Ecology & Agriculture: Inside the Regeneration Project


  • 7 mins

Conservation and agriculture often find themselves at odds. But could regenerative agriculture be the key to addressing ecological health and food sustainability? Following on from our feature in the #CommonGood series, we take a look at the story of our Regeneration Project (and the delicious rye whisky that is born from it).

The United Kingdom is home to some 700,000 known species of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms. But with such a small territory – an island of a mere 243,000 kilometres square – the wildlife here is particularly vulnerable to changes in the ecosystem, whether through habitat loss, water pollution, or climate change. Given that 70% of the UK’s land is dedicated to agriculture, it’s not surprising that the country’s conservationists and its farmers often find themselves at odds. 

It’s clear that addressing the challenges of biodiversity loss along with sustainable food production and security will require changes in policy and investment, but the quicker that businesses get on board, the closer we all are to seeing lasting change.

We have looked towards regenerative agriculture as one method for sustainable action. Regenerative agriculture is a farming approach that balances ecosystem conservation and rehabilitation with productivity. It is sometimes confused with organic and biodynamic agriculture – all three have sustainability at their core but take different approaches. 

Organic agriculture avoids all synthetic inputs, hormones, and genetically modified organisms but makes limited use of naturally occurring fertilisers and pesticides. Biodynamic farming takes organic to the next level, viewing the farm as a living organism unto itself that produces its own fertility. Inputs from outside the farm are minimum to none; the farm functions as a self-sufficient ecosystem using the farm’s own livestock and compost to fertilise the soil. Both organic and biodynamic systems have a regulatory body and certification process in the UK, which go a long way towards addressing sustainability issues and environmental health. However, those same regulations and certifications come with costs and processes that can be insurmountable obstacles for farmers with an interest in transitioning.  

Regenerative agriculture focuses on improving soil health and restoring ecosystems through a variety of techniques. It’s a term used broadly as there is no universally agreed upon definition or legal regulatory system in the UK of the approach. And for the moment, this may be for the best, as it allows farmers to adopt practices where and when possible, without the added challenges of certification that both organic and biodynamic farmers have. 

Although its meaning varies depending on the particular context of its use, it typically involves the adoption of one or several of the following practices

  • limiting soil disturbance (low till or no till) 
  • maintaining soil cover 
  • fostering agricultural diversity and rotations 
  • keeping living roots in the soil  
  • integrating livestock and arable systems 

Soil health, biodiversity, and water systems are the key areas of focus in regenerative agriculture. How a farmer approaches supporting these systems depends greatly on the land itself, resources available, and any number of factors relative to each particular field and ecosystem. 

Independent farmers, as we know, are stretched thin as it is. Switching to any farming approach that typically requires three to five years to stabilise and see a return on their investment is a risk many farmers aren’t able to take without support. Although they often see an increase in yield, quality, and their bottom line (some may have lower yields, but with low to no inputs, their profit is greater) over time, farmers still need the support of the market to make such a transition happen. 

Our journey with sustainable agriculture began early on with organic barley first distilled in 2003, Islay barley first harvested in 2004, and biodynamic barley in 2010. With the aim of decreasing our carbon footprint and increasing our support of sustainable practices, we then began exploring regenerative agriculture locally.  

Terroir has been a driving force for us since our resurrection in 2001, so it was a natural progression to explore sustainable practices at home on Islay. In 2016, Production Director, Allan Logan, and long-standing farming partner, Andrew Jones, had a conversation about planting rye as a rotational crop on his fields at Coull Farm to encourage soil health. Jones was keen to reduce his reliance upon chemical fertilisers and pesticides and diversify his crops. Rye is known to help with weed suppression, nutrient cycling, and sequestering excess nitrogen. It’s also an excellent choice for its deep root system which helps to drain and aerate the soil – a great benefit on Islay where soils can suffer from compaction due to heavy rainfall.  

The challenge for a farmer, of course, is in having a sure market for what they grow. To lessen the risk Jones was taking, Bruichladdich Distillery offered to cover Jones’s costs of planting an untrialed grain – and to buy the crop to make a new whisky should it succeed.  

And thus the first ever Islay rye whisky was born. “The actual thinking behind The Regeneration Project goes beyond whisky alone,” Logan says. “Yes, it’s an incredible liquid. But it’s also about the regeneration of the soil, reducing input on the farm, looking after the land and the environment, and supporting our farming partners on Islay. It’s a project which really starts to get you thinking about the whisky and how it’s been made.” 

Head Distillery Adam Hannett recounts his experience of seeing the physical benefits of Jones’s use of rye during the recent filming of B Lab’s Common Good series at Coull Farm: 

“We stood looking across the land and you could see the big puddles sitting on the fields. That’s weight. That’s compression. The field that had the rye in it, however, there was no standing water in it – the roots were aerating the soil and allowing for drainage.”  

“It’s working well,” Jones tells us. “When it comes to crop rotation, it didn’t get any weedkiller, and it didn’t get any fungicide – it seems to suppress all the problems you tend to get with growing barley. Rye is deeper rooted as well, so it seems to be aiding drainage. We’ve also noticed that the barley following straight after the rye has always been the best crop on the farm. We thought it was a coincidence at first, but it happens each time, so it’s definitely doing some sort of good.” 

