Emissions
Updated 13 June 2024
Applies to England
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Farmers were asked about the importance they place on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when making decisions about their farms. Questions also focused on the actions that farmers are currently taking to reduce emissions and their motivations for doing so. In contrast, we also look at the reasons that prevent farmers from taking action.
Almost two thirds (62%) of farms consider GHGs to be fairly or very important when making decisions about their land, crops and livestock in 2023. This has risen in recent years, from just over half of farms (55%) in 2019 (Figure 1).
Figure 1 Importance placed on GHGs by farmers when taking decisions about their land, crops and livestock (Proportion of holdings)
| Year | Very important | Fairly important | Not very important | Not at all important | My farm does not produce GHGs | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 13% | 42% | 29% | 8% | 8% | 100% |
| 2020 | 18% | 46% | 22% | 8% | 6% | 100% |
| 2021 | 19% | 49% | 20% | 6% | 6% | 100% |
| 2022 | 17% | 47% | 22% | 7% | 7% | 100% |
| 2023 | 17% | 45% | 24% | 9% | 6% | 100% |
Less than half of farms (44%) believe that reducing GHG emissions from the farm will contribute to the overall profitability of the farm. Despite this, 53% of farms are taking action to reduce GHG emissions from the farm in 2023.
For those farms that were taking action to reduce GHG emissions, the two most popular actions in 2023 were “improving energy efficiency” and “recycling waste materials from the farm” (Figure 2). The proportion of farms taking each action showed little or no real significant change between 2022 and 2023. Over the longer term, increasing efficiency in manure and/or slurry management and application has seen the biggest change. Over half of farmers (53%) are now taking this action in 2023, compared with just 28% in 2013 when the question was first asked.
Figure 2 Actions being taken to reduce GHG emissions from farms (Proportion of holdings who are currently taking action)
| Action | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Taking other actions | 19% |
| Improving nitrogen feed efficiency | 24% |
| Increasing use of legumes in arable crop rotation | 31% |
| Increasing use of clover in grassland | 49% |
| Improving efficiency in manure/slurry management & application | 53% |
| Improving nitrogen fertiliser application accuracy | 61% |
| Recycling waste materials from the farm | 80% |
| Improving energy efficiency | 82% |
For those holdings taking action to reduce GHG emissions, the main motivations for doing so were “consider it to be good business practice” and “concern for the environment”, selected by 83% and 73% of holdings respectively (Figure 3). These have consistently been the main motivations since the questions were first asked in 2013.
Figure 3 Main motivations for those taking action to reduce GHG emissions (Proportion of holdings)
| Motivation | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Other motivation | 6% |
| To meet market demands | 21% |
| Regulation | 27% |
| To improve profitability | 50% |
| Concern for the environment | 73% |
| Consider it good business practice | 83% |
For those holdings not taking action to reduce GHG emissions from the farm, the reasons for not doing so varied (Figure 4). The most common reason, selected by 43% of these farmers, was that they were unsure what to do due to too many conflicting views. The next most common reasons were that farmers felt action was unnecessary (selected by 33%) and a lack of information (selected by 30%).
Figure 4 Reasons preventing farmers taking action to reduce GHG emission for those not currently doing so (Proportion of holdings)
| Reason | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Other reasons | 10% |
| Already done all they can | 10% |
| Don’t believe farmers can do much | 14% |
| Too expensive | 18% |
| Lack of incentive | 25% |
| Lack of information | 30% |
| Not necessary - don’t believe farm produces many emissions | 33% |
| Unsure what to do - too many conflicting views on the issue | 43% |