The Source

The Review provides a portfolio of Niab’s current and recently completed fruit research projects, providing short summaries of the results and key findings for the industry.

A farm’s new riparian woodland shows how targeted tree planting can deliver major water and climate benefits.

“Our findings indicate that in-field flower strips or derived legume-based intercropping systems can help reduce reliance on pesticide use in agriculture.”

The position that farming holds in the public consciousness can have the power to make or break a sector. Rarely is the whole of agriculture under threat at once but most of us have seen the industry suffer body blows when it comes to the rise and fall of public opinion. 

The Scottish Government has published its ‘Rural Support Plan’ (RSP) for 2026-2030.

In essence, removing grazers set off a chain reaction: grasses were replaced by shrubs, which in turn changed the soil’s microbial and chemical environment in a way that favoured the breakdown of the most valuable, long-lasting form of soil carbon.

This study strengthens the case that prescribed burning and carefully executed cutting both have roles in maintaining healthy, functioning peatlands. Both methods help shift vegetation towards species typical of active bog, support biodiversity, and reduce long‑term risks such as wildfire and heather senescence

Result-based payments with collective contracts motivate higher conservation efforts in our experiment when external risks are high. Further, high risks appear to foster group cooperation under collective contracts, potentially leading to more equitable and predictable outcomes.

This interim report summarises the results of historic data analysis and literature reviews on a) The state of play of pulse cropping in the UK and potential changes to crop rotations to increase pulse share, and b) The impact of pulses on N residue, N fertiliser requirement of following crop and following crop yield compared to other pre-crop

Global oil disruptions, storms, heatwaves, cyber incidents and public health emergencies have all sharpened the UK’s focus on how well we prepare for, withstand and respond to disruption. These events show how quickly impacts can cascade across systems and how much communities, businesses and public bodies depend on each other when things go wrong. Against this backdrop, understanding the UK’s approach to emergency planning – and how preparedness plays out in rural communities – has never been more important. Jessica Sellick investigates.  

Forage production (whether grazed or conserved) is an essential cornerstone of any dairy business. Climate change is inevitable, and for many UK farms this will mean more extreme weather, with warmer, wetter winters and hotter, dryer summers. This challenges the de-facto methods of forage production in the UK dairy industry; namely perennial ryegrass leys supplemented with maize/whole crop cereals.

This tool was developed by ADAS and funded by Defra as part of the NCS project, which aims to increase the UK pulse cropping area to 20%, or 1 in 5 years of arable rotations.