[Case Study] From year-on-year trials to whole-farm confidence: Stuart Tabernor’s Sea2Soil journey

On 260 hectares of productive arable farmland, the team behind FRW Farrington’s is bringing together practical experience, environmental awareness and a willingness to question conventional systems.

Under the watch of Farm Manager Stuart Tabernor, the farm grows oilseed rape, winter wheat, spring oats and winter beans, alongside cover and companion crops. Its oilseed rape is pressed on site to produce Farrington’s Mellow Yellow products, while its winter wheat has become part of a lower-emissions supply chain for Weetabix.

And, after seeing encouraging results from early trials, Stuart and the team are now preparing to use Sea2Soil across the entire 260-hectare farm in the 2026-27 season ahead.

Finding Sea2Soil

Stuart first came across Sea2Soil around 18 months ago after signing up for a BASE webinar that featured the fish hydrolysate soil improver.

As a BASE member, he was interested in the ideas being discussed. With an understandable level of caution around investing in new products, Stuart naturally asked questions and took time to research and gather more information to understand how Sea2Soil could fit within the farm’s wider approach.

That led to an initial IBC purchase and a small-scale trial on oilseed rape. The trial gave Stuart and the team their first chance to see how Sea2Soil could work in practice, within their own conditions and cropping system.

From OSR to winter wheat

Following the initial oilseed rape trial, Stuart became aware of the collaboration between QLF and Sea2Soil. The farm was already using Terrafed from QLF, so Sea2Soil became part of a broader biological and nutritional approach.

Sea2Soil is now applied across the farm’s oilseed rape, which is pressed on site to produce Mellow Yellow products.

This year, Stuart also trialled Sea2Soil on winter wheat. Two tramline trials were carried out: one with no fungicide, and another with a full agronomic programme including Sea2Soil and Terrafed.

When those tramlines were combined, the difference was noticeable. In the tramline with the full agronomic programme, the tone of the combine changed, and the yield was around one tonne per hectare higher than the comparison row.

In the second no-fungicide tramline, yields were maintained in line with the first tramline. However, where no Sea2Soil or fungicide was applied, yields were around half a tonne to one tonne per hectare lighter.

While Stuart will be reviewing and confirming the details, the early observations have been encouraging enough to support a much wider commitment to Sea2Soil across the farm.

Supplying wheat to Weetabix

The winter wheat grown by Stuart and the team supplies Weetabix, a relationship that began unexpectedly in Stuart’s first year in his current role.

After selling 700 tonnes of feed wheat to Weetabix because it offered the best price at the time, the farm went on to enter the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards, where it won the Farming Environment Award.

That first connection developed into a wider opportunity, with Stuart becoming part of a group of farmers working with Weetabix to produce lower-emissions wheat for the cereal brand.

In one year, the farm sent 400 tonnes of low-emissions wheat to Weetabix, contributing to a total of 870 tonnes of low-emissions Protocol Plus standard wheat from the wider grower group. Weetabix then used that grain to make 34 million biscuits.

For Stuart, the project reflects the value of working with farmers who share a similar environmental mindset and are willing to exchange knowledge, ideas and experience to improve the way food is produced.

Building biology across the farm

Following the oilseed rape and winter wheat trials, Stuart and the team have now placed an order for 5,000 litres of Sea2Soil.

The plan is to use Sea2Soil across the entire 260 hectares at 20 litres per hectare.

The farm will also use an additional litre per hectare to make an agricultural ‘tea’ mix, supporting its wider approach to soil biology, crop resilience and more considered nutrition.

With oilseed rape, winter wheat, spring oats, winter beans, cover crops and companion crops all forming part of the rotation and cropping system, Stuart sees Sea2Soil as one element within a broader strategy — not a quick fix, but a practical tool that can sit alongside other regenerative and biological practices.

A practical step forward

For Stuart, the decision to use Sea2Soil more widely has come from seeing how it performs on farm, in real conditions, across real crops.

His journey reflects a practical and measured approach: question the system, trial carefully, observe the results, and then scale what works.

From a cautious first trial on oilseed rape to a whole-farm commitment across 260 hectares, Sea2Soil has become part of Stuart’s wider plan to support crop performance, soil health and more resilient food production.

With wheat entering the Weetabix supply chain and oilseed rape contributing to Mellow Yellow products, the farm’s story shows how biological thinking can connect field-level decisions with familiar British food brands — and how regenerative principles can move from theory into everyday farm practice.

Want to know more about how Sea2Soil could fit into your farming system? Talk to the Sea2Soil team today to see how they can support you.