyers such as Waitrose with strong visual evidence of their nature-friendly approach.
And as part of the Waitrose and Land App Farming for Nature project, RBOrganic can also view nature, risk, and resilience metrics across their site, offering insights into both habitat quality and how different land types support the wider ecosystem.
Here are some key nature metrics from the Norfolk site:
- Habitat Cover: 18% of the mapped area is dedicated to habitats that actively support biodiversity.
- Connectedness: With a score of 39%, the farm’s habitat areas are well-linked, allowing wildlife to move freely across the landscape.
- Winter Green Cover: 90% of cropland remains covered over winter, helping to protect soil health and support beneficial soil biology.
- Cropland supported by beneficial habitats (IPM): 60% of cropland lies within 45 metres of a biodiversity-positive habitat, which is ideal for integrated pest management and pollination.
- Productive Land near Watercourses: 0% of cropland lies within 12 metres of a watercourse, meaning habitat is helping to reduce runoff and protect water quality.
- Water Stress Context: 100% of RBOrganic’s productive land lies within a water-stressed catchment, underlining the importance of their soil and water management efforts.
These metrics give RBOrganic and Houghton estate a valuable lens into how land is being managed for nature. Just as importantly, they offer a way to track progress over time and ensure that decisions around cropping, rotations, and biodiversity are rooted in data. Dive deeper into some of these metrics in our recent blog.
Collaboration, Clarity, and Nature-Friendly Farming
For RBOrganic, the process of working with Land App and the Waitrose Farming For Nature project has culminated in a shared understanding of how cropping and conservation work together across a complex, multi-tenant estate. By integrating John Deere cultivation data, mapping habitats, and layering in SFI options, the team now has a complete, evidence-based view of their land.
Ultimately, RBOrganic’s story shows that even under short-term tenancies, it’s possible to deliver long-term environmental value. By making technology work for both crops and nature, they are demonstrating what joined-up, collaborative, nature-friendly farming can look like in practice.
Are you a Waitrose farmer managing land under short-term tenancy? The Farming For Nature initiative is now live, and all farmers are eligible for a free 1:1 advisory session with a Land App Accredited Professional. To register interest, just fill out this short form, and the Land App team will reach out with clear and simple next steps.
