tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/uk-agriculture-bill-60523/articlesUK Agriculture Bill – The Conversation2021-04-14T14:03:49Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1589012021-04-14T14:03:49Z2021-04-14T14:03:49ZHow should the British countryside look post-Brexit? We asked the public<p>Whatever your stance on Brexit, the UK’s departure from the EU has given the country a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine how it uses its land. When it was still part of the EU, the UK abided by <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/common-agricultural-policy">the Common Agricultural Policy</a> (CAP), which provided subsidies to landowners and farmers based primarily on how much land they managed.</p>
<p>Earlier versions of the CAP contributed to the destruction of large swaths of the EU’s <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837718315321?casa_token=fuwjB8GZ9hEAAAAA:M3bh6gIErjoIC4KeBRXRJekU2v0AhqOVtRRycbvhte2BOAcp-tjpNq998JU_K_nMBOHowk8dvSk">forest and wildlife habitat</a>. The CAP has since undergone various revisions to try to address the environmental degradation of food production, but without much <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01426397.2011.637619">success</a>.</p>
<p>Policy analysts in Whitehall are busy devising <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8702/">new agricultural policies</a> that will decide how the countryside looks and the services it provides post-Brexit. As taxpayers will fund these new schemes, the public should have a say in how the country’s farmland will be managed and the environmental benefits it offers.</p>
<p>We set out to find what the UK public wanted from their countryside. But we didn’t want to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01426397.2012.691469">constrain</a> their imagination and creativity with a simple questionnaire. Instead, we combined a nationwide survey of 2,050 adults with an exercise in which 80 people created collages to demonstrate their vision for the future of Britain’s farmed landscapes. </p>
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<img alt="A herd of dairy cows stands on a grassy hill with a rolling field of hay behind." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395036/original/file-20210414-15-1dub9w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395036/original/file-20210414-15-1dub9w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395036/original/file-20210414-15-1dub9w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395036/original/file-20210414-15-1dub9w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395036/original/file-20210414-15-1dub9w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395036/original/file-20210414-15-1dub9w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395036/original/file-20210414-15-1dub9w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A common sight: cows and vast fields dedicated to single crops.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/view-south-downs-way-footpath-sussex-131015750">David Hughes/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Livestock: nice to look at, bad for the planet</h2>
<p><a href="https://methods.sagepub.com/book/qualitative-inquiry-thematic-narrative-and-arts-informed-perspectives/i504.xml">Collages</a> allow people to express their ideas and desires in ways that are hard to capture with surveys and verbal interviews. Despite the obvious freedom the medium affords, collages are rarely used in studies attempting to understand how people would like their environment to look.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026483772100168X?dgcid=author#bib8">We asked</a> 80 participants to create two collages: one to show their ideal UK farm landscape, and one to show what they thought an environmentally friendly farm would look like. We then asked them to explain their design choices. We also asked 2,050 adults taking part in the wider nationwide survey to rate ten images of farming landscapes using similar images to those used in the collages.</p>
<p>What we found really surprised us. Both the surveys and collages revealed that most people in the study liked seeing livestock in their ideal landscape, but many thought that, for a farm to be environmentally friendly, it should have less livestock due to the greenhouse gas emissions they produce. Instead, most participants thought “green” farms should have lots of trees and renewable energy installations, though many admitted that they didn’t like the look of wind farms. Interestingly, there was no significant difference in the kind of landscapes preferred by farmers compared with the rest of the public we surveyed.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394980/original/file-20210414-17-9zxbq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An example of one of the collages made in the study." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394980/original/file-20210414-17-9zxbq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394980/original/file-20210414-17-9zxbq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394980/original/file-20210414-17-9zxbq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394980/original/file-20210414-17-9zxbq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394980/original/file-20210414-17-9zxbq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394980/original/file-20210414-17-9zxbq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394980/original/file-20210414-17-9zxbq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Wind turbines compete for space with cows, wildflower meadows and birds of prey.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Niki Rust</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>Most of the people involved in the study said they were keen for farms to produce a mixture of food and benefits for the environment – such as carbon storage, wildflowers for insects to pollinate and trees to improve air quality – rather than focusing on just food or environmental benefits. The majority of the people surveyed also wanted to increase food production in the UK rather than importing food from elsewhere.</p>
