Election 2024: Fund wildlife-friendly farming

Fund wildlife-friendly farming

To support a just transition for farmers, we’re calling on the new government to increase the budget for wildlife-friendly farming, halve pesticide use and help farmers adapt to climate change.

By supporting farmers to shift towards regenerative, nature-friendly methods, farming has huge potential to deliver a green rural renewal. Farming is too often unsustainable, but with management of over 70% of UK land, farmers should be a significant part of the solution.

The destruction of nature and the impacts of climate change are the biggest threats to food security in the UK. Food production relies on healthy soils, clean water, and resilience to climate change. But farming is one of the main causes of wildlife declines, as well as the leading cause of river pollution in England. Restoring nature on farms will bring many benefits, not just for wildlife but also for farmers. Working with nature can increase farm profits and resilience, reduce costs, and maintain or even improve yields.

Many farmers and land managers have gone to great lengths to support wildlife without being adequately rewarded. The real terms value of the budget for environmental farming has already fallen by a third since 2010. Not investing properly means everyone loses.

What are we doing?

Industrial agriculture has caused huge damage to UK wildlife by replacing mixed habitat with vast monoculture crops, killing animals with pesticides and leaking fertilisers into natural environments. BBOWT works with farmers across the three counties who prove that wildlife-friendly farming is possible and profitable.

Read about our £46,000 project to demonstrate how farming can be more wildlife-friendly.

What you can do

Click here for lots of advice about meeting your new MP including step-by-step guides, blogs, videos and information on campaigning.

If you would like more help or advice, please email publicaffairs@bbowt.org.uk

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