How councils can help farmers reach net zero

Rural drivers travel, on average, more than 50% further than their urban counterparts, and this increased reliance on cars leaves rural areas vulnerable as petrol and diesel cars are phased out over the coming decade. Government support for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure needs specifically to be targeted at rural economies to sustain businesses and support tourism. But farmers can provide opportunities to host infrastructure at farm shops or on the edge of villages.

Fuel use accounts for around 11% of total agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, according to DEFRA statistics from 2019. In the longer term, electrification of agricultural machinery will reduce emissions; but in the meantime there is a continued role for biofuel blends such as E10 ethanol and B20 biodiesel.

If farmers are to support this endeavour, they will need help from local authorities with capital investment in technology and infrastructure. Local industrial strategies administered through LEPs must be appropriate for rural areas, giving small and micro businesses access to investment in new technology and new facilities for herd health monitoring, slurry management and nutrient management, as well as mid-career business training.

Creating regional and local partnerships can also support investment in agricultural technology and clean technology such as EVs and charging points, digital facilities such as data collection, soil testing, mapping, and scaling up and supporting knowledge-based and circular economy business models.

But there are also 565,000ha of tree cover in England outside woodlands, and its value is often overlooked in policy. This contributes significantly to carbon sequestration, biodiversity and landscape character, and offers a way for farmers to plant and manage trees that work for their existing business.

Around 40% of existing woodland is not actively managed at present, so this should be encouraged as a priority by making funding more accessible. The Big Farm Tree Planting is a regional project being run by the NFU with the Woodland Trust, which has provided 5,000 trees free of charge to 500 of our members.

Planting needs specialist advice, though, because the right tree in the right place can benefit water quantity and quality, biodiversity, productivity and carbon storage. Domestic production can be encouraged by sourcing British-grown saplings, while new markets can also be promoted for local timber and wood fuel.

But conversion to woods is currently treated as irreversible land-use change, which presents challenges for farmers in terms of contracts, payments and taxation. It may also be difficult for tenant farmers to make long-term changes, or for others who are unable to tie up their assets when the future is so uncertain, thanks to Brexit and climate change for instance.

As farmers have become more efficient, GHG emissions from arable production have been considerably reduced over the past 20 years, as DEFRA reported in 2017. However, they remain significant as a result of soil processes and fertiliser use. UK soils store around 10bn tonnes of carbon, equivalent to 80 years of annual UK GHG emissions, according to the Environment Agency.

Worldwide, soils store three times as much carbon as the atmosphere, and with 70% of land area in England used for farming, farmers recognise that healthy soils increase crop yields, reduce emissions and are more resilient to climate change. They prioritise soil protection and management through crop rotation, making informed choices about cultivation, and trialling minimum tillage techniques.

Further investment in soil science is nonetheless needed, to explore issues such as soil health, crop varieties and plant breeding. Collecting reliable and robust data using new technologies such as drones, satellite imagery and DNA sequencing can help.

Farms could also set aside and manage less productive areas of land for carbon storage. Private capital investment may become available for carbon credits and offsetting. Economic activity such as tourism, business, and residential development in each local authority area will also need to find ways to manage carbon.

Farmers and growers are particularly well placed to help, given they have the land to host or generate renewable energy. About 40% of farmers already have some form of renewable energy production on site, and it is estimated that they own or host more than half the UK's solar power and anaerobic digestion, which generates biofuel or biogas from farm waste and bioenergy crops, as well as most onshore wind power. There's clearly an appetite among farmers to diversify into new income streams from solar and wind, heat and electricity from biomass, anaerobic digestion, and bioenergy crops.

Local authorities can support farms by putting in place policy to promote the necessary infrastructure: planning can be challenging for those wanting to install renewables on their farms, and a transparent system must be accessible to all farmers and growers. Authorities can also help to fast-track grid connection capacity by funding the necessary reinforcement of existing power networks, and supporting knowledge exchange.

Another way that local authorities can help is to promote the market for bio-based products; it is growing, but there needs to be significant scale-up to encourage new supply chains and give farmers the confidence to invest. These products – which include hemp fibre, miscanthus, and wood chip and wool for housing insulation and carpet manufacture – can lock up carbon in long-term stores and contribute to the circular economy.

More could also be made of the potential for farms to contribute to district heating network systems for new residential and business developments in rural areas, as in EU countries such as Austria. Local authorities should offer farmers and landowners opportunities to provide heat network services or fuel feedstocks as a planning condition for new housing development.

Most farmers tend to develop an understanding of new ideas from their friends, family, peers, trusted advisers and any clusters or groups with which they are involved. They also attend agricultural events to learn about new technology and new opportunities. Some of the ways that local authorities can help them, therefore, include holding and supporting farmer-focused events where they can share knowledge and gain local support for new technologies and ways of working, as well as funding and promoting local demonstration sites and initiatives.

Stuart Roberts says: 'Local authorities and farmers have a shared goal – to tackle climate change. By working together, we can continue to build a more productive, profitable and sustainable agriculture sector and in turn accelerate our national transition to a net-zero economy.'