<p>These findings reveal the complexity involved in making green agricultural policy. There are numerous trade-offs in producing food while still protecting the environment. For instance, while most participants in our study stated that they were less interested in these landscapes producing cheap food, studies on buyer behaviour show that consumers, especially those on <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/consumer-food-choices-the-role-of-price-and-pricing-strategies/4B275C4E232BAEE39FE2539F1E99365C">lower incomes</a>, are <a href="https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR4300/RR4379/RAND_RR4379.pdf">mainly motivated by price</a> when it comes to their food choices.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395055/original/file-20210414-13-5ed004.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Another of the collages made in the study." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395055/original/file-20210414-13-5ed004.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395055/original/file-20210414-13-5ed004.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395055/original/file-20210414-13-5ed004.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395055/original/file-20210414-13-5ed004.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395055/original/file-20210414-13-5ed004.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395055/original/file-20210414-13-5ed004.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395055/original/file-20210414-13-5ed004.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Most people wanted the countryside to generate more green energy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Niki Rust</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>Our participants often said they wanted farm landscapes to protect nature, but food production that is environmentally friendly is usually <a href="http://www.fao.org/organicag/oa-faq/oa-faq5/en/">more expensive</a> and produces less food overall, meaning <a href="https://www.jhunewsletter.com/article/2019/11/organic-farming-uses-more-land-than-conventional">more land</a> is needed. One possible solution is intensifying food production on existing farmland. Or, using <a href="https://www.agricology.co.uk/field/blog/introduction-agroecology-part-1">agro-ecological</a> methods which integrate farming with the local ecology. One example is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/alley-cropping">growing nut trees</a> which offer habitat and store carbon alongside arable crops.</p>
<p>The UK government clearly has its work cut out devising policies that produce food in an environmentally friendly way at prices cheap enough to ensure retailers don’t source food from abroad and effectively <a href="https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/428606/adbi-wp848.pdf">offshore</a> the environmental consequences. While it’s certain there will be winners and losers from Brexit, let’s hope the environment and the UK’s food security don’t fall into the latter category.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158901/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Niki Rust works for the North Pennines AONB Partnership. This research was funded by Newcastle University's N8 grant.</span></em></p>A new survey serves up a tall order for UK agricultural policy outside the EU.Niki Rust, Environmental Social Scientist, Newcastle UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1513112020-12-02T14:13:46Z2020-12-02T14:13:46ZUK Agriculture Bill: how farming and forestry could co-exist happily<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372552/original/file-20201202-13-10d8q9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5751%2C3819&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Grazing cattle in wood pastures could be a win-win for food growers and the environment.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/uS__O--ALR0">Graham Durham/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Trees for storing carbon, grazing for livestock, improved animal welfare and sustainable rural economies – how can we satisfy all these aspirations for the British countryside? As the UK prepares to leave the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (often called the CAP), we’re presented with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do just that.</p>
<p>How the UK manages its land will be critical to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 or earlier. <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/370/6517/705">A recent study</a> found that greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture – including methane from livestock and nitrogen dioxide from fertilisers – are enough on their own to <a href="https://theconversation.com/global-food-system-emissions-alone-threaten-warming-beyond-1-5-c-but-we-can-act-now-to-stop-it-149312">push global warming beyond 1.5°C</a>. Since 70% of England is <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/agricultural-land-percent-of-land-area-wb-data.html">occupied by farming</a>, how we grow food and the way we manage the rest of the land is very important in the effort to slow climate change.</p>
<p>The new Agriculture Act and Environmental Land Management Scheme is the UK government’s interpretation of <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/path-to-sustainable-farming">environmentally sustainable farming</a>. Rather than offering subsidies based on how much farmland someone manages, the new legislation offers farmers and landowners public money for public goods. That means, in theory, there’ll be a financial incentive for farmers to reserve land for wildlife.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/agriculture-bill-heres-what-it-means-for-farming-and-the-environment-after-brexit-130091">Agriculture Bill: here's what it means for farming and the environment after Brexit</a>
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<p>The Environmental Land Management scheme will be responsible for delivering these public goods. But with so little published on how it might work, some worry that a rush to protect land for nature could undermine food growing in the UK and leave us more dependent on produce shipped from abroad. </p>
<p>These concerns are based on a false choice though. Biodiversity and agriculture should not be opposed – they can actually work together very well.</p>
<h2>Wood pasture and native breeds</h2>
<p>Should we reward landowners for reserving land for nature? We run the risk of paying farmers just for existing. The CAP made a similar mistake by issuing subsidies based on how much land a farmer tended, which disproportionately <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2016/09/29/common-agricultural-policy-millions-eu-subsidies-go-richest-landowners/">benefited wealthier landowners</a> and created an entry barrier for younger farmers by <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2017/05/26/britains-farmers-get-3bn-a-year-from-the-inefficient-cap-that-has-to-change/">pushing up land prices</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/eu-subsidies-benefit-big-farms-while-underfunding-greener-and-poorer-plots-new-research-144880">EU subsidies benefit big farms while underfunding greener and poorer plots – new research</a>
