United Kingdom
May, 2008
Source:
Home-Grown
Cereals Authority (HGCA)
Despite more than half of cereal
growers already reporting they are affected by climate change,
they have the most positive outlook of all farming sectors and
are predicting the most opportunities from climate change.
A new survey by Farming Futures found that 35% of cereal growers
predicted more business opportunities for their sector as a
result of the changing climate.
Changing cropping practices, improving fertiliser application,
on-farm water management and growing different crops are all
ways in which cereal growers are taking action to reduce costs
and their contribution to climate change.
More survey results are available on the new Farming Futures
website, which will help farmers, land managers and their
advisors with practical ideas to make their businesses more
resilient to the impacts of climate change.
Farming Futures provides inspiration and information via fact
sheets on every farming sector and topical issues such as
anaerobic digestion, water and biomass which can be downloaded
from www.farmingfutures.org.uk. Farmers can watch videos, read
case studies of best practice and sign up for free events
throughout the year. The events will provide ideas on how to
adapt to and reduce the impacts of climate change now, whilst
reducing cost and risk in the future. Farmers can also join
online discussions on the Farming Futures Facebook page .
Katie Zabel, Farming Futures project manager said: “The survey
results show that English farmers are already affected by
climate change and they are starting to take action to both
adapt their businesses, and reduce their own impacts.
“Climate change will affect us all, so for farmers and land
managers to continue running successful, sustainable businesses
in future, they need to think about on-farm adaptation and
mitigation action. English farmers and land managers really are
part of the solution to climate change. That’s why we’re
inviting them to a series of on-farm workshops throughout the
year, and have produced fact sheets and case studies on
www.farmingfutures.org.uk. Taking action now can help reduce
costs and risks in the future.”
Farming Futures is an industry-led collaboration project between
the NFU, CLA, AIC, AHRF, Forum for the Future and Defra to
communicate practical action on climate change. |
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