Philip Sheane
Farmer case study on avoiding sewage sludge, pesticides and forever chemicals
When traces of a pesticide chemical were found in Philip’s own blood, he decided to change his journey as a farmer towards more regenerative practices. This case study explores how and why Philip chose to move away from chemical inputs in farming and highlights recommendations and support needed for other farmers looking to do the same. Philip is a beef farmer who currently manages 100 acres of land in Fife, Scotland.
Philip’s journey to moving away from chemical inputs
Growing up on a small dairy farm in Ireland, Philip learned early on about the challenges of intensive farming. Over time, using chemical inputs to boost production seemed to result in severe consequences for his herd. Fertility issues, calf mortality, and other health problems began to impact livestock, resulting in the heavy use of mineral supplements, and raising serious concerns for Philip about the long-term effects of these methods.
In 2007, seeking a fresh start, Philip sold the family farm and moved to Canada, where he acquired a much larger, 2000-acre arable farm. With more opportunity and economies of scale, Philip wanted to farm more sustainably and reduce his reliance on chemical inputs. However, the scale of his new business operations the sheer size of the farm meant he was purchasing more chemicals than ever before.
Philip’s experience highlights the complexities farmers face when scaling up while striving to adopt more sustainable practices. Day after day, Philip would question the air he was inhaling whilst spraying pesticides, conscious of the potential impacts on his health. Then after finding traces of a fungicide he used in his own blood, this was enough to motivate Philip to move away from chemical inputs completely.
In 2021, with a renewed commitment to sustainability, Philip sold his Canadian farm and relocated to Fife, Scotland. Here, he embraced a fully regenerative approach, entirely free of chemical inputs. Once Philip moved away from chemicals, he immediately noticed a benefit in his own health as well as the health of his livestock and the land he managed.
“Put simply, my own health and the health of the land I work with is improving, a phenomenon which I have never experienced before.”
Today, Philip’s farming methods focus on soil health and natural resilience, embodying a philosophy that values long-term ecosystem vitality.
How Philip moved away from chemical inputs in farming
Before Philip left his farm in Canada, he started to implement practices that were helping him to eliminate chemicals. For example, he was able to reduce the need for fungicides by using cover crops, natural fertilisers and foliar feeds, and using biological products like compost extracts/teas and other natural renewable sources of crop nutrition.
“Just like humans, if the soil/crops nutritional needs are met fully, the necessity to deal with weeds, disease and predatory insects are greatly reduced.”
Philip learned about these methods from a combination of live seminars/workshops, books, social media, farm tours, networking with other food producers, and experimenting with his own farm trials. For example, in 2019 Philip discovered Dr Elaine Ingham’s foundation course on composts and soil biology. From there, he began experimenting and producing his own compost for his garden, before scaling it up for use across his farm.
Like many farmers, Philip was unaware that pesticides can contain forever chemicals, and after investigation by Fidra, it was identified at least three of the pesticides Philip previously used contained PFAS. Now free from any chemical inputs, Philip has prevented any further pollution from PFAS pesticides to his soil, crops and the wider environment.
Philip highlights that the lack of transparency in pesticide ingredients and in the food industry can create misinformation and mistrust between consumers and corporations.
“Pesticide labelling, along with much of the labelling in the food industry, has become, in some cases, nothing more than an abuse and distortion of the language, in order to promote marketing for profit. People need to realise that they cannot depend on the integrity of some corporations to provide the information accurately or in full. A little personal research can go a long way to finding the truth.”
Sewage sludge acts as a sink for the cocktail of contaminants found in wastewater, including PFAS, pharmaceuticals and microplastics and these contaminants are virtually impossible to remove. Philip highlights why he doesn’t use sewage sludge on his farm soils and recommends using cleaner natural bioresources such as composts instead as a source of beneficial nutrients and organic matter:
“The compost used on our farm is as far as possible only from natural on-farm sources. Some farmers continue to use sewage because of a lack of knowledge of the long-term effects and possibly price incentives. In a system where margins are extremely small, practices of cost cutting will often result in an inferior product. This should not be the system of food production.”
Philip found that balancing the drive to experiment with new methods while staying profitable was one of the most challenging parts of his journey.
“It took years for me to fully appreciate how I needed to change my own thinking. Having said that, while I had the will to change, the other very large challenge was how to change the farming practices, and still stay profitable.”
Nonetheless, Philip actively encourages other farmers interested in regenerative methods to explore the wealth of resources and support available:
“Today, as opposed to more than a decade ago, there is much more help and advice available now in the form of publications, consultants, farmers speaking out about their successes in regenerative methods. A whole new friendly network of like-minded farmers are connecting in ways that were not possible before, and this is global.”
Support needed for farmers to move towards regenerative methods
Philip acknowledges that transitioning to regenerative farming is a complex journey that goes beyond farmers adopting new practices; it requires systemic changes in how farmers, consumers, and governments interact. Philip highlights how the current system has driven food prices down at the cost of quality.
“This is a massive and complicated subject. Direct payments to farmers for cheap food has resulted in exactly that…cheap food, as in low quality, with very expensive health care issues.”
Additionally, Philip believes that support should be coming from consumers. Consumers could drive demand for healthier, higher quality and sustainably produced foods, which would benefit farm businesses as well as environmental and public health.
Philip envisions a future where farmers receive encouragement from all sectors to return to diverse, mixed-style farming, rather than the intensive single-crop, factory-like operations that have become common worldwide.
“Farmers need encouragement from all sectors to get back to the mixed style of farming, not the monocropping factory type developed all over the world.”
“Changing farming methods is no easy task. On the other hand, a system that is broken, is an incentive to try changing. Education is key, and it is at our fingertips all day long. Take small steps to investigate what makes good food, and make small changes, one at a time. The important thing to do is to start!”