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<p>A more sustainable – one might add, more respectful – approach would be to pay farmers for providing services which society acknowledges as valuable.</p>
<p>Let’s consider the production of pasture-fed beef. Economically, this is not possible in Britain without some degree of subsidy. But let’s imagine instead grazing cows in woodland rather than a field. In this wood pasture system (also known as a “silvopastoral system”), if the carbon stored by trees and undisturbed soil is actually paid for by the government, at realistic numbers of trees and of cattle, the cash value of that carbon will roughly equal the amount currently paid in production subsidy. So farmers would be paid for a service rendered.</p>
<p>Though less easily quantified, grazing cattle in regenerating woodland – with all the space and opportunities to exercise natural behaviour that provides – would offer a big improvement for the welfare of livestock. Some of our rarest and most endangered breeds of livestock could be used to successfully manage this land – native Tamworth pigs, for example.</p>
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<img alt="A large pig snuffles in a wood." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372533/original/file-20201202-21-lysz3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372533/original/file-20201202-21-lysz3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372533/original/file-20201202-21-lysz3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372533/original/file-20201202-21-lysz3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372533/original/file-20201202-21-lysz3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372533/original/file-20201202-21-lysz3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372533/original/file-20201202-21-lysz3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Pigs can be reared in woodland, where they forage for food naturally.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/RTwXZuKcOtA">Annie Spratt/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>Much of the UK’s wild flora and fauna depends on pastoral landscapes – the rolling fields, hedgerows and woodland patches that typify the modern British countryside. Grazing more livestock among trees rather than empty fields would provide the grassland and tree shading that many of these native species need.</p>
<p>The tradition in British agricultural policy, which was amplified by the CAP, was to separate forestry and farming in completely different departments. But just as public money helps subsidise British produce, trees offer a big return on public investment by providing people with clean air and water, and offering habitat for the native wildlife species we love. </p>
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<img alt="Philippe Wilson" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372555/original/file-20201202-19-17xy30f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372555/original/file-20201202-19-17xy30f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=200&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372555/original/file-20201202-19-17xy30f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=200&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372555/original/file-20201202-19-17xy30f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=200&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372555/original/file-20201202-19-17xy30f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372555/original/file-20201202-19-17xy30f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372555/original/file-20201202-19-17xy30f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Dexter cattle are a livestock breed native to the UK.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>Land use needn’t be a binary choice between rewilding or growing food on relatively unproductive land. Agricultural models that allow both processes to thrive at once are likely to be more resilient. It’s also important that the government understands how to match particular models of land use with different environments, to support the most productive farmland while maximising the environmental benefits of using the land elsewhere. This concept should inform the development of the government’s scheme.</p>
<p>This would help create a situation in which UK agricultural policy takes the best from the old – such as the CAP’s format of subsidising farmers for particular outcomes – and combining it with the new – rearing livestock within the native ecology – to achieve a real shift in the way land and farming are managed. The future is bright and, indeed, green, if these ideas and incentives can be brought to fruition.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151311/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philippe B. Wilson is a member of the Defra Farm Animal Genetic Resources Committee, as well as Head of Conservation at the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Hall is Chairman of the Chillingham Wild Cattle Association (reg. charity no. 221071).</span></em></p>Alternative farming models, like wood pasture grazing, would allow the UK government to maintain food production while regenerating ecosystems.Philippe B. Wilson, Professor of Animal Science and Bioinformatics, and One Health Medical Technologies, Nottingham Trent UniversityStephen Hall, Emeritus Professor of Animal Science and Visiting Lecturer, Estonian University of Life Sciences, University of LincolnLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1414132020-07-01T13:13:41Z2020-07-01T13:13:41ZFive reasons environmentalists should oppose Britain’s agriculture bill<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345020/original/file-20200701-159803-nkplqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5472%2C3645&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/x5hFSPUT8uU">Rick Barrett/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>To many environmentalists, the new <a href="https://services.parliament.uk/bills/2019-21/agriculture.html">agriculture bill</a> for England and Wales seemed too good to be true. Instead of providing subsidies simply for owning and cultivating land, the bill – widely seen as a departure from previous farming governance under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy – promised “public money for public goods”. That meant farmers could expect state aid if they delivered things that everyone benefits from, but that the market doesn’t reward – such as clean air and water, biodiversity and access to beautiful landscapes. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, experience from the past 30 years of public goods-based agricultural policies in the UK and across the EU shows that rather than protecting or enhancing the environment, this approach only accelerates the race to the bottom for farming standards. Here’s why.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/agriculture-bill-heres-what-it-means-for-farming-and-the-environment-after-brexit-130091">Agriculture Bill: here's what it means for farming and the environment after Brexit</a>
