Make a donation

Help fund our work to amplify nature-friendly farming’s benefits to farmers and policymakers across the UK

Policy & Views

Read a variety of articles, including topical blogs, comment pieces on policy developments and updates on key moments in farming.

Campaigns

Catch up with our latest campaigns and find out more about our work.

Farm Practices

Explore information on many aspects of nature-friendly farm practices.

What is the NFFN?

Discover our mission, our vision and the challenge we meet.

Meet The Team

Meet the farmers in our regional steering groups and the staff team at our core

FAQs

Got a question about nature-friendly farming? We've got it covered here

Supporters

We're proud to work with many organisations who support our mission.
News

Nature Friendly Farming Week arrives amid concerns over crops and climate

United Kingdom
arable
climate change
Crops
Defra
Diversification
drought
food security
Government
Weather Resilience

As the UK confronts record drought and rising threats to crop yields, this is an opportunity to showcase how nature-friendly farming offers vital solutions to protect farmers and build resilience against climate extremes.

With the UK facing its driest spring since the 1950s - bringing water shortages, crop stress, and escalating wildfire risks - Nature Friendly Farming Week (19–25 May) arrives at a crucial moment for British agriculture.

The NFFN's annual awareness week is a chance for farmers across the country to show how nature-friendly farming is critical to building resilience in the face of climate extremes and securing the future of food production.

This year’s theme highlights farming that delivers far-reaching benefits beyond food, from strengthening rural communities and protecting water supplies to storing carbon and supporting biodiversity.  

As climate pressure intensifies, so too do the difficulties facing farmers. Many are struggling to remain profitable while navigating extreme weather, market instability and an uncertain policy landscape. With government support for agri-environment schemes under review and the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) closed to new applicants, farmers urgently need clear, long-term support to adopt sustainable practices. 

NFFN CEO Martin Lines said: “Every day without rain pushes crop yields backwards. Water for irrigation is already running low, and farmers are having to make hard decisions about which crops - if any - can be saved. This follows two years of extreme rainfall, which have already impacted production and yields.

Many farms are reaching breaking point. With no rain, no income, and no clarity from the Government, some farmers are preparing to leave fields empty this autumn. Planting could be delayed or abandoned altogether.

Martin Lines

“Many farms are reaching breaking point. With no rain, no income, and no clarity from the Government, some farmers are preparing to leave fields empty this autumn. Planting could be delayed or abandoned altogether. That’s not a distant threat. It’s a decision many are facing right now. If support doesn’t come soon, we’ll see less food being grown next year and fewer jobs in rural areas." 

Nature-friendly farming is already delivering real solutions - improving soil health and restoring biodiversity, which in turn helps farms adapt to drought and floods. It also reduces reliance on costly chemical inputs, building resilience against market volatility.

While others around us are really struggling with the dry spring and failing crops, ours are still holding up well. You just don’t know what the weather will throw at you year to year. That’s why building resilience into the farming system is absolutely essential.

Tom Edmondson

Tom Edmondson, an NFFN farmer who runs a mixed farm near Milton Keynes, said: “Our nature-friendly farming approach - using cover crops, careful grazing, minimal soil disturbance, and years of building organic matter - has made a huge difference. While others around us are really struggling with the dry spring and failing crops, ours are still holding up well. You just don’t know what the weather will throw at you year to year. That’s why building resilience into the farming system is absolutely essential.”

“The idea that farms only exist to produce as much food as possible is dangerously outdated,” Martin Lines continues. “Farms are now frontline defences against climate breakdown. They’re managing water, rebuilding soil, storing carbon, and creating habitats - all while producing food. That’s the kind of farming we need today.”

The NFFN is urging the Government and supply chain, especially supermarkets and retailers, to commit to long-term, properly funded support for nature-friendly farming. Bold, immediate action is essential not only to meet legal targets on climate and nature’s recovery, but to give farmers the tools they need to survive and adapt. Without it, we risk leaving farmers stranded as the window for meaningful change slams shut.