Prime Minister McCain announced plans to establish a new UK Future Farm in North Yorkshire, with the aim of testing regenerative farming practices in real-world settings and sharing the results directly with potato growers.
The 202-hectare site is expected to begin producing potatoes in 2026 and will be based close to McCain GB’s headquarters, which has been in the county for more than 50 years.
This will be McCain’s third future farm in the world, following existing commercial-scale properties in Canada and South Africa, and will function as a working farm rather than a demonstration field.
Mr McCain said the UK project aimed to support producers facing increasing pressures from changing weather, soil health issues and policy uncertainty by trialling methods that could be tested, measured and adapted before being widely adopted.
Findings from the farm will be shared with Mr McCain’s global network of around 4,400 farmers, including British potato growers who supply the business.
The announcement coincides with the release of McCain Foods’ 2025 Global Sustainability Report, confirming that the company has fulfilled its promise to establish three Farms of the Future.
Farm of the Future UK will be developed in partnership with the University of Leeds, creating a long-term research and education collaboration focused on soil health, biodiversity, land productivity and greenhouse gas emissions.
The site is expected to be Mr McCain’s most advanced future farm to date, with practices including controlled-traffic farming, year-round soil cover and measures to improve biodiversity across rotations.
It will also be the first time McCain’s Future Farm will be trialling a recirculating nutrient system developed with the University of Leeds’ National Pig Center. Use pig manure to improve soil fertility, reduce waste and explore the benefits of mixed farming systems.
Other areas of research will include the use of alternative fuels for autonomous machinery and farm equipment, with the aim of evaluating what is practical and scalable for commercial growers.
The results from the UK farms will be published annually, following the same model as Mr McCain’s sites in Canada and South Africa, allowing farmers to see how the system performs over a long period of time rather than a single season.
Max Kuhne, president and chief executive of McCain Foods, said: “McCain Farm of the Future UK is an important step in how we scale regenerative agriculture across our global Farm of the Future.”
“Each site helps us test real-world solutions with farmers, understand what works, and share that knowledge across our network,” he said. “This is how we strengthen farm resilience and support our partners in the long term.”
McCain GB and Ireland’s vice president of agriculture, James Young, said the UK farm was designed to connect research with practical outcomes.
“Agriculture is at the heart of the UK’s food system and farmers face increasing challenges that require new solutions,” he said. “This farm aims to demonstrate how regenerative agriculture works in practice and provide a blueprint that producers can learn from.”
Professor Nick Plant, vice-chancellor for research and innovation at the University of Leeds, said the partnership would support long-term research with applications beyond the facility itself.
“Our partnership with Mr McCain on UK Farms of the Future is a clear example of our joint ambition to promote farming practices that minimize environmental impact,” he said.
“This 20-year agreement will allow us to develop research expertise in soil health and land productivity that can benefit agricultural approaches around the world.”
Mr McCain said the UK was already making progress towards its regenerative agriculture targets, with 86% of potato acreage classified as ‘engaged’ or above within the regenerative agriculture framework.
The company also reported a 25% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions and a 19% reduction in water usage since 2017.
For producers, Mr McCain said UK Future Farms will act as a testing ground for approaches that can be adopted across the supply chain, helping to reduce risk and provide evidence-based options as farming systems continue to evolve.
