Norwich Forum event debates farming and climate change

Experts from across the food chain discussed the "changing shape of food and farming in Norfolk" during a debate in the Forum in Norwich.

The event explored environmental, social and economic issues including a growing population, water scarcity, subsidy withdrawals and supply chain pressures.

But climate concerns dominated the discussion, after a UN report warned that inadequate carbon-cutting policies could mean 3C of global heating this century - which the meeting heard would require "radical" changes in land management.

The 'changing shape of food and farming in Norfolk' was discussed at an event in the Forum in Norwich (Image: Chris Hill)

While panellists agreed this scenario "kept them awake at night" there were also discussions on how Norfolk's productive land and progressive farm businesses could be part of the solution.

Two of the topics discussed were trees and livestock – often simplistically portrayed as “panaceas” in environmental debates which highlight planting more trees and eating less meat and dairy as the easiest ways to reduce carbon emissions.

On the "difficult and emotive" issue of livestock, panellists said while reducing animal numbers could lower emissions, many future farming models rely on integrating grazing livestock within "circular systems" to enrich soils, reduce agrochemicals, and produce nutrient-dense proteins from grass pastures which can also act as a carbon sink.

The impact of livestock on carbon emissions and farming rotations was discussed at an event in the Norwich Forum (Image: Newsquest)

Neil Ward, professor of rural and regional development at the University of East Anglia, said theories on reaching "net zero" emissions by 2050 had led to some suggestions of a 20-30pc reduction in meat consumption.

"The reduction in livestock numbers is not necessarily just about reducing emissions coming out of the animals, but the "land crunch" - the issue of there not being enough land to deliver the carbon sequestration, the food, the trees, the energy crops and everything else," he said.

"At the same time, implicit in a lot of ideas about net zero agriculture is mixing the arable and livestock together, which could see some redistribution where you actually end up with more grazing animals in places like Norfolk."

If the vast area currently growing wheat for animal feed was reduced, the meeting discussed whether this land could be better used to grow soil-restoring crops like pulses, to create woodlands and nature habitats, or to boost self-sufficiency in fruit and vegetable production.

Rebecca Mayhew, of Old Hall Farm near Bungay, said: "We need to think what we are trying to achieve when we say 'less animals', because if we start putting more land down to very extractive vegetable production we are not going to be improving the soil, because the only thing that can improve the soil is a ruminant, so we need to integrate ruminants into our arable cropping.

"I don't think we can look at methane in isolation. We need the right animals in the right place at the right time."

Meanwhile, large-scale tree-planting is also key to the UK's climate mitigation strategy - but there were concerns about the effect on the nation's self-sufficiency if productive Norfolk farmland was lost.

Richard Evans, of the Breckland Farmers Wildlife Network, said location was also a key factor.

"The cliché is the right tree in the right place," he said. "We have 2,000 priority species in the Brecks and the majority of those rely on wide open spaces, so we do not need any more trees in the Brecks from the biodiversity angle, and we also have England's largest area of lowland forestry in the Brecks already."

The 'changing shape of food and farming in Norfolk' was discussed at an event in the Forum in Norwich (Image: Chris Hill)

The meeting also discussed other variables within a holistic "circular system", including food miles, nutrient density and human health.

Mrs Mayhew, who grazes dairy cows on regenerative pastures and runs a successful farm shop, said the nation's food system "is completely shot to hell" and called for more "social responsibility" from supermarkets to support high-quality local food producers.

Doug Field, chief executive of East of England Coop, said while consumers are becoming more interested in the nutrient density or environmental credentials of their food, retailers are still learning how to make best use of customer data.

"That is where we can start to drive some healthy behaviours, but we are still market-led, we are still consumer-led and there is a long way to go," he said. "There is just so much choice and there is no single answer to this."

The discussion was chaired by agri-food journalist Jez Fredenburgh, who said the scale of change needed is "much bigger than most of us want to acknowledge".

She added: "It is likely quite radical, it will need us to think much more outside the box, to have quite uncomfortable and frank conversations, to scrutinise and challenge each other, but mostly to have the courage, audacity and ingenuity to challenge conventional wisdom and norms."