16 December 2025
Newsletter
Round-up – December 2025
This is our round-up for December 2025. Please note that this page is not updated, so deadlines may have passed and links may no longer work. To receive future newsletters, please join our network.
News
Champion publications
Year 2 AFN Champions Charlotte Wheeler and Georgie Barber have published papers arising from their work.
Charlotte has published two papers on Multifunctional Metrics. The first, Rethinking sustainability in food systems, argues that agroecology and circular farming practices such as agroforestry, crop-livestock integration, and low-input livestock systems warrant a much larger role in food system transformation than currently reflected in the research and policy landscape, due to their ability to deliver against multiple ambitions. The second, Examining Circular Practices at the Farm Level, follows on from it by considering the circular practices which are some of the promising approaches that demonstrate potential for delivering co-benefits across multiple sustainability criteria.
Georgie’s paper, Structural barriers to better land use decisions, aims to uncover and highlight non-technical barriers to delivery of targets using land, particularly to understand the challenges of implementing land use decisions in place.
What are the barriers to joining agri-environmental schemes?
Last year we shared a survey of farmers and agricultural advisers in Scotland about the challenges they face regarding wildlife improvements. The results of the study have now been published. It showed that the majority of farmers in Scotland care strongly about the environment and are keen to support initiatives that reward them for managing their land in ways that support nature and the climate. However, it also found that many face practical and financial barriers that prevent them from taking part; with financial risk, confusing guidance and a lack of flexibility ranked as the top concerns.
Farmer-led learning reaches further with multimedia
Peer-to-peer farmer learning about practices to help reach net zero will reach an extended audience through video and podcast thanks to the Grow project, with funding from the AFN Network+. Over 170 farmers attended farm walks over the year across Northern Ireland, England and Scotland, with a much broader reach achieved thanks to the collection and production of audio and video materials. Just under half (43 per cent) of those asked plan to make changes to their farm in the next year as a consequence of what they learned on a farm walk, while 29 per cent have already made changes. But it’s the multimedia content, including several video and podcasts, that could see this project reach far beyond its initial audience. Specific areas of learning have included holistic grazing to improve health and profitability, nutrient management, sustainable pig farming with anaerobic digestion and combining animal welfare with soil health.
Food supply chain resilience
Kate Jones, who was featured in our first impact story, has an article, Improving food supply chain resilience: a case study of chicken tikka masala, published in Environmental Research Food Systems. You can read a post by Kate and a post by Year 2 AFN Champion Saher Hasnain, both discussing the article, on LinkedIn.
News from the wider agri-food sector
State of the Nation’s Food Industry
This year’s State of the Nation’s Food Industry report has been published by the Food Foundation. The report focuses on 12 metrics and benchmarks 37 companies against a range of criteria to assess who is leading the way and what more needs to be done.
Read more. You can also watch a webinar on the launch of the report.
Funding
UKRI Pre-announcement: Future Leaders Fellowship: round 11
The next round of Future Leaders Fellowships will be launched early next year. You must be an early career researcher or innovator who is either:
- looking to establish or transition to independence
- developing your own original and ambitious plans within a commercial setting
You must be based at, and have the support of, a UK research organisation eligible for UKRI funding.
Call opens 2 February 2026
Aria seed funding – Engineering Ecosystem Resilience
As part of its Engineering Ecosystem Resilience Opportunity Space, Aria is offering seed funding for high potential proposals of up to £500,000 each. Proposals should either align with or challenge the assumptions of the Summary, Beliefs, or Observations in the opportunity space, but sit outside of the scope of the Accelerated Adaptation programme thesis.
Deadline: 2 February 2026
Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP): 2025 – 2026 Round 5
The Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) programme allows a UK registered business to partner with a ‘knowledge base partner’ (usually a higher education institution). The KTP partnership aims to bring new skills and the latest academic thinking into the business partner to deliver a specific, strategic innovation project.
Deadline: 4 February 2026
Events
Oxford Real Farming Conference 2026
8-9 January 2026, Oxford
If you’re going to the ORFC, you might be interested in a Networking Hour for Emerging Leaders & Sector Supporters. The Soil Association, Sustain, Roots to Work and Emergent Generation have invited friends and partners to engage in this evening of intergenerational knowledge sharing. The aim of the event is for new entrants and young people to connect with a range of sector ambassadors working to build a better, fairer farming and food future.
From Soya to Sustainability 26
Wednesday 28th January 2026, Peterborough
Organised by the The British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN), a conference exploring innovative strategies to enhance pulse production and their use in livestock diets. It will feature:
- Thought-provoking keynote speakers, including AFN co-lead Professor Neil Ward
- Expert panel discussions
- Networking opportunities
Discover cutting-edge approaches to reducing reliance on soya and improving sustainability in UK farming.
