Chris Kneale, the Director of Agriculture and Food at DEFA looks at the challenges farmers face and the support schemes helping to adapt and build resilience to climate change in the agricultural sector. These challenges and the speed of change is being seen globally but at different extremes and therefore new solutions and practices are vital for our future food security.
Farmers and food producers work hard, investing in the best genetics, machinery, and nutrition, implementing the latest research to help move their business forward and produce the finest local goods but they cannot control the weather. The recent wet winter and a challenging wet spring has brought issues, for example, the Island’s vegetable and spring cereal crops were planted later than would have been ideal, which can result in reduced yield and availability.
The Isle of Man Met Office confirmed that May 2024 was the 6th consecutive month with above-average rainfall. March was very wet, and April was the wettest on record. Total rainfall collected over these three months came to 323.6mm; 88% up on the 1991-2020 average.
Let's not forget last year's hot and dry conditions. Farming is continually being challenged due to the changing climate – the seasons do not appear to be as reliable as they once were.
The weather plays a significant part in the performance of crops, animals and ultimately, farm business profitability. The weather can determine the difference between profit and loss.
With the weather trends predicted to be warmer and wetter winters, hotter and drier summers, with more intense and frequent weather extremes, resilient farming or climate-smart farming practices are continually being practised. These are evolving constantly as the farming industry learns and adapts to the conditions. The speed of change has never been faster.
Understanding and investing in the soils – core to any farm or food-producing business is a key area for focus. A healthy soil can be incredibly resilient providing multiple benefits to the surrounding environment. Increasing soil organic matter, enhancing soil biology, and improving soil structure can help improve crop growth, reduce the need for inputs, withstand drought and heavy rainfall better, increase biodiversity and help capture carbon from the atmosphere. What other resource can, when well-managed, produce food, increase biodiversity, and reduce carbon emissions?
The work that DEFA has embarked upon, introducing a soil health initiative and the farm carbon initiative are key components that dovetail well together to help farmers and producers to capitalise on the opportunities a healthy soil can bring.
There is much more that can be done, there is always learning to be had. We need to stay curious, open to learning, not be afraid to change or question and not lose sight of the long-term objectives. Farm businesses need to be profitable - a profitable business can innovate and implement change to make change work for them. Adapting to the changing climate and increasing the ability of our soils to cope with the weather will result in better farm performance. The Soil Health and Farm Carbon Toolkit initiatives, funded by DEFA via the Agri-Environment Scheme will help inform farmers and growers of the opportunities available to them.