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<h2>1. These payments are carrots, but we need sticks</h2>
<p>The public goods approach is based on landowners voluntarily providing environmental services in exchange for a subsidy. However, other subsidies are also on offer. The agriculture bill indicates that subsidies could be awarded for “improving productivity,” without necessarily providing public goods. </p>
<p>The most cost-effective way to increase productivity is often to rely on harmful <a href="https://www.pan-europe.info/old/Resources/Briefings/Pesticides_and_the_loss_of_biodiversity.pdf">pesticides</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/17/uk-has-nearly-800-livestock-mega-farms-investigation-reveals">intensive animal farming</a>, because these approaches reduce labour costs. These ecologically destructive practices would not only be permitted, but potentially rewarded in future policy. </p>
<p>Even <a href="https://www.fwi.co.uk/farm-life/agricultural-ancillary-careers-varied-exciting-satisfying">activities</a> such as running consultancies and farm auctions could be eligible for subsidies, so it really isn’t the case that farmers have to be producing public goods to receive public money.</p>
<p>On top of this, the most environmentally destructive farms do not need any public subsidies. <a href="https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2017-07-17/megafarms-uk-intensive-farming-meat">Megafarms</a>, which are among the most resource-intensive and polluting farms, tend to be profitable without any financial assistance – so for them, public goods subsidies are irrelevant. </p>
<p>Regulation is needed to prevent environmentally destructive practices. Instead of this stick, the public goods approach provides a carrot which not all farms will go for.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345029/original/file-20200701-159820-4uws2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345029/original/file-20200701-159820-4uws2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345029/original/file-20200701-159820-4uws2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345029/original/file-20200701-159820-4uws2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345029/original/file-20200701-159820-4uws2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345029/original/file-20200701-159820-4uws2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345029/original/file-20200701-159820-4uws2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Subsidies could still support intensive animal agriculture under the agriculture bill.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/farm-pigs-180973562">QiuJu Song/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. Unlikely to change farming practices</h2>
<p>Farmers or land managers do not necessarily need to be producing food to receive public goods subsidies. This might result in the creation of more wildflower meadows or rewilded areas in England and Wales, but it would leave the majority of food to be produced in environmentally destructive ways. </p>
<p>This is because it is likely that relatively less profitable farms would opt for rewilding, while more profitable but less ecologically sensitive farms, either at home or abroad, would pick up the shortfall in food production. </p>
<p>If we care about the environment, then we must consider our ecological footprint across the entire food system.</p>
<h2>3. Pockets of habitat don’t work for wildlife</h2>
<p>You may still think that it’s worth creating more wildflower meadows despite the flaws in our food system. While there are certainly benefits in conserving or rewilding some of the land, we now know that <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4124667?seq=1">our landscape is a mosaic of interlinked habitats</a>. </p>
<p>If parts of that mosaic are inhospitable to insects, birds and other wildlife, such as places where industrial farming practices continue, then these species will still suffer, even when habitats are created in other areas. This is because many of these creatures need to be able to migrate across entire landscapes.</p>
<p>Pesticides and pollutants such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/15/ammonia-emissions-rise-air-pollutants-fall-new-government-statistics">ammonia</a> contaminate both the <a href="https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/assets/documents/reports/aqeg/2800829_Agricultural_emissions_vfinal2.pdf">air</a> and <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/656/65605.htm">water</a> far beyond a farm’s borders, while also <a href="https://theconversation.com/nitrogen-fertilisers-are-incredibly-efficient-but-they-make-climate-change-a-lot-worse-127103">contributing to climate change</a>.</p>
<p>Trying to save wildlife on one patch of land while other areas are still dedicated to industrial agriculture simply doesn’t work for biodiversity.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345023/original/file-20200701-159828-102zlxj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345023/original/file-20200701-159828-102zlxj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345023/original/file-20200701-159828-102zlxj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345023/original/file-20200701-159828-102zlxj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345023/original/file-20200701-159828-102zlxj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345023/original/file-20200701-159828-102zlxj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345023/original/file-20200701-159828-102zlxj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Creating more wildflower meadows won’t offset the environmental impacts of industrial farming.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/UqJsmLA52Qc">Stephan Eickschen/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. Subsidies will go for low-hanging fruit</h2>
