We don’t just want nature-friendly farming. We need nature-friendly farming

Nature gives us the very things we need to grow our food - healthy soils, clean water and a rich diversity of life. It can also reduce carbon emissions and help deal with the impacts of extreme weather caused by climate change, such as flooding and drought. To make sure we can grow the food we need in the future, we must value the part nature plays and put it at the heart of the way we farm.  

The UK is 70% farmland and over the centuries so much of our wildlife has adapted to live here. But government policies have driven unsustainable farming methods which are now one of the biggest causes of wildlife decline. If you look at farmland birds, the 2022 Farmland Bird index shows us that the abundance of 19 key bird species has fallen dramatically since the 1970s, tumbling on average by 60%. This includes sharp declines in Corn Buntings, Starlings, Grey Partridge and Turtle Doves.  

The UK and devolved governments have made promises to protect and restore our wildlife and wild places by 2030. Achieving this would be a huge moment for many of our birds, our bees, and, our wildflowers. But with farmland covering so much of the UK, the only way we can see wildlife return is by investing in nature-friendly farming.  
 

By valuing the vital part nature plays in our food production and our food security, nature-friendly farming makes farming as a business more resilient and profitable in the long term. It can keep our soils and water healthier and increase natural pest controls and pollinators such as bees, on which much of our food relies.  

We know the UK Government is faced with many difficult financial challenges. But if we don’t invest in nature now, it’ll hit our economy and food production much harder in the future.  

Many incredible farmers and crofters are already showing you can farm productively and profitably and make space for nature. We’re working with some of them across varied and diverse landscapes such as Hope Farm in Cambridgeshire, the crofts of the Western Isles of Scotland, the Antrim Hills of Northern Ireland and Lake Vyrnwy in the uplands of Wales. 
But to do this on the scale needed, new independent research says the UK Government must increase investment in agriculture for nature-friendly farming to £5.9 billion a year. This should be divided between the four UK countries based on their need, and specifically earmarked for nature-friendly farming.   

If this happens, it could go a long way towards creating more resilient food production and play a major part in us hitting our nature and climate targets. It could see the beginnings of a revival for so much of our farmland wildlife as the results show nature-friendly farming really works. New research by Natural England says butterflies, bees and bats have all increased in areas where farmers have taken part in nature-friendly government schemes.  Just imagine the difference it could make if the UK Government provides the investment now to support farmers and bring our wildlife back all around the UK.