Building the digital infrastructure behind

pladis' Back to Farm programme

How technology is helping make regenerative agriculture measurable, scalable and easier for grower participation.

Regenerative agriculture depends on more than good intentions. It depends on trusted data.

Food manufacturers need confidence that changes on farm are delivering meaningful outcomes, while growers need simple, practical ways to record what they're doing without adding unnecessary administration.

That was the challenge behind Back to Farm, pladis' flagship regenerative agriculture programme, designed to support British wheat growers in improving soil health, enhancing biodiversity and strengthening the long-term resilience of the wheat supply chain.

Behind the programme sits a network of specialist partners. YAGRO provides the digital infrastructure that brings those partners together, ensuring information is collected once, validated and shared securely to create a trusted evidence base.

Regenerative agriculture depends on more than good intentions. It depends on trusted data.

The Challenge

Back to Farm is designed around continuous improvement.

Rather than asking growers to simply complete an annual survey, the programme captures practical information about how farms are changing over time and measures the impact those changes have on environmental outcomes.

That requires more than collecting data.

It requires information that is:

Simple for growers to provide.
Structured and consistent across every participating farm.
Independently verified.
Able to connect with specialist assessment tools.
Scalable as the programme grows.

Without the right digital infrastructure, this quickly becomes a burdensome process involving spreadsheets, duplicated information, manual administration and disconnected systems.

Back to Farm is designed around continuous improvement.

That requires more than collecting data.

It requires information that is:

Simple for growers to provide.
Structured and consistent across every participating farm.
Independently verified.
Able to connect with specialist assessment tools.
Scalable as the programme grows.

Without the right digital infrastructure, this quickly becomes a burdensome process involving spreadsheets, duplicated information, manual administration and disconnected systems.

THE SOLUTION

One
secure
workflow

Information is collected once, then shared securely where specialist assessment is required.

Simple for growers

Guided digital questionnaires reduce unnecessary questions.

Structured and consistent

Validation happens as information is entered.

Independently verified

Specialist partners contribute their own expertise.

Connected

Relevant information moves securely between services.

Scalable

A complete workflow and audit trail support programme growth.

The Solution

YAGRO Exchange provides the secure data collection platform behind the programme.

Growers complete structured digital questionnaires that guide them through the information required, reducing unnecessary questions while validating data as it is entered.

For programme managers, Exchange provides a single workflow to manage submissions, monitor progress and maintain a complete audit trail.

Rather than information being collected multiple times by different organisations, data is gathered once and securely shared with trusted specialist partners where additional analysis is required.

The result is a simpler experience for growers and a more reliable dataset for pladis.

YAGRO Exchange provides the secure data collection platform behind the programme.

Growers complete structured digital questionnaires that guide them through the information required, reducing unnecessary questions while validating data as it is entered.

For programme managers, Exchange provides a single workflow to manage submissions, monitor progress and maintain a complete audit trail.

Rather than information being collected multiple times by different organisations, data is gathered once and securely shared with trusted specialist partners where additional analysis is required.

The result is a simpler experience for growers and a more reliable dataset for pladis.

Bringing Specialist Expertise Together

One of the strengths of the Back to Farm programme is that it doesn't rely on a single organisation to assess every environmental outcome.

Instead, specialist partners each contribute expertise in their own field.

Frontier Agriculture partners with pladis to deliver Back to Farm, drawing on its grower relationships, agronomy expertise and grain supply chain capability to help shape the programme and support participating farmers.

YAGRO manages structured data collection and programme workflows.

Downforce Technologies provides independently validated soil organic carbon measurement.

Cool Farm supports recognised greenhouse gas footprint assessment.

Together, these connected services provide pladis with a broader understanding of environmental performance than any single system could deliver on its own.

One of the strengths of the Back to Farm programme is that it doesn't rely on a single organisation to assess every environmental outcome.

Instead, specialist partners each contribute expertise in their own field.

YAGRO manages structured data collection and programme workflows.

Downforce Technologies provides independently validated soil organic carbon measurement.

Cool Farm supports recognised greenhouse gas footprint assessment.

Together, these connected services provide pladis with a broader understanding of environmental performance than any single system could deliver on its own.

CONNECTED INTELLIGENCE

Collect once. Connect expertise. Return insight.

Collect grower information

Validate data as it is entered

Share relevant data securely

Apply specialist assessment

Bring insights back together

Connected Intelligence

Most sustainability programmes depend on multiple specialist providers.

The challenge is not choosing the right tools. It is getting them to work together.

YAGRO Exchange provides the connective infrastructure behind the programme, collecting grower information, directing relevant data to specialist partners such as Downforce Technologies and Cool Farm Tool, and bringing the resulting insights back into a cohesive programme dataset.

This reduces duplicated data collection, limits administrative effort and gives pladis a more complete view of progress across the programme.

Most sustainability programmes depend on multiple specialist providers.

The challenge is not choosing the right tools. It is getting them to work together.

This reduces duplicated data collection, limits administrative effort and gives pladis a more complete view of progress across the programme.

The collaboration with Downforce Technologies provides a good example of how connected programmes can work in practice.

Through Exchange, YAGRO captures field boundaries and farm information required for the programme. That information is securely shared with Downforce Technologies, who use their accredited methodology to independently assess soil organic carbon.

Once complete, the verified soil organic carbon results are returned and incorporated into the wider programme dataset, allowing pladis to combine soil carbon insights alongside other environmental measures.

Today this is achieved through a managed data exchange, with future development focused on deeper API integration that will allow specialist insights to move automatically between systems.

This approach demonstrates how YAGRO is helping organisations build connected ecosystems rather than isolated technology solutions.

LOOKING AHEAD

As regenerative agriculture becomes increasingly important across food supply chains, trusted data will become just as valuable as the farming practices themselves.

Organisations need confidence that environmental improvements are being measured consistently, independently and at scale.

By providing the digital infrastructure behind Back to Farm, YAGRO enables pladis to collect trusted information, connect specialist expertise and build a programme designed for continuous improvement.

Because the future of regenerative agriculture isn't built on disconnected tools.

It's built on connected intelligence.

Because the future of regenerative agriculture isn't built on disconnected tools. It's built on

connected intelligence.

Because the future of regenerative agriculture isn't built on disconnected tools. It's built on

connected intelligence.