<p>The public goods approach isn’t new. The UK and EU have run agri-environmental schemes based on the public goods model since the 1990s. These have compensated farmers on the basis of “income foregone” – or the income gap between their normal business operations and those which produce public goods. </p>
<p>Because the income farmers forego when they make the switch is much greater for intensive producers operating on high-quality agricultural land, subsidies have, historically, targeted the less productive and more marginal producers (such as farms in the hills and uplands), because it is cheaper for the government. </p>
<p>This has left intensive, environmentally destructive farms untouched.</p>
<h2>5. No action on causes of unsustainable farming</h2>
<p>Farmers currently need to cut costs ruthlessly to remain competitive. Mechanisation, large-scale operations, monocropping and the use of chemicals are largely substitutes for more <a href="https://www.agricology.co.uk/matter-scale-report-published">labour-intensive ecological approaches</a>. </p>
<p>To address these competitive pressures, we need more radical changes, along the lines of land reform and trade regulation.</p>
<p><a href="https://viacampesina.org/en/struggle-for-agrarian-reform-and-social-changes-in-the-rural-areas/">Land reform</a> can ensure it isn’t competitiveness that enables someone to acquire or keep land, but rather the amount of societal benefit they can provide in the form of healthy food and ecosystems. This would be a genuine commitment to the public good.</p>
<p>Better trade rules are needed so that our farmers are not forced to compete with farmers operating with lower environmental or welfare standards elsewhere. Unfortunately, an amendment to the bill to this effect was <a href="https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/fight-goes-on-over-food-standards-say-farm-leaders">rejected</a>.</p>
<p>We know how to produce food in ecologically sound ways. Agricultural markets as they currently exist will not support this, and the public goods approach does nothing to address it. While the rhetoric sounds good, environmentalists must not fall for this red herring.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141413/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elise Wach is a co-founder of Frome Field to Fork, which produces ecological food on the outskirts of Frome, Somerset. She is also a Research Advisor at the Institute of Development Studies.
Previously, Elise has received funding from the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation and the New Field Foundation for research related to agroecological food systems in England. She has also participated in the International Social Science Council project on Transitions to Sustainability which included a component in England related to agroecology.
</span></em></p>Public money for public goods sounds great, but the reality could look very different.Elise Wach, Doctoral Researcher (CAWR), Research Advisor (Institute of Development Studies),, Coventry UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1300912020-01-17T12:29:59Z2020-01-17T12:29:59ZAgriculture Bill: here’s what it means for farming and the environment after Brexit<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310638/original/file-20200117-118311-10o6tnx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2112%2C2112&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ruth Little</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The UK’s new Agriculture Bill <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-51128709">has been called</a> “one of the most significant pieces of legislation for farmers in England for over 70 years”. It could directly affect <a href="https://www.nfuonline.com/unions-shared-ambition-for-uk-farming/">the livelihoods of 460,000 people</a> and determine the future of the <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/agricultural-land-percent-of-land-area-wb-data.html">70% of UK land area (17.4 million hectares)</a> currently under agricultural management. The bill sets out the UK’s approach to farming as it prepares to leave the European Union, replacing the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) that the UK has been part of since 1973.</p>
<p>At the bill’s core is a shift away from direct payments to farmers based upon the amount of agricultural land they manage. This was a feature of the CAP that was heavily criticised as it <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2017/05/26/britains-farmers-get-3bn-a-year-from-the-inefficient-cap-that-has-to-change/">pushed up land prices</a>, creating an entry barrier for younger farmers, and <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2016/09/29/common-agricultural-policy-millions-eu-subsidies-go-richest-landowners/">benefited large landowners disproportionately</a>. It also meant the farming of unproductive land that <a href="https://theconversation.com/rewild-25-of-the-uk-for-less-climate-change-more-wildlife-and-a-life-lived-closer-to-nature-123836">otherwise might have been turned into wildlife habitat</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-the-eu-common-agricultural-policy-56329">Explainer: what is the EU Common Agricultural Policy?</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Instead, landowners will in future be paid to produce “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/economics-econometrics-and-finance/public-goods">public goods</a>”. These are things that can benefit everyone but bring no financial reward to those who produce them, like clean air and water.</p>
