Environmental

With the frequency of extreme weather events on the rise, there is an increasing need for agriculture to build resilience against climate change, which has been the focus of research carried out by ADAS and the Met Office Hadley Centre to identify ways farmers can adapt their practices to the changing climate.

A new trial pioneering the net zero production of potato crops through sustainable fertilisers, reduced cultivations, varieties and improved soil health has entered its second phase this year, with UK potato supplier Branston leading the way towards achieving net zero production in the years ahead.

UK farmers who are currently transitioning to regenerative agriculture or are already farming in an environmentally friendly way are now able to access a new revenue stream through the AgreenaCarbon programme that aims to see producers rewarded for their regenerative efforts.

Ahead of the Agriculture Bill being passed into legislation later this month, farming and environmental groups called on Welsh ministers to prioritise nature recovery in the bill and support farmers in making changes to help revive nature and wildlife across Wales.

Biodiversity is an increasingly hot topic within the agricultural sector. Stuart Holm, arable farmer and outreach manager at the Woodland Trust, shares his approach to improving farm resilience and biodiversity on his land.

Farmers looking to apply for Mid-Tier Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) funding are being reminded to seek approval from a Catchment Sensitive Farming Officer (CSFO) in the next few weeks to ensure their application will be considered.

Farmer-owned dairy cooperative Dale Farm is the first enterprise in Northern Ireland to switch to clear bottle caps on all of its own-label milk in a bid to make Dale Farm milk packaging more sustainable.

Speaking from personal experience, farmers shared tried-and-tested strategies for reducing emissions at the Innovation for Agriculture and Royal Agricultural Society of England’s (RASE) ‘Farm of the Future: Net Zero in Practice’ event, where improved efficiency, production of renewable energy and carbon sequestration were identified as key factors in achieving net zero in agriculture.

Farmers can now apply for this year’s round of Severn Trent’s Environmental Protection Scheme (STEPS) match funding, offering up to £30,000 for farms in priority catchment areas to invest in improving water quality.

Becky Wilson from Farm Carbon Toolkit explained how understanding where emissions come from on a farm can support informed decision-making on reducing carbon footprint, which can lead to increased business resilience and profitability, at a farming conference hosted by accountancy firm Scrutton Bland in early 2023.

Launched today (12th April), the new Land, Nature, and Adapted Systems (LNAS) Advisory Group will inform Defra on definitions of economic activities that can be considered environmentally sustainable to enhance the UK’s resilience and deliver climate and nature goals.

At a conference hosted by Scrutton Bland earlier this year, Kerriann McLackland from the Environment Bank talked about the various ways farmers can capitalise on creating and selling biodiversity net gain (BNG) units to developers, while still receiving income from BPS and environmental schemes.