John Mackay Uses Sea2Soil
Farmer Testimonial
Profile:
- John Mackay
- Mixed Arable & Livestock Farm, Halkirk, Caithness
- 300+ acres across multiple sites
Background:
John comes from an engineering and nuclear industry background and works offshore, alongside running the farm. The business grows barley and runs livestock across rough grazing, while John explores expanding into summer crop production and winter store lamb and cast ewe grazing.
Why his opinion matters:
John brings an engineering mindset to regenerative farming. During offshore shifts, he has spent countless late nights researching biological inputs and foliar nutrition, building a detailed working knowledge of alternative systems. Because time is limited, every change has to be practical, measurable, and capable of delivering results without creating extra workload. In short, the farm has to “work smarter, not harder”.
The challenge
Running a mixed farm in the far north of Scotland is demanding at the best of times. Doing it while working offshore full-time adds another layer: long stretches away from home mean systems need to be resilient, repeatable, and not dependent on constant hands-on management. John needed an approach that could improve soil health, reduce synthetic inputs, and still maintain performance.
The approach
After extensive research, John discovered Sea2Soil and began trialling it within a regenerative, low-input system. He used Sea2Soil alongside foliar-applied urea, Epsotop, and molasses, even without compound fertilisers, and began shaping a longer-term biological nutrient plan.
He has also built a strong support network around the farm, working with Jenna Ballintine at NewGen Agri on soil interpretation, Andy Cheetham on seed and grain analysis, and speaking regularly with Sea2Soil, with the team raising the possibility of coming up to Caithness, which would be a key opportunity to review progress and developments on the ground.
The results
Arable Crops:
This was John’s first proper season using Sea2Soil within his regenerative, low-input system. John is clear that it is still a learning curve and he has not got everything perfect yet, but the year has been very encouraging.
The barley averaged 2.6 t/acre, and visually it was the best crop he has grown on his ground. One detail stood out immediately, and was picked up independently by multiple agronomists: grain fill right down to the base of the head, something John had never seen before on his farm.
To build an even clearer picture, John carried out proper seed and soil testing after harvest, so future decisions can be based on evidence and a solid baseline.
Seed analysis showed the home-kept barley seed tested extremely well, with ninety-four per cent germination, fifty-two point five g TGW, and sixty kg/hl bushel weight. John describes it as the best-quality seed he has produced so far. The analysis also highlighted a few minor nutrient gaps, which John sees as useful insight because it shows exactly what the crop was short of and what can be corrected going forward.
Soil analysis (NewGen Agri / Brookside Labs) backed this up, showing good underlying structure and biology, with a few key trace element deficiencies. Using seed and soil tests together gives a much clearer baseline and helps avoid applying anything unnecessary.
Looking ahead, John is planning to trial minimum tillage on a field or two. In Caithness, he still believes ploughing is often required, especially on heavier or older ground, but he wants to test reduced tillage as a soil health-focused trial rather than a full switch. He also trialled forage rape after harvest. It went in a bit late and did not establish as strongly as hoped, but the learning will feed into a refined approach next year. In addition, John is planning to establish one to 1.5 m biodiversity strips (flower and beetle strips) around some field edges, sown with the quad, to support beneficial insects and field ecology.
Grassland transformation:
The most striking change came in older permanent pasture. John has seen a clear shift in grazing behaviour, which, for him, is one of the most telling indicators that something meaningful is changing below the surface:
“We’ve got older fields that sheep used to avoid. Since applying Sea2Soil, they’re now grazing those fields evenly. One field in particular was always strip-grazed for cattle, but the sheep would never touch the aftermath. Now they graze the whole lot without hesitation. That tells me something in the biology has shifted – it’s making the forage more palatable or healthier.”