<p>Over the next seven years, farmers will move from the CAP regulations to a new system of <a href="https://www.fwi.co.uk/business/payments-schemes/environmental-schemes/environmental-land-management-scheme-what-we-know-so-far">environmental land management contracts</a>. These will detail the terms and conditions under which farmers and land managers will receive funding. Subsidies are expected to be paid out from taxpayer funds at the same rate as the EU – about <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jan/16/food-security-brexit-biggest-shake-uk-farming-40-years-agriculture-bill">£3 billion</a> a year – to enable landowners to deliver the public goods set out in the UK government’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/25-year-environment-plan/25-year-environment-plan-our-targets-at-a-glance">25 Year Environment Plan</a> and the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/clean-growth-strategy/clean-growth-strategy-executive-summary">Clean Growth Strategy</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310630/original/file-20200117-118352-90t86n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310630/original/file-20200117-118352-90t86n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310630/original/file-20200117-118352-90t86n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310630/original/file-20200117-118352-90t86n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310630/original/file-20200117-118352-90t86n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310630/original/file-20200117-118352-90t86n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310630/original/file-20200117-118352-90t86n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Under the new bill, farmers will be paid to guarantee environmental benefits like clean water and wildlife habitat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/water-vole-uk-153154658">Ian Schofield/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Achieving these goals will seem rather daunting though. They include clean air and plentiful, clean water, but also thriving wildlife, reduced risk from environmental hazards such as flooding and drought, raising animal welfare standards and enhanced beauty, heritage and opportunities to engage with the natural environment.</p>
<p>One of the big priorities of the bill is soil. Erosion rates from ploughed fields are <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/nr/soil-loss-climate-change-food-security-sheffield-university-1.530115">between ten and 100 times greater than rates of soil formation</a>. As a result, the UK faces <a href="https://theconversation.com/soil-is-our-best-ally-in-the-fight-against-climate-change-but-were-fast-running-out-of-it-128166">a crisis of food security</a> within our lifetimes. The government will reward farmers who protect and improve soil quality with measures like <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/13/uk-farmers-to-be-given-first-ever-targets-on-soil-health">crop rotation</a>, and give ministers new powers to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jan/16/food-security-brexit-biggest-shake-uk-farming-40-years-agriculture-bill">regulate fertiliser use and organic farming</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/soil-is-our-best-ally-in-the-fight-against-climate-change-but-were-fast-running-out-of-it-128166">Soil is our best ally in the fight against climate change – but we're fast running out of it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Building buy-in from farmers</h2>
<p>Alongside the Agriculture Bill is the new <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-introduces-ground-breaking-environment-bill">Environment Bill</a>, which will enshrine environmental principles in UK law after Brexit. The UK will lose access to EU bodies that monitor and enforce environmental laws, so the <a href="https://www.clientearth.org/why-the-uk-environment-bill-matters/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI647B7deI5wIVyLHtCh1gNAbKEAAYASAAEgKRWvD_BwE">new Environment Bill is essential</a> for maintaining standards. With the EU watchdog gone, setting up a new independent Office for Environmental Protection has been proposed, but <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-50044870">it’s unclear</a> how effective it will be in imposing the heavy fines necessary to enforce standards.</p>
<p>Farmers often feel isolated from the powers of government and daunted by the task of delivering both agricultural productivity and environmental enhancements. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has at least committed to designing the new contracts <a href="https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Early-review-of-the-new-farming-programme.pdf">in close collaboration</a> with farmers and land managers.</p>
<p>Finding ways to engage those who will be most affected by the changes will be important for ensuring the policy works on the ground. Landscape-scale solutions to decarbonising agriculture and averting the climate crisis <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-crisis-the-countryside-could-be-our-greatest-ally-if-we-can-reform-farming-126304">will require huge changes</a>. They won’t be possible without popular support.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310639/original/file-20200117-118337-17h1oxt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310639/original/file-20200117-118337-17h1oxt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310639/original/file-20200117-118337-17h1oxt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310639/original/file-20200117-118337-17h1oxt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310639/original/file-20200117-118337-17h1oxt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310639/original/file-20200117-118337-17h1oxt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310639/original/file-20200117-118337-17h1oxt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The way entire landscapes are managed in the UK will have to change to tackle the climate crisis.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ruth Little</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-crisis-the-countryside-could-be-our-greatest-ally-if-we-can-reform-farming-126304">Climate crisis: the countryside could be our greatest ally – if we can reform farming</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But the bill still lacks crucial detail. There are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/13/uk-farmers-to-be-given-first-ever-targets-on-soil-health">no firm commitments</a> to protect British farmers from cheap, low-standard foreign imports, which is particularly important as the government seeks to negotiate trade deals with countries whose standards are lower than Britain’s.</p>
<p>Building a post-Brexit food and farming system that protects the environment won’t be easy. There are exciting opportunities embedded in this bill. But restoring land to health and guaranteeing food supplies will need proper engagement with those who will be affected and a solid scientific bedrock on which to build the government’s ambitious – but underdeveloped – plans.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130091/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Judith Tsouvalis receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ruth Little receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council.
