The Mayor of York and North Yorkshire has launched the first
programme of its kind in England to support farmers towards a
more sustainable future.
More than 30 farms have signed up to take part, spread across the
region from Harrogate to Richmond and from the Yorkshire Dales to
the Yorkshire coast.
The initiative, which is the only one led by a public body in
England, identifies practical ways to reduce emissions, support
nature and build long-term farm resilience
There are four tests available, including a comprehensive energy
audit, renewables feasibility assessment, a biodiversity net gain
assessment and soil carbon testing.
By taking part, farmers will protect their farms in the face of
rising energy costs and help drive forward the region's ambitions
to become carbon negative by 2040.
On a visit to a dairy farm in the North York Moors, Mayor met with the organisations
leading on the programme including NFU Energy and Grow Yorkshire
to understand its impact and how it could be expanded in the
future.
, Mayor of York and North
Yorkshire, said:
"York and North Yorkshire's farmers already lead the way in many
aspects. We have high standards of food production and we're also
ambitious on the environment.
"With more than 70% of our area used for agriculture, farming has
a big part to play in our ambition to become carbon negative by
2040.
"But we also understand the financial pressures that farmers are
facing today. So, this initiative offers cost savings with
environmental benefits.
“By partnering with NFU Energy, we are helping farmers improve
their productivity and efficiency by working with them to embrace
low carbon technology and natural resources to create more
resilient, sustainable food supply chains.”
North Yorkshire Council has provided £150,000 in funding for the
programme through the Government's Shared Prosperity Fund.
Councillor Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire Council and chair
of the Shared Prosperity Fund Local Partnership Group, said:
“Our farm decarbonisation initiative is giving farms a unique
opportunity to help with our goal to become a carbon negative
county by 2040 – reducing emissions in all sectors, including
agriculture, is vital.
“This scheme is a great start for this as it sees 30 of our North
Yorkshire farms receive fully funded assessments aimed at
reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving their
efficiency.”
