DeepRoots supports Waitrose in developing agroforestry on their own commercial farm, the Leckford Estate in Hampshire
London, UK — DeepRoots has partnered with Waitrose to develop a flagship agroforestry strategy at the supermarket’s commercial farm, Leckford Estate, marking a significant step in the retailer's Farming for Nature programme. The project will set the foundation for a potentially scalable regenerative land-use across its UK supply chain.
Over recent months, DeepRoots has worked with Andrew Ferguson, Technical Lead for Regenerative Agriculture at Leckford Estate, to explore how agroforestry can be integrated into the 2,800-acre mixed farming operation to strengthen environmental outcomes while supporting long-term farm profitability.
Leckford Estate, owned by the John Lewis Partnership, is the hub for Waitrose's Farming for Nature programme. The project was designed not only to support Leckford's transition, but to help inspire and facilitate uptake of agroforestry for thousands of UK farms supplying Waitrose.
“Leckford gives us a powerful opportunity to show what good looks like when agroforestry is designed around real farming systems,” said Joss Rogers, Co-Founder & CEO of DeepRoots. “This work is about moving beyond theory and pilots to create practical, profitable blueprints that farmers across the Waitrose supply chain can actually deploy.”
A Commercial Strategy that integrates Nature
DeepRoots led the strategic assessment of agroforestry opportunities across the Leckford Estate, combining land data, environmental context and business objectives to identify where trees could deliver the greatest value alongside nature goals such as optimising the ‘core-to-edge ratio across the farm’s 75+ fields.
A detailed on-farm visit captured Leckford's soils, landscape restraints such as pylons, cropping systems, livestock operations and operational constraints. These insights informed which tree species and system designs would be most appropriate — balancing biodiversity, resilience and commercial return.
DeepRoots leveraged its strategic partnership with Propagate Ag, a global leader in agroforestry design, integrating Propagate's economic modelling tool Overyield to test and refine options across the Leckford Estate. Together, the teams evaluated multiple systems and return profiles, focusing on interventions that could be realistically deployed within a working commercial farm.
Harry Green, Head of Research at Propagate comments: “The climate of the British Isles is a great fit for trees — and the UK is right to re-establish ecosystems that yield food, fuel, and market-driven employment. Farmers and land managers also need to understand cost profile and financial returns (or just "need to see options"), and DeepRoots' platform runs rapid prototyping for agroforestry and regenerative agriculture more broadly. At the same time, UK brands that want to invest in agroforestry can now integrate working trees into their supply chains. We're encouraged by DeepRoots' traction and momentum.”
Designing Blueprints for Supply Chain Scale
The first phase has developed replicable agroforestry blueprints tailored to Leckford's context but designed to be accessible for adoption across the Waitrose supplier network in the UK. These include systems centred on willow, elderberry, poplar and polyculture designs combining walnut with willow and elderberry — each offering different environmental and economic outcomes. Benefits range from livestock shelter and fodder production to value-added crops that can flow directly into Waitrose retail chain. Leckford is a working farm, planting profitable and functional trees, to show how agroforestry works in practice at a commercial scale. The blueprints developed here will be made available to up to 2,000 UK farmers supplying Waitrose, providing them with tested pathways for their own regenerative agriculture transitions.
"Leckford has always been about pioneering better ways to farm. Working with DeepRoots allows us to explore how agroforestry can deliver nature restoration and climate benefits alongside productive agriculture — and how we can scale these insights across our supply chain," said Andrew Ferguson, Technical Lead for Regenerative Agriculture on the Leckford Estate.
Technology as the Enabler
The project showcases how technology can accelerate regenerative land-use at scale. DeepRoots' platform brings together geospatial land data, ecological science and economic modelling to provide farmers and supply chains with field-specific, business-ready recommendations — moving beyond ambition to actionable delivery.
By integrating design partners like Propagate and tools such as Overyield, DeepRoots is building the infrastructure needed to connect farm-level decisions with supply-chain goals.
About DeepRoots
DeepRoots is an AI-powered land intelligence platform that connects nature-based solutions, finance and supply chains to scale resilient, regenerative ecosystems. Learn more at deeproots.ag
About Waitrose Farming for Nature
Waitrose's Farming for Nature programme supports farmers to protect and restore the natural environment while producing high-quality food for customers.
About Propagate Ag
Propagate Ag is a global agroforestry project developer and technology company that designs, finances and supports tree-based farming systems to improve farm profitability, resilience and environmental outcomes.
