The NFU has launched its vision for boosting farm business resilience across all British farming sectors.
The sector-specific plans, launched at the NFU’s annual conference, outline how farms can unlock the benefits of increased efficiency and lower costs while improving sustainability.
The plans map out the different priority areas for each sector, including increasing business resilience, and identifies what government policies are needed to overcome key challenges.
This includes incentivising recognised carbon and nutrient benchmarking and accounting, to supporting climate-friendly farming.
NFU Deputy President Tom Bradshaw said that in the current economic climate, the production of affordable, climate-friendly food, energy and fibre was ‘more important than ever’.
Yet British farmers faced ‘huge challenges’, he warned, from extreme weather events to crippling energy, feed and fertiliser costs.
“To overcome these barriers, we need to build resilience into our agri-food supply chains by improving efficiency, increasing on-farm carbon storage and producing more renewable energy,” Mr Bradshaw said.
“This will enable a more sustainable future for farm businesses, both financially and environmentally, and a more secure supply of British food, fuel and fibre for the country.
“Smart and efficient farming is at the heart of building business resilience with the potential to help farmers reduce costs, increase market access and build the sustainability credentials of British food, all while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“And if we want British food to continue to be the product of choice for people at home and abroad, it is essential that we have the data and evidence to show we really are producing climate-friendly food.”
Mr Bradshaw added: “These sector plans are just a starting point and there is much more work to do within government, the industry, and research and development, if we are all to be successful in our collective ambition to reach net zero.”