Ruth Little has previously been in receipt of funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. </span></em></p>Sweeping changes are in store for British farming, but they’re not guaranteed to benefit struggling ecosystems.Judith Tsouvalis, Research Fellow in Geography, University of SheffieldRuth Little, Lecturer in Human Geography, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1040192018-10-05T12:03:36Z2018-10-05T12:03:36ZRise of the ‘megafarms’: how UK agriculture is being sold off and consolidated<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239154/original/file-20181003-52695-jtryz9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C22%2C1751%2C928&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">JMAV / shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you were to visit the English countryside 15 years ago, you would have found <a href="http://www.princescountrysidefund.org.uk/downloads/research/is-there-a-future-for-the-small-family-farm-in-the-uk-report.pdf">nine times as many small farms</a> as you do today – and twice as many different farms in general. </p>
<p>For years, farmers across the UK have received subsidies on a per-hectare basis without any requirement to use that land to actually produce food as part of the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural-policy/cap-glance_en">European Common Agricultural Policy</a>. This means that wealthy owners of large estates have been given large sums of taxpayer money simply for owning land, without necessarily farming it. It’s a system that has long been criticised – and rightly so.</p>
<p>With Brexit looming, the UK government’s Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (Defra) has recently introduced an <a href="https://services.parliament.uk/bills/2017-19/agriculture.html">Agriculture Bill</a> and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-future-for-food-farming-and-the-environment-policy-statement-2018/health-and-harmony-the-future-for-food-farming-and-the-environment-in-a-green-brexit-policy-statement">draft policies</a>. It proposes paying landowners for delivering environmental benefits such as improved air quality or habitats for wildlife, an approach that has been understandably <a href="https://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/business-government/government/need-for-public-money-for-public-goods/">praised by environmental groups</a>. </p>
<p>But, while this all sounds rather green, there is little evidence that the government will support, let alone require, farms to integrate ecology with food production. It appears that landowners will receive support for either increasing productivity, or improving the environment – but not necessarily both at the same time. This either-or approach could usher in a new era of environmentally destructive “megafarms”.</p>
<h2>March of the megafarms</h2>
<p>There has been a rapid increase in the number of these farms in recent years – for both animals and crops. Britain’s first intensive poultry farm was approved in 2003 – and there are now <a href="https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2017-07-17/megafarms-uk-intensive-farming-meat">more than 1,400 permits</a> for these operations, the largest of which can “process” <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/18/rise-of-mega-farms-how-the-us-model-of-intensive-farming-is-invading-the-world">more than a million chickens</a> per week. Similarly, the number of <a href="http://www.valefresco.com/">high-intensity horticulture</a> operations is increasing, with <a href="https://www.hortweek.com/five-21-new-agri-tech-catalyst-projects-fresh-produce-angle/fresh-produce/article/1370506">government grants</a> supporting efforts to produce vegetables without soil.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1048163586298843136"}"></div></p>
<p>Megafarms have been responsible for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/21/serious-farm-pollution-breaches-increase-many-go-unprosecuted">pollution to rivers and waterways</a>. Animals are often fed with imported corn and soya, the majority of which is genetically modified to withstand high doses of the controversial herbicide <a href="https://theconversation.com/jury-finds-monsanto-liable-in-the-first-roundup-cancer-trial-heres-what-could-happen-next-101433">glyphosate</a>. Industrial-scale horticulture operations tend to rely on imported minerals for plant feed, use significant amounts of energy for heating and produce a low diversity of crops.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/03/08/0905455107">Research shows</a> that conservation areas cannot make up for the environmental damage of intensive farms. Even if megafarms were interspersed within vast landscapes of parks and woodlands, it still wouldn’t help.</p>
<p>But given the government’s intention to improve the environment, why would this happen?</p>
