The presentation was given by Richard Bramley, who is currently NFU Regional Environmental Lead (north region), but in the past has chaired the NFU’s Environment Forum and sat on the NFU’s net zero steering group.
Resilient farming practices
The combinable crops sector resilience plan has been developed by the NFU Crops Board.
It reflects the needs of the sector to promote resilient farming practices and sustainability and includes productivity measures, fairness in the supply chain and research and development.
A complex web
Richard highlighted how farmers can play multiple sustainability roles but sit at the centre of a complex web – of politics, environment, food, consumers and markets.
He explained how this means farmers are often pulled in different directions, so help and support in many forms would be required.
His own interest in data and gaining knowledge of “where you are, what you are doing, how you can change and the impacts of that change” led Richard to join the AHDB’s environmental baselining pilot.
Rocky road ahead
In closing his presentation, he made sure that the audience was under no illusion about the rocky road ahead, with the majority of farmers currently focused on one thing – saving their farms.
Reflecting on comments from Lord Deben, who has chaired the Climate Change Committee, that we depend more and more on farmers than we have for sometime, Richard said: “The pause in capital grants on top of the Budget has, on multiple levels, really undermined the industry.”
