Diane Mitchell

NFU chief environment adviser

Diane Mitchell is the Chief Environment Adviser at the NFU. In this role she has an overview across the environment team and the diverse range of agri-environmental policies affecting farmers, including agri-environment, air quality, biodiversity, protected landscapes, soils, trees, waste management and water.

Diane has led on the NFU’s policy work feeding into the Environment Act 2021 and more recently other areas such as nutrient neutrality and water quality.  She also provides the secretariat to the NFU’s Environment Forum, which works with members, other NFU commodity boards, government, government agencies and other stakeholders to ensure farmers’ views on the environment are at the forefront of policy making.

Alongside her responsibilities at the NFU, Diane was the Vice-Chair of the Environment Working Group at COPA-COGECA, which is the trade body for farmers and agri-cooperatives at an EU level, for six years until 2020.  

Before joining the NFU, Diane was a researcher at Cambridge University Farm and she has a BSc and PhD from the University of Aberdeen, both in soil science.