Sustainable Farming

Defra Secretary George Eustice has said farmers will need to cut mineral fertiliser use ‘quite significantly’ in order to meet the country’s net zero emissions target.

Tenant farmers should not be the collateral damage in the rush to plant more trees, George Dunn chief executive of the Tenant Farmers Association has warned.

Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), AHDB and Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC) have collaborated on a new ’myth-busting’ toolkit to empower farmers to kick-start positive conversations around red meat.

Labour MP and vice chairman of the party’s ‘Just Transition Working Group’, Alan Whitehead, has claimed most livestock farmers will not be rearing animals in 20 years’ time.

This spring saw the launch of TerraMap Carbon, a new service from Hutchinsons which will help growers to obtain more accurate carbon baseline measurements.

The chemical element carbon has some notable properties. It exists in pure form but also combines with other elements to form more compounds than all other elements combined.

Now is the time for farmers and agronomists to act to address carbon footprint on farms, according to Farmacy agronomist and service leader Matt Ward.

Foxburrow Farm, a mixed arable and livestock farm in Norfolk, has reduced its carbon footprint as a result of changes to its cultivation strategy, the consequent reduction in time spent on the land, Controlled Traffic Management and decreased herbicide and insecticide use.

New Holland is in the final stages of bringing a methane-powered version of its T6-180 tractor to market which will deliver impressive reductions in particulates, nitrous oxide and CO2, reduced running costs and a resulting reduction in carbon footprint.

Hutchinsons’ Helix Project aims to explore how cutting-edge technologies can be successfully linked with knowledge to deliver more effective advice by agronomists to farm businesses. Moat Farm at Whiston, Northamptonshire, is a host farm for the project.