Archive
- September 2010 (3)
- August 2010 (15)
- July 2010 (15)
- June 2010 (12)
- May 2010 (8)
- April 2010 (3)
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 Madeleine: m.lewis@forumforthefuture.org (020 7324 3682).
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Blogs - All
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...
Alex Dinsdale~Monday, 6 September, 2010 - 14:47 | 0 comments
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...
Will Frazer~Friday, 3 September, 2010 - 15:33 | 0 comments
"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...
Kate O'Hagan~Thursday, 2 September, 2010 - 17:38 | 0 comments
I’d argue that our woodlands are the glue that hold the countryside together. But over the last century, the industrial revolution and technological advancements have meant our woodland resource and the habitats it supports have declined, and a...
Mike Seville~Tuesday, 31 August, 2010 - 13:00 | 0 comments
2010 is the Year of Biodiversity. It is therefore particularly ironic that in 2010, it took a worldwide Twitter campaign to spark an inquiry into the closure of the Pavlovsk Research Station in Russia. Pavlovsk is the world’s oldest seed bank,...
Kate O'Hagan~Friday, 27 August, 2010 - 15:42 | 3 comments
I am currently on a study tour in New Zealand looking at how they are dealing with the issues of greenhouse gas (GHG) production from beef and sheep systems.Like many visitors, my first impression of New Zealand is just how green it is, even in their...
Dr Duncan Pullar~Thursday, 26 August, 2010 - 11:32 | 0 comments
Here in the South East many of our water sources are categorised as ‘over pressurised’ in one way or another. With a changing climate, a growing population and the food security issue looming large, that pressure is set to increase.
In 20...
Charles Carr~Wednesday, 25 August, 2010 - 10:17 | 0 comments
Climate News and Knowledge is our fortnightly round up of some of the main stories covering climate change and sustainable farming.
‘Artificial’ meat for the future?The Royal Society has been pondering the difficult question of how we...
Madeleine Lewis~Friday, 20 August, 2010 - 11:36 | 0 comments
We know that trees are a good thing. Not only can well-managed woodland help prevent flooding, support biodiversity, replace energy-intensive construction materials, and provide biomass for energy generation, but it also is set to play a key role in...
Theresa Andrew~Thursday, 19 August, 2010 - 16:16 | 0 comments
While traditional British crops may struggle with a warming climate, exotic crops may be on the up. Worldwide Fruit have recently planted 1,200 kiwi plants in a secret location in Kent. It’s the first commercial trial of the exotic fruit in the...
Kate O'Hagan~Wednesday, 18 August, 2010 - 15:55 | 0 comments
During 2007 and 2008 the world experienced a global food crisis. Possibly the first genuinely global food crisis ever. There were riots in over 30 countries. The UN called emergency summits and meetings. India stopped exporting all rice except Basmat...
Sam Henderson~Monday, 16 August, 2010 - 13:40 | 0 comments
18 months ago the multiple benefits of anaerobic digestion technology looked set to put fire in the belly of farmers, policy makers, businessmen, environmental charities and many others. Today, the fire is still there but it is one fuelled by frustra...
Andrew Rigg~Friday, 13 August, 2010 - 13:41 | 0 comments
What if you could get paid to take the piss out of your local water company? Now, I’m not talking about venting any frustrations about hosepipe bans here, but about making money from sewage. That’s exactly what farmer and Rural Climate Ch...
Claire Wyatt in conversation with John Gilliland~Wednesday, 11 August, 2010 - 15:17 | 0 comments
That was the message from Chris Huhne in DECC’s annual energy statement last week. The statement was about big choices and big trade offs to ensure the future of our energy supply - and agriculture and land use was very much part of the mix. Se...
Will Frazer~Monday, 9 August, 2010 - 13:07 | 0 comments
Climate News and Knowledge is our fortnightly round up of some of the main stories covering climate change and sustainable farming.
Here we go again…No one is saying it, but everyone is thinking it – are we going to revisit the food pri...
Will Frazer~Friday, 6 August, 2010 - 17:59 | 0 comments
‘Is solar or a turbine better for my farm? Would fuel and nutrient efficiencies have more impact than renewables anyway? At the end of the day, what can I afford?’ These are all valid and common questions farmers are asking themselves as...
Dr Elena Pérez-Miñana~Friday, 6 August, 2010 - 11:56 | 0 comments
"We cannot command Nature except by obeying her." Francis Bacon (English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist and author) understood this in the 17th Century but since then the human race has been desperately trying to overpower the natu...
Claire Wyatt~Wednesday, 4 August, 2010 - 10:56 | 0 comments
All over the UK farmers and farm contractors will be making millions of bales of straw and hay this year. Over the past three decades the bales, and the balers that make them, have become much bigger. The so-called 'conventional baler' which makes so...
Mike Donovan~Tuesday, 3 August, 2010 - 11:58 | 0 comments
Increased investment is being poured (excuse the pun) into securing water supplies for farmers and growers in East Anglia. On-farm reservoirs are flying through planning permission and food giants such as PepsiCo are investing heavily in technology,...
Will Frazer~Friday, 30 July, 2010 - 18:10 | 0 comments
Travelling to Middlesmoor in the heart of the Nidderdale Area of National Beauty (AONB) to look at Stephen Ramsden’s wind turbine really shouldn’t have filled me with that much excitement. I had seen it all before some three years ago an...
David Hugill~Friday, 30 July, 2010 - 12:47 | 0 comments