Sustainable Farming

Only a quarter of Scotland’s farmers are optimistic about their businesses in a post-Brexit landscape.

Defra non-executive director Ben Goldsmith has called for ‘rewilding’ to be renamed ‘wilder farming’ in order to reassure farmers they are central to the movement.

The National Trust has warned against the ‘irresponsible’ use of barbeques when visiting the countryside, after hundreds of acres of moorland and forestry have been engulfed by wildfires due to recent dry weather.

Covid-19 has hit the education sector hard but agricultural colleges across the country have innovated new methods in the face of adversity to attract prospective students and conduct business as usual. Mollie Leach reports.

Farmers are being urged to explore the opportunity of making money on private natural capital markets as Government spending on the coronavirus pandemic continues to spiral.

The Scotch Whisky industry has taken up the production of green energy with such enthusiasm it is clearly causing some unease in Government circles.

An agricultural think tank has warned commercial farming is being ‘written out’ of emerging post-Brexit policy, despite the fact that fewer than 10 per cent of farm businesses produce over half the UK’s agricultural output.

An organic farm which has focused on sustainable farming methods over the past 12 years has delivered a range of environmental benefits while operating at a profit.

Farmers will have to adapt their businesses to meet climate change targets, but what does that mean for food production? Ewan Pate speaks to former NFU Scotland president and co-chairman of the Farming for 1.5 degrees project, Nigel Miller, to find out.

The House of Lords has an opportunity to ensure our production standards are protected in the Agriculture Bill, and it must, because we cannot afford to get this piece of legislation wrong, says Martin Lines, chairman of the Nature Friendly Farming Network.