Western Morning News (Saturday)
Farming of the future ‘must work with nature’
FOOD security and agricultural businesses in the South West and across Britain will be at risk unless Government policy helps farmers shift to nature-friendly farming methods, it has been warned.
A report from the Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN) draws on evidence from more than 40 farm businesses and shows how farming with nature makes it more profitable and helps wildlife thrive.
The farmer-led group is calling for policies that deliver long-term funding, strong environmental regulations and certainty that farmers will not be undercut by cheap imports.
It comes as polling suggests more than eight in 10 people want farming policies to support UK farmers to not just maintain but improve the environment and wildlife on farms.
Three-quarters (75%) of the 2,083 people polled by Opinium said they wanted public money to help farmers produce healthy soil, food and landscapes and help wildlife flourish, and 70% do not want taxpayers’ cash to reward “business as usual” approaches.
The report highlights how nature provides farmers with natural assets including soil, grass and water which they use to produce food. But when land is pushed beyond its natural production limit, with high levels of livestock or cropping more than the soil can support, it requires extra inputs including fertilisers and medicines, and farms degrade the natural assets.
This increases the overall costs of production and potentially reduces the profitability of the farm business.
Martin Lines, a farmer and chairman of the NFFN warned that pushing production beyond the capacity of the landscape will mean nature and farm businesses will be wiped out.
“The survival of all farming businesses depends on a healthy environment,” he said.
“This report demonstrates that unless farming policy raises environmental standards and helps farmers transition to nature-friendly approaches, future food security and the agriculture industry are at risk.
“With the development of post-Brexit polices in motion, governments can and must be bold and deliver longterm solutions now so that farmers can build sustainable and resilient farm businesses that produce healthy food and protect nature for future generations.”