The #CommonGood series – presented by B Lab Global with content produced for us by BBC StoryWorks – explored how we're doing things a little differently.

With a view to have a test site and be better able to work with local growers, the distillery went on to buy Shore House Croft in 2018. We had been working with Scotgrain and the James Hutton Institute testing new varieties of barley, but these varieties were being tested on the east side of Scotland with a wholly different set of climactic factors. Questions were raised on how to develop a type of malting barley that would grow well on the west coast. These questions led to a Croft Summit in year 2018 on Islay with local farmers, as well as Westland Distillery and Chef Dan Barber, renowned for his research into food and sustainability at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture. From this, the ideas on how to support local farmers with transitioning to regenerative farming continued to grow. 

“Regenerative agriculture for us is really about learning and making an impact,” says Hannett. “We’re running the distillery, doing all the things we do in the distillery, with a view on regenerative and sustainable agriculture.”  

It’s no mean feat for an island distillery to explore innovations in agriculture – something that requires years of trials, research, and ongoing conversations – in and amongst the daily running of a business. “It’s harvest by harvest, year by year. It’s finding the space and time to keep these things moving. It’s all about arming ourselves with knowledge and expertise.” 

Jones has been planting rye for eight years now – so far, a winter variety of rye. It’s planted in the autumn after the barley harvest and waits out the winter underground before shooting up in the spring. That long wait over winter can result in significant loss of seed between heavy rains and devastation by migrating geese. Currently, Jones, in partnership with Bruichladdich Distillery, the James Hutton Institute, and UHI, has been searching for a variety of rye to be planted in the spring and avoid the risks of winter.

The intention at Coull Farm is to upscale the amount of cover crops put in after barley, aiming for around 80% of cereal crops to be out of forage or cover crops of some description. The farm also hopes to double the amount of land that’s not ploughed, from 40% this year to 80% by 2027. In the meantime, Jones is working with independent agronomists to help him use less chemical fertiliser and sprays over the next few years.  

The challenges of producing a new kind of whisky for the benefit of the soil and local farmers isn’t only about getting the right grain variety and a ready market, there’s the challenge of actual distillation to consider as well. Or in this case, the mashing. 

Hannett describes the mash of that first batch of rye as “a nightmare...but really interesting.” The quantity of rye grown and harvested is too small for it to be malted as a separate batch by our malters, Bairds, so our rye was unmalted until 2024 when we were able to partner with Crafty Maltsters to do a small batch malting of the grain. For these unmalted batches, the rye had to be “cooked” at a higher temperature to break down the starches, then left to cool before adding the malted barley and leaving the lot to stew at 149°F to awaken the enzymes within the barley and kickstart the fermentation process. 

Then there was the turning of the mash: rye doesn’t have a husk like barley, which means there’s no natural filter, making for a sticky, porridgy stew that our Victorian equipment struggled to work with. From there on, fortunately, it was smooth sailing from fermentation through to distillation.

And the flavour? “Incredible! It’s radically different,” says Hannett. “Although we’ve got a mashbill that’s using 55% Islay rye, 45% Islay malted barley, that spirit when it comes off the still has a spiciness to it. (By comparison, in the the United States, rye whiskey can be made from a mash bill containing 51% or more rye grain.) You’re getting liquorice and aniseed, and as it’s aged in American Oak, that sweet, caramel-vanilla character you get from the wood combines with the malted barley and the spiciness of the rye. It’s a very different flavour profile to the single malt whisky that we normally make – although those quintessential floral qualities Bruichladdich Distillery is known for come through as well.” 

Farming in this century has often sat in opposition with conservation. But through regenerative farming, the two fields are finding common ground. A recent report released by the British Ecological Society based on the combined expertise of over 40 academics, farmers, and regenerative practitioners, shows that regenerative techniques have positive impacts on increasing biodiversity and ecosystem health. Lead author of the report, Professor Nicola Randall at Harper Adams University, says “Science and ecologists have a big part to play in regenerative agriculture along with farmers. There’s a perception that regenerative agriculture or nature friendly farming is going backwards, rediscovering past ways of farming. In actual fact, there’s a lot of exciting new technology and developments involved. The movement is very much forward looking.” 

Bruichladdich Distillery Company CEO, Douglas Taylor, speaks to how important it is to look towards the future in this industry.  

“Whisky is an agricultural product, and without healthy, diverse soils we cannot cultivate our essential raw ingredients. But beyond that, we must leave behind a positive, lasting legacy for generations to come. As a distillery we understand that we can work with our farming partners to practice more sensitive land management techniques, which contribute to improved soil health and eventually increased profitability for farmers. And with the knowledge we have at our fingertips today, we must be guardians of our lands as well as our brands and our people.” 

Whisky is about so much more than flavour. It is also about people, land, and how we chose to shape the industry and environment for the coming generations. Alongside our farming partners, we share the risk and reward of seeking the best, from the ground up, and are united in our mission to leave behind healthy lands for young hands. This journey from grain to glass is the story of our future.

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