This is our round-up for October 2024. 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

Announcing this year’s successful scoping studies

To mark World Food Day the AFN Network+ is proud to announce the 15 successful scoping studies, with total funding of more than £500,000, which aim to support the UK agri-food sector through the transition to a net zero UK by 2050. This year World Food Day focuses on ‘Rights to foods for a better life and a better future’. With food responsible for around one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, transforming agri-food offers a unique opportunity to tackle the threat of climate change. The projects we are funding address some of the critical challenges we face as we work towards a more sustainable food system.

Supporting innovative collaborations between academic researchers and food system practitioners, these 15 projects provide critical research and practical solutions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing carbon storage in the soil and building a more sustainable food system across the UK. More details

Two short films about land use

The Land Use for Net Zero, Nature and People (LUNZ) Hub is an innovative research initiative that will help drive the transformation of UK land use needed to achieve net zero by 2050. If you would like to find out more about the Hub, they have produced two short films that consider what land managers might be doing for net zero. The two films are on their Youtube channel (Part 1: Perspectives and Challenges and Part 2: Adaptations in practice and calls to action) and there is a short blog about the making of the films on their website.

Five short films about greenhouse gas removal

The £8.6m Greenhouse Gas Removal (GGR) research programme, co-supported by three Research Councils and the UK government, sought to address the many uncertainties relating to the cost-effectiveness, scalability, and wider environmental and societal consequences of balancing the climate equation through ‘negative emissions’. They have produced a series of videos on the GGR programme describing land-based agriculture relevant projects. Each video is about 10 minutes long and describes the technologies, the processes and the community liaisons currently being adopted. More details

Have your work featured in a podcast

The British Society of Soil Science is planning the launch of a podcast, Unearthed, aimed at disseminating research in an accessible format to the sector and wider public. The podcast is designed for researchers who currently have communications funding to engage with a dedicated channel and platform to disseminate knowledge through the society and its partner’s extensive network. If you have a need to cascade and communicate your research then please contact Andy Morris at andrewmorris@soils.org.uk or Adrienne Golding at adriennegolding@soils.org.uk.

Opportunities

Nuffield Foundation POST Fellowship 2024

POST and the Nuffield Foundation are offering a 13-week fellowship to PhD students who are undertaking or have recently completed their PhD study. Successful applicants will be based in the UK Parliament, supporting its use of research evidence. Most fellows assist POST in providing briefing material for parliamentarians on emerging science topics. The deadline is 20 October 2024. More details

Darwin Initiative Innovation Grants

Innovation grants are aimed at projects intending to test and evaluate novel approaches that, if proven, could scale to deliver results for biodiversity conservation and multidimensional poverty reduction. Projects should last between 1 to 2 years maximum. The maximum grant amount is £200,000 and the deadline is 21 October 2024. More details

Defra Research and Development Fellowships 2025/26

Defra have launched their Research and Development Fellowships for 2025/26. This programme provides an opportunity for researchers to gain experience in a policy-focused environment. Defra R&D Fellows will use their scientific or analytical skills to work alongside policy and evidence teams on a range of priority and strategic policy issues. Applications must be submitted by 4 November 2024. There is a webinar on 17 October to provide more information. More details

Technologies In Animal Welfare Seed Funding

The BBSRC Animal Welfare Research Network (AWRN) has been awarded seed funding from BBSRC for projects on “Technologies in Animal Welfare”. The seeding awards have the overall aim of stimulating and strengthening collaborations between the animal welfare community, businesses and the charity sector to harness recent technological advances to improve animal welfare. There are three awards: Business Interaction Vouchers (up to £50,000 each), Discipline Hopping Projects (up to £20,000 each) and Networking and engagement events (up to £8,000 each). Deadline for applications is 15 November 2004. More details

Events

Seeding Fair Food, Climate, and Community Resilience

18 October 2024, 12pm – 1pm

In celebration of Black History Month, the AFN Network+ is hosting a virtual event exploring the intersection of food justice, climate resilience, and cultural sustainability. We will highlight the importance of seed saving and self-sufficiency, contrasting these practices with the current commercial models in the UK. More details

REAP Conference 2024

Newmarket Racecourse Conference Centre, 6 November 2024

The Agri-Tech Balancing Act – Optimising One or Managing Many? More details

TUKFS Workshop – Making LCA work for food system transformation

Friday 8 November, 10am-4:15pm
Meadow Suite, University of Reading Whiteknights Campus, RG6 6UH

This event will bring together practitioners in LCA and broader life cycle sustainability assessment tools from across the Transforming UK Food Systems community to discuss the role of these approaches in food system transformation. The event is also open to interested individuals beyond TUKFS.
Register by 23 October. More details

Land Alive

22- 23 November 2024, Bath & West Showground

This new Sustainable Food & Farming Conference for the South West explores the promise of regenerative farming to mitigate climate risk, restore nature, boost local economies, make healthy food more accessible and build resilience into our food system in a time of climate change. More details

Reports

Farmers’ views on stockfree farming

Following on from our recent webinar with Chris Stark, Stockfree Farming got in touch to tell us about their Scottish on-farm survey (2022). This found that 64% of farmers and crofters with rough grazing and permanent pasture said they would consider transitioning out of livestock farming entirely and into ‘farming carbon capture’ by helping the land return to its natural state, providing financial support is in place.

Let’s get serious about making dairy regenerative

A new report – Let’s get serious about making dairy regenerative – sets out a farmer-led vision for global regenerative dairy agriculture. The Regen Dairy report is the culmination of a three-year project, led by FAI Farms and Farmwel, which deployed a farmer-centric approach to better understand regenerative dairy: starting with the vision, the barriers, and the recommendations for transition.

Can you help?

Livestock Farmer Views and Experiences

The Global Academy of Agriculture and Food System at the University of Edinburgh are currently investigating the challenges British livestock farmers are facing regarding environmental conservation, animal welfare, and their own wellbeing. They aim to use this information to develop data-driven strategies to support farmers in the transition to sustainable, successful, and equitable food systems. They have a short (<10 min) anonymous online survey that is open to any livestock farmer in the UK. More details