At this year’s Cereals event in Lincolnshire, the NFU Combinable Crops Board took a step towards a more sustainable future for the combinable crops sector with the launch of the Sustainable Protein Action Plan.
NFU Combinable Crops Board Chair Jamie Burrows tells us more about this work.
When we met with Daniel Zeichner, Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs in November last year to make the case for homegrown protein crops, we made clear our intention to develop this plan to spearhead the transformation of the role that protein crops can play in UK arable rotations.
Supply chain transparency
To ensure that growers have the confidence to invest their rotations in protein crops we must see the development of stronger, more transparent supply chains, underpinned by long-term partnerships between arable farmers, feed mills, and livestock producers.
Ensuring consistent demand is essential to give growers the confidence to invest in protein crops, while also reducing the UK’s reliance on imported soybean meal.
Support from government
It is also important to note that policy support is a cornerstone of this plan, calling on the government to align future agricultural policy with the industry’s sustainability goals. This includes recognising the public goods delivered by protein crops from carbon savings, to improved water quality and rewarding farmers accordingly.
The environmental benefits are compelling; by incorporating more pulses into rotations, the sector can make meaningful progress towards supply chain decarbonisation. Early findings from the NCS (Nitrogen Climate Smart) project, suggest that if 20% of UK arable land grew pulses, the sector could cut emissions by more than 3 million tonnes of CO₂e annually.
Research and knowledge exchange
To achieve this, we will need more research and knowledge exchange. For many growers, the use of pulses isn’t top of their rotation choices, but the PGRO’s (Processors and Growers Research Organisation) crop plots at the event demonstrated how intercropping and adjusted seed rates can further optimise protein crop performance under UK conditions.
Continued investment in projects like the NCS and the Pulse PEP digital hub will be vital to support growers with real-time insights and practical tools.
Next steps
But what next? Our vision is to sustainably increase the uptake of protein crops across the UK arable rotation from their current levels.
Alongside the AIC (Agricultural Industries Federation), AHDB and PGRO we have a clear ambition to build a more resilient, profitable, and sustainable future for UK arable farmers through this action plan which calls upon each link in the supply chain to undertake positive change.
As the sector faces mounting pressure to produce more with less, the sustainable protein action plan offers a timely and practical roadmap.
It’s a call to action for the entire supply chain, from policymakers to processors, to back British protein crops and unlock their full potential for our future.
