Environmental

Speakers at the 2023 Oxford Real Farming Conference (ORFC) opening plenary reflected on the political and economic turmoil of the last few years and spoke of the changes that need to happen to secure the future of food and farming.

As snow and ice once again threaten to wreak havoc on British roads, leading rural insurer and rural road safety campaigner NFU Mutual is sharing safe driving advice for motorists.

Markets for carbon, biodiversity and other environmental services are widely expected to grow in the coming years. But given the infancy of such markets, there is still tremendous uncertainty about how they will operate. To help address such concerns, Ecosystems Knowledge Network (EKN), a UK-wide independent knowledge hub, is undertaking a review to understand the opportunities and challenges associated with nature finance.

A new woodland restoration scheme has launched at the RSPB’s 1,200-acre nature reserve, Franchises Lodge, located in the north of the New Forest.  

The National Sheep Association (NSA) continues to be frustrated in the lack of government commitment to UK agriculture and food security, along with the poor recognition that agriculture is the key to tackling climate change, and could, with the right incentives do far more.

A new £4.8M project funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to increase biomass crops grown in the UK, will launch at the Low Carbon Agriculture Show at the NAEC, Stoneleigh, on 7th February 2023.

Sencrop and Frontier Agriculture have joined forces to roll out a UK-wide network of connected weather stations, helping farmers and their agronomists to make better crop management decisions.

Leading rural insurer NFU Mutual is urging farmers to act now to protect their farms from the devastating impact of storms as winter approaches.  

A new course offering sustainability training for farmers and land managers has recently launched in the UK and covers how to integrate biodiversity into farming practices while protecting yield.

Farmers Guide attended an event in Germany at which John Deere explained and demonstrated new models and machine upgrades designed to contribute to sustainable farming. David Williams was there.

The National Drought Group’s projections suggest the current dry conditions may be here to stay beyond spring next year, and preparations must begin now to prevent water shortages impacting agriculture and livelihoods across the country.

At an online event hosted by Trinity Global Farm Pioneers, expert speakers discussed how agroforestry and biodiversity can help drive agricultural production and explored the barriers to uptake among farmers. Henrietta Szathmary writes.