22 November

The EU has passed a regulation which establishes an official certification framework for carbon removal. This regulation includes farming which increases CO2 sequestration in soils or which tackles soil-based greenhouse gas emissions, providing routes to EU-level certification for nature-friendly farmers.

In England, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has launched an investigation into the government’s Statutory Guidance on applying the farming rules for water – which aim to reduce water pollution from agriculture through land input regulation. The OEP believe that the Statutory Guidance may be unlawful.

Tuesday marked Food, Water and Agriculture Day at COP29 in Baku. Delegates discussed the reduction of emissions from agriculture and waste, focusing largely on methane within the agricultural system. Soil has been largely omitted from discussions despite its inextricable link to food, water, and agriculture.

Thousands of farmers have gathered in London to protest the changes to the Agricultural Property Relief tax announced in the Autumn Budget 2024, stating that inheritance tax breaks provide a vital buffer against marginal farm incomes across generation. These protests follow a recent Defra report showing that average farmer income dropped by 23% in 2023 due to extreme weather and government subsidy cuts.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), has published guidance on how to communicate regenerative farming initiatives for landowners and land managers. The objective of the guideline is to improve consumer understanding, awareness, and confidence in the term ‘regenerative agriculture’.

Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) – the UK agri-supply industry’s trade body – has published the Powering Productivity Report, an action plan for improving British food system resilience. The report focuses improving data use, circular innovation, and market access for more efficient agri-supply chains.

Research from the Organic Research Centre has shown that 64% of shoppers have identified the price of organic food as the principal barrier to buying organic. Non-organic produce fails to internalise the costs to soil health associated with intensive production, resulting in higher costs for organic fruit and vegetables.