TheNFUchampionsBritishfarmingandprovidesprofessional.pptVIP

What are farmers doing - Now? Moving to new farming systems - min till Soil protection reviews Looking at new diets for livestock - defaunating Covering yards to minimise runoff Putting in bore holes Using carbon tools like CALM – Energy efficiency Solar panels for water heating - dairy AD systems Not changing crops Miscanthus and SRC Rainwater harvesting Vaccinating against diseases - e.g. bluetongue Reducing the amount of N, P, K What are farmers doing - 2029? All of the NOW stuff Nutrient management plans New crops and varieties have been introduced New breeds have been introduced Battling new diseases Going off grid Exporting excess energy AD, biofuels, biomass, geothermal, solar, wind, micro-hydro Improved flood defence for the farms and society Better water management - Increased use of irrigation Selling in new markets e.g. Water quality, Energy production, Carbon sequestering And what are we asking of government and NGOs? How does the farmer get paid for delivering public goods e.g. carbon sequestering etc? How important is food security not just in rhetoric but in action? Recognise that agriculture is part of the solution in delivering the renewables agenda. John Maynard Keynes When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do? Thank you Risks (?) to our farming systems * Role * * Go through the newspaper articles and hwo CC is such a major media issue. But is it for the good? Are we green washign and can we make it real? The answer lies in dvelopign a green economy which recognises environmental limits. * (facts and figures are from the Farming Futures project research (see later slide for info about project)). Agriculture is likely to be on the front line of climate change impacts. For example, 57 % of Grade 1 Agricultural Land is below the 5m contour (vulnerable to sea level rise) means that climate change is likely to have significant impacts on the land based sector. – already at the mercy of the weather, we are likely to see increasin