01 November

The UK’s Labour Government’s Budget has revealed a freeze on the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) budget - a cut in real terms. Coupled with a cap on Agricultural Property Relief and a rise in the National Living Wage, the National Farmers Union (NFU) have raised concerns that this may lead to a rise in food prices due to increased production costs. However, Rachel Reeves’ maintenance of the £2.4 billion nature-friendly farming budget came as a relief to some who were expecting slashes.

 As the UN Biodiversity COP16 on Biodiversity draws to a close, reports have indicated that Defra’s farming subsidy reforms and nature-friendly farming policies have been described as ‘world leading’. For more information on soil’s role in biodiversity, check out our infographic series on X and LinkedIn.

Experts at COP15 in 2022 agreed that over $700bn a year will need to be invested globally to restore nature, but representatives at COP16 have yet to agree on where those funds will come from. On Monday, dubbed “finance day”, eight countries including the UK announced $163m in new pledges.

NFU Scotland have called for a change to the regulations and policies on supermarket food labelling following a consumer survey. The survey found retailer labelling to be confusing and misleading, with NFU Scotland calling on all governments to act to help consumers make more informed decisions.

A European initiative aiming to revolutionise soil health monitoring has been officially launched. The WHEATWATCHER project, funded by the EU Horizon Europe, will implement innovative soil monitoring technologies and deploy predictive models to enable inform farmers in soil practice decision making.

Data from thousands of soil samples gathered by NRM confirms that land management practices have a significant impact on soil organic matter (SOM). Less intensive farming practices tend to improve SOM levels over time due to lower soil disturbance, providing a variety of benefits to soil health and function.

Researchers analysing investments from UK government have shown that more than £116m of UK taxpayers’ money has been used to fund harmful agricultural practices abroad in the past five years. Offshoring factory farming is a threat to promoting the uptake of nature-friendly farming globally.

New research has indicated the importance of high-quality climate and sustainability education in tackling climate disengagement and despair amongst students. This includes education around soil, agriculture, and food to reconnect young people with nature and with our food systems.