Nuffield Farming report explores how regenerative farming can help the UK reach net zero

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Welsh agronomist Chris Taylor NSch 2022 has published his Nuffield Farming report entitled: do regenerative farming practices pave the way for UK agriculture to meet net zero?

The initiative was sponsored by McDonald’s UK & Ireland.

Chris presented the findings of his research at the 2023 Nuffield Farming Conference in Exeter.

During his scholarship, Chris travelled to Canada, United States, Brazil, France, UK, Denmark, and Norway.

Nuffield Scholar Jim BlissNuffield Scholar Jim Bliss
Nuffield Scholar Jim Bliss

His primary objective was to understand how to meet net zero whilst maintaining productivity and profitability on farms, while ensuring agriculture is resilient and improving organic matter (carbon) levels in soils.

In his report, he says: “UK agriculture is at the forefront of one of the biggest global challenges in meeting net zero by 2050. Agriculture is, however, well placed as an industry to offset emissions through sequestering carbon in soils in the form of organic matter.

“With climate change impacts being felt in the form of extreme weather patterns, the other aspect to consider is ensuring UK farms are resilient, both financially and environmentally.”

Chris aimed to identify the main contributing factors of greenhouse gas emissions in UK agriculture and find solutions to mitigate their impact. He evaluated the impact of regenerative practices in areas where they have been practiced for prolonged periods.

Nuffield Scholar Chris TaylorNuffield Scholar Chris Taylor
Nuffield Scholar Chris Taylor

He also explored areas with similar soil types, cropping and climate conditions to the UK to understand what practices could be implemented effectively.

Chris further explained: “Meeting net zero won’t be achieved via a single solution or idea but through incremental gains and an industry-wide effort.

“For farmers, it’s important to understand the carbon balance in their individual businesses, to give clarity and direction for changes to be implemented.”

He concluded: “When fully integrated into a system-based approach, regenerative agriculture offers methods of mitigating these emissions on a path to net zero. When setting net zero as a

target for a business, we should not lose sight of other considerations, including environmental, economic and social benefits.”

The work undertaken by Chris Taylor had three objectives: meeting net zero whilst maintaining productivity and profitability on farms; ensuring agriculture is resilient to an ever-changing climate, full of extreme weather events and improving organic matter (carbon) levels in our agricultural soils.

Meanwhile, the 2024 Nuffield Conference will be held in Belfast between November 19th and 22nd.

Nuffield has started releasing information on the full speaker line-up for the event with relevant background information on their presentations.

Jim Bliss, a 2023 Nuffield Scholar, will address the following theme - born to be wild: does the future success of marginal farming lie in the untapped potential of rewilding?

He commented: “I was working in Cumbria within the Lake District National Park. During this time I was witnessing two situations that motivated my application for a scholarship.

“Firstly, witnessing at first hand the decline of biodiversity across both my immediate locality and across the whole of the United Kingdom made a tremendous impact on me.

“Secondly, and at the same time as a biodiversity crisis, I believe we were and still are entering a farming crisis especially for those who farm in marginal areas: specifically the uplands.

“The question I wanted to address was: is there one solution to both the biodiversity and farming crisis?’

“With the support of Nuffield Farming Scholarship Trust, my lead sponsors, the Worshipful Company of Farmers with Savills along with others including Rowse Honey, I embarked on a journey that would turn out to be not only enlightening for my study but life changing personally for myself as well.”

Jim continued: “With the kind support of these organisations I was able to try to search for a solution to these two issues and if my outgoing idea of rewilding being the solution envisioned.”

From Jim’s perspective, rewilding is a term that can have a multitude of definitions, each with their own emotional response. However, from my perspective it is restoring natural processes at a landscape scale.

“With this definition in mind I wanted to visit designated rewilding sites but also farms and businesses not rewilding but who were practicing non-conventional land management.

“During my four months of independent travels, I visited Germany, Denmark, Scotland, Netherlands, Chile, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Tanzania (Pembaisland).

“These countries have varied climates, varied environments, varied cultures and varied agricultural systems.”

He concluded: “However, there was a the commonality between them: declining biodiversity and, in large parts, struggling agricultural sectors.”