Evidence session in the inquiry into Soil Health
Session to be held at 3pm on Tuesday May 9 in Committee Room 6
Attend the session in person or watch live on parliamentlive.tv
This second evidence session in the cross-party parliamentary inquiry into soil health will focus on the important role played by agriculture.
The Committee will ask about the challenges farmers and other land managers face when seeking to both look after their soil but also run a profitable business. This is likely to involve discussion of the potential disadvantages and the advantages they could gain from better soil management, such as reduced yields, but also reduced reliance on expensive fertilisers.
Dr Neil Hudson MP for Penrith and The Border and Member of the EFRA Committee said,
“Our Cross Party EFRA Select Committee continues with our Inquiry on Soil Health. This follows up our recent fact finding visit to Rothamsted Research. Food production and looking after the environment can and should go hand in hand. Our inquiry is looking at how the vital asset of soil health can be nurtured by farmers and land managers and how best this can be supported by the Government.”
The Committee is likely to ask how the Government’s new Environmental Land Management schemes, which are replacing the EU Common Agricultural Policy, will achieve sustainable soil management goals. The Committee may also discuss wider changes that we need to see to gear our whole food supply chain towards more sustainably produced food that protects our soils.
Witnesses:
- Richard Bramley, Chair of the Environment Forum of the National Farmers Union and an arable farmer from near York
- Professor Pippa Chapman, Chair in Biogeochemistry in the School of Geography at the University of Leeds. A soil scientist with interests including the effect on soils of land use and agricultural practices.
- James Robinson, Vice Chair of the Nature Friendly Farming Network. Runs a 300 acre organic dairy farm in Cumbria.
- James Woodward, Sustainable Farming Officer for ‘Sustain’ - “an alliance working for a better system of food, farming and fishing”. Has previously worked for Defra and its advisory body, Natural England.
