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Why a blog?
The Farming Futures blog is for farmers, land managers and their advisers to discuss and debate the issue of climate change and sustainability in agriculture.
We’re interested in how you think we can produce more food for a growing population in the context of Government targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, hotter, drier summers, higher energy and input prices, and the increased consumer interest in 'low carbon' food.
This is your place to take part in the debate. Find out why we think a blog is important by clicking here.
Blogs marked with our weak signals logo explore ideas, trends, technologies or behaviour changes that are as yet unrecognised by the mainstream farming industry. They might have a big impact on future farm practices or they might disappear. They help us to challenge assumptions about the future, navigate risk and seize new opportunities. If you spot a weak signal, get in touch and we'll get it on the site.
Want to contribute? Contact Tamsin: farmingfutures@niab.com (01223 342329).
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News & Blogs - September 2010
Along with others from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), I recently visited Crouchlands Farm, a 750 cattle dairy business in West Sussex. It’s home to Gwyn Jones, the NFU’s Vice President. We were there to tour the farm’s newly...
Efficient farming or factory farming? In the last 12 months, several proposals to create ‘super dairies’ or ‘super piggeries’ have hit the headlines. It’s creating a stir in both the farming community and the general pub...
Government Chief Scientist, Professor John Beddington, was interviewed by John Humphries on BBC Radio 4 on the morning of 24th September and they discussed world food prices (especially wheat), climate change and farming. As a result of recent global...
Nitrous oxide (N2O), commonly known as laughing gas, is a greenhouse gas about 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Predominantly produced from the soil following the application of nitrogen fertilisers, manure and deposits from grazing livesto...
Researchers have developed the first ‘self-repairing’ solar PV cell. It mimics the way plants capture and use the sun’s energy during photosynthesis, but also how they continually reassemble and reuse their components as they are br...
Climate News and Knowledge is our fortnightly round up of some of the main stories covering climate change and sustainable farming. This time there is talk of getting the facts right, hot crops, and progress on renewables.
Climate tipping point for c...
Producing sufficient crops while ensuring our farming practices are sustainable is the big challenge for agriculture. But as well as studying and improving crop plants we also have to understand the microbial diversity beneath the surface that allows...
It’s often said that we know less about the depths of our oceans than the surface of the Moon. In agriculture there’s a pretty important resource that is probably even more unknown.
Biodiversity is a word we’re getting used to in f...
Saving thousands each year in fuel use and reducing environmental impact is a no-brainer, isn’t it? I thought so. Which is why two months ago, I found myself in a field in France watching volunteer farmers bring their tractors and machinery to...
New technology has, throughout history, brought significant changes to the way we farm and RTK GPS is no exception. It brings pass-to-pass, year-on-year precision to within 2cm, a substantial improvement on previous GPS technologies. Within agr...
What will coastal Suffolk look like in thirty years' time? How will climate change affect the area’s much-loved landscapes including farmland and other unique habitats? These are the subject of a new project managed by the East Anglian office o...
Climate News and Knowledge is our fortnightly round up of some of the main stories covering climate change and sustainable farming.
More CO2 = higher yields? Think again.
It’s been said that climate change had a silver lining for UK farmers...
"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man." So said Einstein. Whilst modern scientists would consider this a...