Briefing: Farming talks climate
How farmers think about reducing agriculture's climate impact and adapting to new extremes
24th August 2026
How farmers think about reducing agriculture's climate impact and adapting to new extremes
24th August 2026
The Food, Farming and Countryside Commission (FFCC) was commissioned by Defra to run a series of conversations with farmers across England to inform the forthcoming Food and Farming Decarbonisation Plan. In June and July 2026, FFCC convened 10 two-hour sessions, spanning the country from Northumberland to Cornwall. They explored the core question: How can government and industry help farms reduce their climate impact, while balancing other priorities such as profitability, resilience, food production and nature?
This briefing summarises what farmers said was working in their businesses around emissions and what wasn't, which policy areas were promising and unpromising, and what would make policy and industry action effective.
