In order to continue to feed the nation sustainably, industry leaders warned at a cereal event that farmers must take better control of their land and strengthen their government support.
Speakers at the recent Lincolnshire event encouraged coordinated investment in sustainable crops and warned that future policies could threaten the sector’s resilience and future.
“There are three major policy areas that bother me,” said Minister Shadow Defra Robbie Moore, who points to a planned change in succession tax relief, a proposal to remove farmland proposed by the Land Use Framework, and a planning bill that would allow natural England to purchase land on farms rather than development, value.
“Collectively, this is actively using the state to free up land for non-food production use. Private landowners and businesses are losing control,” he warned.
NFU President Tom Bradshaw added that concerns about the closure of Sustainable Agriculture Incentives (SFIs) and its future directions further threaten the ability of farmers to grow food in environmentally friendly ways.
“SFI removal has become an important part of the rotation, so swallowing was a bitter medicine. The principle of public goods is that it is not paid at the food level.
“The magical money tree from the private sector has been promised for 10 years and hasn’t come true. It’s a dream dream,” he said.
Reports suggesting a new version of SFI with capped payments and social factors add to further uncertainty.
But Bradshaw said, “It doesn’t provide what a productive and environmentally friendly farming system needs. It requires open and honest communication about their vision for agriculture.
NFU Crops Board Chair Jamie Burrows acknowledged that some growers may continue to use SFI-style options due to the benefits of soil health and the broader environment.
However, he emphasized that economic pressure is growing. “It must be real to keep bank managers happy. My fear is that farmers must maximize production just to achieve their goals. That’s a real step backward.”
Still, he focused on the potential of win-win solutions, particularly the role of pulses such as peas and beans. This provides benefits in reducing carbon dioxide emissions by replacing soil fertility, nitrogen fixation, and imported soybeans in animal feed.
“If SFI changes, supporting pulses can be a great option,” Burrows explained.
This view is supported by the £5.9 million nitrogen Climate Smart (NCS) project funded by DEFRA to reduce agricultural emissions of 1.5 million tonnes each year.
“We’re looking forward to seeing you in the future,” said Roger Vickers, CEO of PGRO and lead of the NCS project. “Even just a year later, if 20% of UK arable land increased the pulses supplied in place of soybeans, we saved 3.4 million tonnes of CO2E per year.
The goal is to bring together farmland and livestock farmers to create a sustainable residential cultivation supply chain, and the goal is to inform future policies with solid evidence.
“This initial study demonstrates the power of pulses for the environment, but also produces highly valuable products and provides sustainable vegetable proteins in the supply chain domestically,” added Vickers.
