The Source

Professor Pete Smith emphasised that soil carbon has the potential to act as a headline indicator of soil health, with strong links to productivity, resilience, ecosystem services, and broader sustainability goals. Yet this potential depends on robust, integrated, harmonised and credible MRV systems to track changes in soil carbon and meaningfully assess soil health. In this sense, soil carbon underpins soil health – but only careful measurement can unlock its full value.

This work highlights that there are still many data gaps that exist around the environmental impacts of cultivated meat. Specifically, modelling of growth factor production at suitable scale for a cultivated meat industry, the impact of cell line production and storage, production of scaffold materials, and downstream processes after removal from bioreactors are required to accurately assess the impacts of cultivated meat production

Stakeholders’ perceptions of climate change point to future challenges for the adaptation of grain legumes.

Are 3-year farming agreements fit for purpose in 2026? Drawing on both his practical experience and insights from AF Members, AF Chief Agricultural Officer John Barrett considers whether these arrangements still serve the needs of modern farming, or whether the status quo must be challenged to support long-term viability and profitability across the rural landscape.

Interest in PAW is growing in the UK and internationally as farmers look for sustainable tools that support plant health, reduce reliance on imported fertiliser, and improve resilience. Research indicates PAW can enhance seed germination, root growth, disease suppression, and nutrient availability.

New genomic techniques have the potential to change the world of crop-growing. So, what are they? Why has European regulation delayed their use and how can they help tillage farmers? In this article, Ewen Mullins, head of crop science at Teagasc, answers some of these questions.

Across novel and alternative protein crops, a common set of barriers continues to constrain their ability to displace established feed ingredients like soya meal. High establishment costs and agronomic risk can deter growers, while harvesting is often more complex or less mechanised. Many crops face a lack of local processing infrastructure, limiting their suitability for compound feed manufacture and reducing market confidence. From a nutritional perspective, challenges around amino acid balance, nutrient density, and the proportion of digestible undegradable protein (DUP).

The NCS project is a new farmer-led research programme, involving 17 industry and research partners and over 200 farmers. PulsePEP is the farmer-led community for the NCS Project. It’s free for all to join and offers farmers the opportunity of support to carbon-baseline their farm. The aims of this project will be steered by science and proven by real farm enterprises, with significant benefits for both crop and livestock productivity, including cost savings of over £1bn/year. These aims include reducing carbon emissions and imported soya meal by increasing pulses in arable rotations. Here are reports on some of their projec

A report by The Andersons Centre published on 29 January, commissioned by CropLife UK, shows that a badly negotiated new Sanitary & Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement with the EU could wipe out 10% of farm income, reducing UK food production across key staples such as wheat and potatoes, and fresh produce including apples, berries and leafy greens.

A dissertation submitted to De Montfort University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of LLM in Environmental Law by Andrew Brown

Apply too little and crops won’t reach their potential. Apply too much and fertiliser, slurry and other organic materials are wasted, costs rise, and the risk of nutrients running into rivers and streams increases.

In the summer of 2025, CRPR, University of Exeter conducted a survey investigating the health and wellbeing of women in farming across England and Wales. Over 2,000 women, across a range of ages, farm types and farm sizes and with a variety of roles on the farm, took the time to complete the questionnaire. Here we highlight the key messages emerging from our findings.