Emissions
Published 13 June 2024
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2024
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/farm-practices-survey-february-2024/emissions
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.
In 2024, 58% of farms considered GHGs to be fairly or very important when making decisions about their land, crops and livestock (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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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% |
| 2024 | 14% | 44% | 28% | 11% | 3% | 100% |
Notes:
- The sum of the components may not equal 100% due to rounding.
Despite only around a third of farms (36%) believing that reducing GHG emissions from the farm will contribute to the overall profitability of the farm, 48% of farms were taking action to reduce GHG emissions from the farm in 2024.
For those farms that were taking action to reduce GHG emissions, the two most popular actions in 2024 were recycling waste materials from the farm and improving energy efficiency (Figure 2). Over the longer term, increasing efficiency in manure and/or slurry management and application has seen the biggest change with 47% now taking this action in 2024, compared with just 28% in 2013 when the question was first asked.
For the first time in 2024, holdings were asked whether they were taking action to reduce tillage/no tillage or were using precision farming techniques. Almost two thirds of farms (64%) are taking action to reduce tillage/no tillage and 25% reported using precision farming techniques.
Figure 2 Actions being taken to reduce GHG emissions from farms (Proportion of holdings)
| Response | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Recycling waste materials from the farm | 77% |
| Improving energy efficiency | 71% |
| Reducing tillage/no tillage | 64% |
| Improving nitrogen fertiliser application accuracy | 61% |
| Increasing use of clover in grassland | 52% |
| Improving efficiency in manure/slurry management & application | 47% |
| Increasing use of legumes in arable crop rotation | 40% |
| Improving nitrogen feed efficiency | 28% |
| Using precision farming techniques | 25% |
| Taking other actions | 16% |
Notes:
- This question changed in 2024 to include the new options “reducing tillage/no tillage” which may have previously been included in improving energy efficiency and “using precision farming techniques” . Therefore, data cannot be directly compared with previous years.
For those holdings taking action to reduce GHG emissions, the main motivations for doing so were consider it good business practice and concern for the environment, selected by 81% and 64% 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)
| Response | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Consider it good business practice | 81% |
| Concern for the environment | 64% |
| To improve profitability | 50% |
| Regulation | 29% |
| To meet market demands | 18% |
| Other motivation | 4% |
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 44% of these farmers, was unsure what to do - too many conflicting views on the issue. The next most common reasons were lack of incentive (33%) and not necessary - don’t believe farm produces many emissions (28%).
Figure 4 Reasons preventing farmers taking action to reduce GHG emission for those not currently doing so (Proportion of holdings)
| Response | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Unsure what to do - too many conflicting views on the issue | 44% |
| Lack of incentive | 33% |
| Not necessary - don’t believe farm produces many emissions | 28% |
| Lack of information | 23% |
| Too expensive | 22% |
| Don’t believe farmers can do much | 12% |
| Other reasons | 10% |
| Already done all they can | 8% |