The Source

Mass grant funding for field drainage dried up in the 1980s. Even well-maintained drains installed then will now be creaking and groaning, especially when extreme wet weather hits.

There are greater challenges in UK farming than for any of the 60 years the Nix Farm Management Pocketbook has been recording farm performance, despite good profits in some sectors.

Environmental schemes can look fairly straightforward when they are announced. There is an aim, a payment, some guidance and a set of actions.

At times of low commodities prices, cost control is, of course, a really important area and should be seen as a cultural way to approach farming, rather than reacting to low prices by trying to slash costs.

Although climate change is already having a negative impact on crops, declines in yields have so far been offset by technological advances in agriculture. For field crops that do not rely on pollinators, however, this trend appears to be reversing.

Padel is the diversification enquiry of the moment. The demand is real, the planning routes are better than most landowners expect, and the capital requirement is modest next to almost anything else you could build on a farmyard.

While cropping system diversifcation has strong potential to reduce climate risks to crop yields at a time when such risks are rapidly increasing, resilience of agricultural production is only part of what makes for resilient agricultural communities and food systems. Diversifying processes across multiple dimensions of agri-food systems will be needed to build adaptive capacity to climate change.

Genetic components of body condition score and locomotion in Holstein-Friesian dairy cows

What makes some farmers early adopters, and why being curious, well informed, and willing to test new ideas can be a competitive advantage.

As understanding of nature‑based approaches deepens — from green social prescribing to broader outdoor interventions — new data and evaluations are helping to clarify what works and why. What are nature-based interventions, and why do they matter now for rural communities?

IPM sits at the heart of Niab’s science-led approach, linking better crops, better farming systems and better data to support resilient, profitable crop protection under real farm conditions. This 2026 poster outlines some of the work being carried out.

The figures for our model combinable crop business, Loam Farm, have been updated following the 2026 harvest. Financial results are poor for the third year in a row.