Round-up – May 2025
This is our round-up for May 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
Webinar: Animal welfare, net zero & the food transition – trade-offs & opportunities
Friday 23rd May 2025, 2:00 – 3:00pm
The conversation about a food system transition is becoming louder – but animal welfare is not always getting much of a hearing. What then, might a food system transition mean for the animals in the farmed system? What opportunities might there be to enhance welfare? But what too might be traded off in a transition, and would these be morally or practically acceptable? How might the focus on net zero as a goal, impact animal welfare, compared to a more holistic but less focused transition?
Our speakers will be digging into all of this for us. Dr Gareth Arnott is a Reader in Animal Behaviour and Welfare within the School of Biological Sciences at Queen’s University Belfast. He leads the BBSRC-funded Animal Welfare Research Network and is a member of the UK government’s Animal Welfare Committee. Francesca Johansen is a Research Officer in the Pig and Poultry Development Department at Teagasc, Ireland. Her work is currently focused on creating a framework for sustainability assessment where animal welfare is considered on an equal level to environmental, social, and economic sustainability.
The Gathering Table: A summit on racial justice in food and farming
Wednesday 11th June 2025, Bristol
Join us in Bristol for a dynamic event led by the AFN Network+, Eating Better and Sustain, focused on racial justice in food and farming. This summit will bring together experts, activists, and community members to discuss important issues surrounding diversity and inclusion in the food industry. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations and learn from leaders in the field.
Call for participants: Just Transitions in Agri-Food Workshops
We are inviting expressions of interest to join a participatory workshop (organised by Rounaq Nayak, our Year 3 Champion for Just Transition and Citizen Engagement) focused on shaping a fair, inclusive transition to net zero in the UK agri-food system. Moving beyond high-level debates, the session will explore grounded, creative and community-informed solutions – from land use and dietary shifts to governance and equity. We welcome individuals working across agri-food, land use, rural communities, and policy.
Workshops will take place in:
- Bristol – Tuesday, 8 July 2025 (10am – 1pm)
- Manchester – Tuesday, 15 July 2025 (10am – 1pm)
(Venues TBC; travel and one night stay expenses reimbursed)
Places are limited.
Please register your interest by the 31st of May via this short form.
Sustainable Livestock Residential
8–10 August 2025, Kendal, Cumbria
Supported as part of an AFN Network+ FlexFund Project, The Farm Steps Sustainable Livestock Residential is a free, two-day training course held in the Lake District. It covers practical topics including livestock husbandry, business benchmarking, carbon literacy, effective medicine use, and antimicrobial resistance. The course includes accommodation and meals, offering participants an informal setting and time to learn, reflect, and connect with others in the sector. It’s aimed especially at those who don’t often get the chance to attend training or step away from the farm.
News from the wider agri-food sector
NERC – Unlocking the subsurface
The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is scoping a potential research and innovation opportunity aimed at ‘Unlocking the subsurface.’ What are the key knowledge gaps that, if addressed by research and innovation, will deliver a significant step change in optimising the use of the subsurface? There is a need to better understand the subsurface as a geosystem, including its connection to the surface environment and the current and future impacts of climate change, to provide the scientific evidence and solutions to enable the sustainable and responsible optimisation of subsurface usage to deliver both UK growth and security in the context of decarbonisation, resource and energy security.
Deadline for submission: 12 June 2025
POST: Multifunctional land use decisions: what role could collaborative governance models play?
POST (the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology) is inviting information on issues relevant to a forthcoming POSTnote. This POSTnote will summarise the challenges and opportunities for developing new multifunctional collaborative land use governance models.
Deadline for submission: 11 June 2025
AgNetZero
AgNetZero is an award-winning new knowledge base powered by Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing’s evidence-based content in sustainable agriculture and food systems. The site uses AI to bring research to life, providing stakeholders with a unique solution to help agriculture meet its sustainability goals. Home to 2,500+ research reviews from 5,000 internationally renowned experts, AgNetZero facilitates the practical application of research and implementation of regenerative agriculture strategies. Contact info@agnet-zero.com to request a demo.
Events
Better Food Traders Annual Gathering 2025
Friday 13th June 2025, Sheffield
Members, partners and allies of the Better Food Traders network will be meeting in Sheffield for a day of connection, learning, strategising and inspiration.
Initiate – Where Innovation Shines
Tuesday, 17 June 2025, Birmingham
Initiate is an event by the UK Agri-Tech Centre at The Compound, Birmingham, aimed at transforming agriculture through innovation. It features morning panel sessions with industry leaders, a lunchtime networking marketplace, and an afternoon workshop on open innovation. The event supports businesses at all stages, uniting key players in the food supply chain and offering opportunities for other sectors to translate their tech into agri-tech.
BES Symposium 2025: Nature, Farming and Food: How we value our land
19–20 June 2025, University of Oxford
Evidence and data about what we eat, where and how it’s grown are some of the most contested scientific debates in the public sphere. This year’s British Ecological Society Symposium will tackle the debates and their politics head-on.
Ark Summit 2025
Friday 20th June 2025, Hazleton, Cotswolds
A unique gathering of farmers, landowners, policymakers, and sustainability leaders at Ark Summit 2025 – a day of inspiring keynotes, dynamic discussions, and hands-on outdoor workshops dedicated to organic regenerative farming, ecosystem restoration, and nature-based solutions.
Groundswell
2–3 July 2025, Lannock Farm, Hertfordshire
The Groundswell Festival provides a forum for farmers, growers, and anyone interested in food production and the environment to learn about the theory and practical applications of regenerative farming systems. The AFN Network+ will again be having a stand, with a variety of sessions throughout the two days. Tickets for this year’s event are now on sale. What’s on at the AFN Network+ tent.
Agroforestry Show 2025
10–11 September 2025, Maple Cross, Hertfordshire
Vacancies
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in Metagenomics, Earlham Institute, Norwich
This post is part of the OpenCLIM_LANDS project, which aims to provide the insights needed to put the UK on a path to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, achieved through climate resilient soil health, food security, and biodiversity net gain. This multi-centre project will combine climate forecasting with latest advances in soil science to enable a unique perspective into land use under forecasted climate change scenarios.
Deadline: 8 June 2025
Soil Association ambassadors
Soil Association ambassadors are a group of more than 20 food champions working on the front line of the UK food system. Ambassadors share their food stories, campaigning for systems change. Ambassadors have first-hand experience creating a healthier and more sustainable food system. They represent the whole food chain from farmers, to community food, and beyond.
Deadline: August 2025
