Supercharging low carbon practices to deliver food and energy security urged at the Low Carbon Agriculture show

• The importance of renewable energy and robust food security has increased since the Ukraine war has triggered even sharper rises in energy prices and food supply fears, said speakers at Low Carbon Agriculture Show on 8 and 9 March, in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire

Farming policy should address these concerns, according to Jonathan Scurlock from the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), speaking in the keynote session. “There are three big policy drivers; Energy security, climate change, and food security.”

Speaking in the same session, Minister for farming, fisheries and food at Defra, Victoria Prentis said that the world has changed over the last few weeks and agriculture has gone even higher up the agenda, stating that schemes at all levels will encourage low carbon practices on farms.

Nina Skorupska, chief executive at the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA), said that renewable energy is key to energy security and farmers sit in this green picture. “If we accelerate UK renewable energy, we could create over 238,000 jobs in renewable and clean tech by 2030. Flexibility is the key to security.”

Lee Waters, deputy Minister for climate change, from the Welsh Government, spoke about working together to reach net zero. “We know farming can deal with change and the choice is ours – do we act?

“Spending less on fertiliser and using fewer chemicals is a no-brainer and means we will spend less money and have less environmental impact,” said Lee.

Conference sessions underlined the need to produce as much sustainable food as we can in the UK, without diminishing natural capital, with profound changes to farming practices needed. “For the first time there might be a business case for producing food in harmony with nature,” said Patrick Holden, founding director at the Sustainable Food Trust.

With sessions on soil health, carbon farming, mitigating climate change in agriculture, and all renewable energy types, the message to farmers was clear – know your baseline. Richard Bramley, chair of NFU Environment Forum, said “Regenerative farming is a long journey, but you need to start somewhere. Identifying the items for you to address is key.”

Gavin Lane, CLA vice president, echoed this point in the debate on ‘Reaching Net Zero in Farming,’ chaired by Tom Heap. “Determining a baseline is crucial to highlighting areas we can do something about.

“We’ve got to work out how we reduce our artificial fertiliser requirements,” said Gavin.

The next Low Carbon Agriculture show will take place on 7 and 8 February at the National Agriculture and Exhibition Centre (NAEC), Stoneleigh, Warwickshire.

Visit the website for more information www.lowcarbonagricultureshow.co.uk