<h2>Will land be for farming or for investment?</h2>
<p>As area-based payments are phased out, Defra expects that many farmers will leave the sector. The assumption is that as farmers exit, land will be freed up for new entrants. But across the UK farm land is now seen as a safe shelter for wealth – recommended by <a href="https://www.savills.co.uk/research_articles/229130/199495-0">estate agents</a> as a “tax-efficient” investment. This contributes to the high and rising cost of land, arguably more than land-based subsidies.</p>
<p>Without addressing this, it is likely that, as farmers leave, land will be bought by investors and by large farm businesses, continuing the <a href="https://whoownsengland.org/2017/09/19/why-is-james-dyson-hoovering-up-land/">current trend of consolidation</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/sep/22/english-farmland-prices-double-in-five-years">rising farmland prices</a>. Young farmers and other new entrants might be desperately needed to reverse the UK’s declining farming population, but they will continue to struggle to get hold of land.</p>
<h2>Hard to eat by selling food</h2>
<p>One of the main reasons why megafarms have become popular and <a href="https://www.cpre.org.uk/media-centre/latest-news-releases/item/4648-smaller-farms-heading-towards-a-cliff-edge">smaller farms have gone under</a> is because farms only receive a small fraction of the retail value of food. Combined with low agricultural commodity prices, it is nearly impossible for farmers to earn a living from the food they produce.</p>
<p>The Agriculture Bill does propose some new powers to collect data about the supply chain, a move which should mean more transparency but which is unlikely to result in farmers receiving significantly more money. If landowners are paid for protecting the environment, but receive little for food production, there is a good chance that farm land will be used for conservation, not farming.</p>
<p>Until the UK can restructure its supply chains, it needs to keep supporting farmers to produce food. The alternative is for the country to increase its already high reliance on imports – but research has shown this <a href="http://foodresearch.org.uk/publications/feeding-britain-food-security-after-brexit/">could undermine food security and safety</a>.</p>
<h2>High tech… low diversity?</h2>
<p>To improve productivity, Defra has emphasised automation, drones and “precision farming” in its <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/684003/future-farming-environment-consult-document.pdf">consultation paper</a>. Yet these technologies favour uniformity and are best suited to high-intensity, large-scale farms that focus on producing one or two foods and use lots of resources.</p>
<p>Low-tech practices such as growing different crops in the same space (<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279954210_Managing_Polycropping_to_Enhance_Soil_System">poly-cropping</a>) or <a href="https://www.soilassociation.org/our-campaigns/agroforestry/">agroforestry</a> can increase yields of <a href="http://twn.my/title2/susagri/2018/sa714.htm">diverse foods</a> and regenerate soil, all while <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7206194_Resource-Conserving_Agriculture_Increases_Yields_in_Developing_Countries">minimising harmful inputs</a>. This could help support existing farms which have struggled with long-term <a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/CCC-Written-Submission-to-Environmental-Audit-Committee-Inquiry-into-Soil-Health.pdf">soil deterioration</a> and feel “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/4840284_Why_Farmers_Continue_to_Use_Pesticides_Despite_Environmental_Health_and_Sustainability_Costs">locked-in</a>” to using certain agro-chemicals. But these approaches are knowledge-intensive and take time to implement. Without support for them it is likely that farmers will continue to either leave the business or intensify.</p>
<p>The shift towards megafarms is not inevitable or necessary. Defra has included some measures to support ecological and human-scale farming, such as a nod towards reducing pesticide use, and a support for <a href="https://whoownsengland.org/2018/06/08/how-the-extent-of-county-farms-has-halved-in-40-years/">County Farms</a> which can help new entrants. However, much more is needed to ensure that farming and the environment are truly integrated.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104019/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elise Wach has received funding from Coventry University, the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation and the New Field Foundation to research agroecology. </span></em></p>The proposed Agriculture Bill may only speed up the process.Elise Wach, Doctoral Researcher (CAWR), Research Advisor (Institute of Development Studies), Coventry UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.