Cairngorms future farming

Farmers play a crucial role in our response to the nature and climate crises. Agriculture is not just the production of food, but farmers also manage significant quantities of land and create important habitats for wildlife.

This project is working with six farms to trial sustainable practices that benefit nature or reduce carbon emissions, all while maintaining profitability as a business. By trying and evaluating different techniques and sharing learnings with other farmers across the National Park, we’re ensuring that farmers are supported in our collective efforts to reach net zero.

Farming in a changing climate presents lots of challenges to those people working the land. Since 2023 we’ve been working closely with six farms that reflect the variety of farming practices in the Cairngorms. These farmers have committed to trialing a range of farming practices and monitoring how they influence everything from carbon impacts to farm finances, stock performance to the farmer’s experiences.

This will include a variety of methods, from the use of diverse seed mixes that can help to improve soil and livestock health to reducing the use of medicines in livestock which can harm insects and microbes in the fields and soils. It will also include mob grazing where cattle are rotated around smaller patches of land for a shorter time, giving the soil a chance to rest and improving plant diversity, soil health and productivity and creating shelter belts of trees, scrub and or hedge that can connect habitats and provide shelter for stock and crops.

There is no silver bullet that solves the challenges that farmers are experiencing, nor the impact of changing weather and seasons caused by climate change. This project is giving farmers support to try things out, test techniques and share learnings so that the farms in the Cairngorms are better able to remain profitable, increase business resilience and play their part in our shared journey to net zero.