The latest updates on our mission of reaching net zero through the agri-food sector
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April 2025
This month's highlights
Welcome to the latest newsletter from the AFN Network+. Each month we will be bringing you an update on what is happening across the Network and beyond.
This month:
New ECR Board starts work
Catch up on our latest webinar
The long-term challenge of net-zero transition
… and more
News
New ECR board
This year’s Board for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) has been appointed and started work. Members of the Board have interests and expertise from across the agri-food system. ECRs are being mentored by senior team members and will be embedded in Champion activities. The ECRs will meet and discuss important network issues, as well as co-lead funded network activities and projects.
Learn more about this year’s ECRs
Webinar
Power in the food system – how to shift it for citizens, farmers and nature
Based on the Paying the Price report from the FFCC, and its earlier report The False Economy of Big Food, the report authors and researchers explored the ins and outs of power in our food system – who holds it, what is its impact, and what can be done about it.
The reports follow the FFCC’s pioneering work, The Food Conversation, a project talking with citizens around the country about the kind of food system they want. A key conclusion was that citizens are frustrated with the extreme imbalance of power and profit in the food system, and want political leaders to bring radical change.
Charlie Taverner and Mhairi Brown explained why questions of power and profit need to rise up the political agenda.
News from the wider agri-food sector
Short Survey on Voluntary Biodiversity Credits
The University of Nottingham “Biodiversity Credits Project” team invites you to participate in a short survey on Voluntary Biodiversity Credits (VBCs).
As the market for VBCs is in a nascent stage, this research aims to understand which factors are likely to accelerate market development and which are inhibiting development. The survey has been designed based on pilot interviews with early market actors (eg, landowners, banks, insurance companies, construction firms, NGOs).
The survey seeks to answer the following questions:
What are the most significant barriers to the development of the voluntary biodiversity credit (VBC) market?
What are the most desirable market characteristics for addressing these barriers?
What potential outcomes can be expected from the VBC market over the next decade?
Events
Webinar: Farm planning horizons and the transition to net zero
This webinar, organised by the LUNZ Hub Enabling transition to net zero Topic Advisory Group, explored how the opportunities and requirements for net-zero transition at farm level can require new planning horizons and often long-term commitments. Three speakers, including Emily Norton, our Year 3 Champion for Policy: Land, Agriculture and Carbon, provided different perspectives about the need for new planning horizons at farm level resulting from the net zero transition – alongside other external factors – government policy, nature markets, etc. They explained how these do not always align with farm planning cycles, family succession, business plans and farm tenancies, and can have implications for land value and inheritance tax management. The three presentations were followed by a panel discussion and Q&A.
Webinar: Exploring the Value of the Farm Treescape through Whole Farm Tree Planning
Wednesday 30th April 2025 6:00-7:30pm
Organised by the Soil Association, this webinar will hear from Anna Biesty, farmer at Deepdale Farm in North Norfolk, about her experience as a pilot project farmer on the Whole Farm Treescape project. Deepdale Farm is an organic arable farm focusing on natural fertility building and soil health, exploring agroecological principles such as the integration of trees and livestock.
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. It will ask how claims made about the impact of food on land and ecosystems differ when voiced by farmers, corporations or ecologists, and ask how we can work together to create the best evidence.
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.
Save the Date: Agroforestry Show 2025
10-11 September 2025, Maple Cross, Hertfordshire
Vacancy
Experts in timber and wood fibre pathway
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) have released information on their timber and wood fibre pathway revision project, with open calls for a technical partner and an Expert Working Group.
You can find detailed information on the Forest, Land and Agriculture page of their website, including the Project Terms of Reference. Applications for a technical partner should be completed by 14 April 2025. The Expert Working Group call for applications is open until 21 April 2025.
Next issue
Our next issue will be in your inbox on Tuesday 6 May. If you have anything you would like to see considered for inclusion, please send it to jonathan.haslam@york.ac.uk before Friday 25 April.
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