Farming as a key solution to environmental challenges

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By Martin Lines, CEO

Martin Lines NFFN CEO looking at the camera on a sunny day in nature — NFFN CEO Martin Lines (NFFN)

It is a great pleasure and an honour to have been chosen as the CJS’ featured charity for 2025. This opportunity allows us to share our mission of building a community of support and a strong voice for nature-friendly farming.

Farming is at the heart of some of the thorniest environmental and societal challenges we face today. With climate change wreaking havoc around the world, the urgent need for food security and nature conservation has never been more urgent. In the UK, agriculture accounts for 70% of land use and 10% of greenhouse gas emissions. Real progress in tackling these issues depends on recognising the key role farmers play.

However, this requires major shifts in agricultural thinking. Since World War II, the main approach has been to maximise food production to protect Britain from shortages. This led to an unprecedented intensification of agricultural techniques, leaving no room for nature. Every available scrap of land was dedicated to growing crops or raising livestock. Government policies played a key role in ensuring the message truly got home.

A group of people standing in a circle listening to a leader, on a frosty sunny day — A workshop for farmers in Wales organised by NFFN Cymru run by renowned soil health expert Niels Corfield (NFFN)

Today, we are confronting the ecological costs of this approach. Farmers are being asked to reconsider everything they have learned over generations. After decades of clearing natural habitats, the focus is now on restoring them. Artificial inputs, once essential, now need to be reduced or eliminated. For many farmers, this shift is daunting, creating confusion and sometimes resistance.

A community of committed farmers

This is where the Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN) comes in. Founded at the fringes of the Oxford Real Farming Conference in 2018, NFFN emerged from the frustrations of a group of farmers who put biodiversity at the heart of their approach but felt unrepresented by traditional agricultural organisations and farming unions. They decided to establish a dedicated voice for nature-friendly farming, bringing together like-minded people.

Today, thousands of farmers across the UK, with diverse approaches to land management and food production, are proud NFFN members. From experienced practitioners to dedicated newcomers, our members represent every stage of the agricultural transition. They include market gardeners, smallholders, crofters, conservation grazers, upland livestock farmers, and large arable estates. Their farms, whether one acre or a thousand, demonstrate that it’s possible to nurture nature while still producing food and being profitable.

A red tractor ploughing a field — Arable farming on a nature-friendly farm (NFFN)

NFFN is a farmer-led organisation, with those actively engaged in food production, guiding our direction through steering groups. To support our members, we promote nature-friendly farming practices as we host in-person workshops and online webinars. These sessions, led by renowned experts and experienced farmers, cover topics like soil health, climate resilience and species reintroduction. We focus on peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, which is highly effective for farmers learning new skills. We also produce in-depth reports, such as our study on Maximum Sustainable Output (MSO), highlighting the balance between productivity and sustainability - the so-called sweet spot of a farm.

A group of sheep in a field — The NFFN supports a wide range of farming types and practices, including raising livestock such as sheep in more sustainable ways (Joanne Coates)

Additionally, NFFN engages with policymakers in politics, supply chains and finance, to advocate for supportive legislation. We organise farm visits for MPs, provide evidence to parliamentary committees, and campaign for progressive agri-environmental schemes. Our goal is to ensure a sustainable and viable future for agriculture.

Our communications team amplifies our message for nature-friendly farming through media and across our platforms. We have also established a group of Farming Champions, a 26-strong cohort of nature-friendly farmers across the UK who advocate for mature-friendly approaches in local and national newspapers or online.

Working together for a greener future

A group of people smiling in front of a trade stand — Members of the NFFN's team on the stall at the 2024 Groundswell event (NFFN)

Collaboration is central to our work. We’ve built strong partnerships with farming organisations such as the Soil Association and Pasture for Life as well as with environmental NGOs including the RSPB, the National Trust, The Wildlife Trusts and the Woodland Trust. It’s crucial to build bridges as we address interconnected challenges of land management, food production, climate resilience, and biodiversity recovery.

At NFFN we recognise there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Each farm must adopt practices suited to its unique landscape, biodiversity, and culture. Whether you identify as nature-friendly, regenerative, pasture-fed, organic, or beyond, if you’re committed to farming in harmony with nature, you are welcome to join (for free!).

We look forward to sharing more of our work throughout the year. In the meantime, please visit the NFFN website to learn more.

Find out more about the Nature Friendly Farming Network here, or follow them on Twitter, Bluesky, Threads, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram