SAC (Scottish Agricultural College)

Welcome to the Farming for a Better Climate website.

We all want to hand on the farm in a better condition than we received it. Farming for a Better Climate (FFBC) provides practical support to help reduce our impact on the climate. Taking action as a sector, both to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to a changing climate, will secure farm viability for future generations.

FFBC is run by SRUC on behalf of the Scottish Government. We combine ideas trialed by our volunteer Climate Change Focus Farms and information from up-to-the-minute scientific research. Our agricultural consultants offer practical advice to help you choose the most relevant measures to improve both your farm performance and resilience to future climate change effects.

Climate change and population growth over the next thirty years are likely to increase the cost of farm inputs such as fuel, feed and fertilisers, along with demand for food from both home and overseas. This will happen against a backdrop of unpredictable weather. Land managers are becoming increasingly obliged to reduce their environmental impact, and the measurement and management of carbon emissions will soon be essential to all organisations. The reality is that we need to reduce emissions now, whilst also preparing the farm for the impacts of extreme local weather. FFBC can help your farm to thrive in a carbon-conscious future.

What can you do next?

• Take a look at the improving efficiency section for ideas about how you can save time or money on routine tasks and how this could help you hand on a more sustainable, and profitable farm.
• Sign up to our mailing list. It’s a quarterly update about what other farmers are doing and notice of relevant funding opportunities, farm meetings, new practical guides and farmer case studies (note your email address is just used for the mailing list and we don’t pass data to third parties; you can unsubscribe at any time). You will also get the FFBC newsletter twice a year.
• Follow us on Twitter @SACFarm4Climate.

Whats new?

• New Practical Guides include field drainage systems and establishing a grass clover sward
• Notes from the focus farm meetings: sheep management, field drainage and soil management have all been recent topics
• Farm drainage, bedding stock on recycled wood chip and grassland management. It's all in the latest FFBC Newsletter
• Improving and protecting soil quality has been a reoccuring theme at FFBC meetings; see practical guides on improving soil quality and soil structural issues.
• Get Paid for Keeping Warm; Renewable Heat Incentive event in Thurso on 17 Dec
• Unearthing the answer to farm productivity; on-farm soils workshop at Upper Nisbet
• Drain Your Land, Not Your Resources; farm drainage demo at Torr Farm
• Congratulations Robert and Jac Neill; winners of Scotch Beef Farmer of Year award
• Ministerial visit to Upper Nisbet
• New case study - Knowing feed value of pit silage saved Glenkilrie £3000
• Find out what John Seed has done to reduce energy bills at Woodend farm
• Funding for renewables? Take a look at the Cares Scheme
• FITS, RHI, Improving soil quality, Establishing a grass clover sward... they are all new or updated Practical Guides.

If you would like to comment on the pages, pass on details of a climate change event, highlight tips or hints for other farmers to share or even put yourself forward as a climate change farm case study, we would love to hear from you. You can email us at climatechange@sac.co.uk.

Further Information

Take a look at our briefing entitled "Mitigating emissions from livestock: Assessing the effectiveness of the Farming for a Better Climate Initiative".