Tucked into the landscape at St Tudy in Cornwall, Tregooden Farm is demonstrating what the future of regenerative, climate resilient farming can look like. Managed by Malcolm and Catherine Barrett, the 300-acre mixed beef and arable farm is one of the Duchy of Cornwall’s seven Focus Farms, an initiative created to test, innovate and share practices that help deliver the Duchy’s ambitions for nature, climate and community. It is also the Duchy’s first net zero Focus Farm, leading the way on the Duchy’s ambition to have all our farmers trialling regenerative methods across the estate by 2035 on our net zero journey.

We spoke with the Barretts about their regenerative journey, the struggles they’ve faced, their highlights and why net zero matters to them.

For us, the motivation came from wanting the farm to be resilient for the long‑term. We could see the pressures changing weather patterns were placing on our land and livestock, and we felt a responsibility to adapt our system so the farm would thrive for the next generation.

It also helps the business run more efficiently: reducing tillage has reduced our fuel use on the farm, enabling us to progress in a manner that firstly helps the wildlife and secondly helps our business financially. It's just an all-round positive thing for the farm, in helping us farm efficiently and more productively.

Working closely with the Duchy encouraged us to explore new options, but ultimately it was the realisation that sustainable farming could also strengthen our business that pushed us to take the step.

Net zero means cutting our emissions as far as we can and increasing the carbon we store in soils, trees and hedgerows, so the balance trends toward zero. It matters because it builds resilience: lower inputs, healthier pastures, better drought and rainfall coping. For the landscape, it means more connected habitats, better water quality and stronger, climate‑ready farms.

The most interesting for us is how we've encouraged nature back onto the farm so easily with not a huge amount of changes within our farming practices. Seeing the land come back to life. Healthier soils, stronger grass, more birds and insects and cattle that thrive because the system’s working with nature. We love the practical problem‑solving too: try it small, measure it, scale what works, share the learning.

We’ve been part of the Duchy’s Focus Farm group throughout our tenancy here, so around five years and we’ve recently stepped into the role as net zero focus farmers. It’s a space to test, innovate and share across the estate.

We’ve been able to share what we’re learning with neighbouring farmers, and we’ve hosted a number of local groups and schools here. People are genuinely interested in how farming is evolving, and it’s important to us that the community understands the role farms can play in climate action. The Duchy has helped connect us with others, which has widened the impact well beyond our own farm.

Learning from others is invaluable. We walk the fields together, compare notes, look at the data, and you move faster with fewer mistakes. It’s also helped us host visits from farmers, researchers and local groups, so the benefits reach well beyond our boundary. We were delighted to be selected by the Duchy to be a part of the group, it’s pushed us to think more holistically about our net zero journey.

It’s a really good community, because we're all kind of wanting to be doing the same thing but because we come from different parts of the country. It's nice to learn what other people are doing and sometimes you can take bits home and actually try it on our farm as well.

We're really proud to be the Duchy's first net zero Focus Farm. When we first took on the tenancy, we sat down with the Duchy and worked out a plan for the net zero journey.

It’s led us to take a holistic view, soils, grazing, energy, habitats, planned over the long term. As tenants, that certainty and shared ambition matter. We’re encouraged to trial, measure and adapt, not just talk about change. By being a part of this unique group, we’re able to talk open and honestly about our wins and challenges.

The Duchy’s provided support from ecologists, soil specialists and land agents to design woodland creation and natural capital features that fit our system. They’ve also helped connect us into Farm Net Zero and independent assessments, so our decisions are backed by robust data.

The mindset shift, we had to stop ‘beating the living daylights out of the soil’. Cashflow during transition and weather swings were tough too. We managed it by starting small, measuring carefully, leaning on expert advice and scaling what worked.

I've got farmers that have known me for years who tell me they never believed that I would change from conventional farming system to working with nature and farming in the style we do now. We are happier now farming then we have ever been and it's a shame it's taken to the age of 50 to say that sentence!

Start with understanding your baseline, knowing your emissions profile is the key. Small, incremental changes add up, and working with trusted advisers, like the Duchy, makes the journey far less daunting. Most importantly, view net zero as an opportunity, not a burden. It can strengthen your farm in so many ways.

Net zero isn't an aspiration, it's happening now, acre by acre.

We feel like a real example of what that ambition looks like on the ground. The Duchy hasn’t just talked about net zero, it has invested time, expertise and encouragement into helping us get there. By focusing on practical action, and by supporting the measurement of results, the Duchy is showing leadership and demonstrating that net zero farming is achievable today, not just in the future.

If Tregooden can show that the Duchy’s ambition to restore nature and deliver a net zero future is achievable today, that’s success.