Environment

Farmers and industry fear the Red Tractor's proposed Greener Farms Commitment is being introduced to fulfil retailers' wider green promise

Team at Nottingham University says findings will boost food production and protect nature

A meeting scheduled this week to 'broadly discuss environmental standards', was cancelled, with sources suggesting it was scrapped after details were 'leaked to the press'

Defra said there would be a 10 per cent increase in the average value of agreements in the Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship schemes, driven by increased payment rates.

North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan said many farmers in her constituency who were currently undertaking positive environmental work are ‘ineligible' for the SFI scheme

Despite previous promises by Government that the land use strategy document would be published by the end of the year, the Farmers Guardian understands it has been delayed to some point next year

Organic Farmers and Growers chief executive Roger Kerr said there was a ‘whole industry out there built around pesticides and fertilisers' which wants organic to fail, but organic is a ‘defined farming system that can deliver a ‘low carbon, nature-friendly, people-positive' food system

The Environmental Audit Committee has expressed concerns that the Government's ambitious tree planting target for the UK was significantly off track and there was no clear path for the private sector

More than 1,300 members of the Public and Commercial Services union, including staff from Defra, RPA and Marine Management Organisation have called for a pilot scheme to analyse the benefits of a four day week on wellbeing and productivity

OF&G said a 'three fold increase' in organic land use area would reduce total agriculture-related greenhouse gas emissions equal to the carbon sequestered by third of million acres of broadleaved woodland