26 April 2024

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) committee has written to Steve Barclay, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, outlining their key questions following the publication of their inquiry into soil health at the end of 2023. The letter’s immediate queries centre around soil monitoring, soil health targets, regulation and Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMs).

Scotland has abandoned it flagship climate policy after a report showed that reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030 was unachievable. Announced by Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy, Mairi McAllan, the 2030 reduction target is being ditched, however the longer term ambition of reaching net-zero by 2045 remains in place.

The Green Finance Institute has published a report which warns that nature destruction could cause an economic slump bigger than the 2008 financial crash and COVID pandemic. It suggests that rising pollution, soil erosion and damage to water systems could reduce GDP by 12%, caused by both domestic and international risks.

The Guardian has reported that the majority of dairy farms in the UK are breaking water pollution rules. Figures from the four national environmental monitoring agencies show that up to 80% of inspected farms were in breach of environmental regulation, contributing to river pollution. In response, charity River Action have called for processors to pay incentives for dairy farmers who produce milk responsibly.

The Head of Associated British Foods, owner of the UK’s biggest bread makers, has warned that food price rises due to record rainfall are possible. Flooding has meant that farmers have been unable to plant key crops during spring, which will result in smaller harvests later in the year and mean the UK will be more reliant on costly imports.

A German environmental charity, Nature and Biodiversity Conversation Union, is donating over €1 million to re-wet English peatlands. The money will help restore over 900 acres of degraded peatlands on 5 sites in the north of England, and is being spend in England due to a lack of suitable sites in Germany where pressure on land use means nearly all drained peatlands are used for food production.

Managers at the UK’s largest urban rewilding project are turning attention to biodiversity in the soil to speed up the process of rewilding. The site was previously an intensively managed golf course, and the Community Parks Officer leading the project believes that the chemicals used in the past have impacted soil health and are slowing the rewilding process.

CEO of the Nature Friendly Farming Network Martin Lines has written that nature, more than technological advancement, holds the answers to a more resilient future of farming. He questions who truly benefits from this investment, especially as new technologies often come with license fees and royalties. He argues for researchers to work with farmers to understand how nature and improved soil health can improve resilience.