In an online presentation to the Oxford Farming Conference Fringe on Thursday 8^th December, Virgin Money Head of Agriculture Brian Richardson, and Carbon Metrics Director Simon Haley urged farmers to take the lead on the Net Zero journey and reap the rewards of the opportunities it is creating.

"The fact is that we're all on the journey to Net Zero," said Brian Richardson. "The Government has made a commitment to that target by 2050 and the NFU has advanced it to 2040 for farming. Virgin Money has made a commitment to the journey as a business, and we're also deeply committed to helping our farming customers achieve this goal."

For farmers working flat out simply to maintain viable levels of productivity and profitability, dealing with the demand to reduce their carbon footprint may well appear to be a distraction, an added cost, and a minefield of complicated jargon. But the worst thing a hard-pressed farmer can do is to ignore it and do nothing,

"The major threat if you do nothing is that you get left behind. The speed of change is accelerating, and many sectors of the agriculture and food industries are already setting their own carbon standards. Consumer demand is changing. Supermarkets are changing, and farming businesses that don't change and join the journey are going to find that today's incentives will turn into tomorrow's penalties. Access to markets will shrink, and other parties will take control of your carbon benefit Continues Brian.

First and foremost, farmers need to take the first step on their journey with a Carbon Audit. Measuring your current carbon 'performance' across the business establishes a baseline from which you can measure your improvement, explained Simon Haley. "A carbon audit gives you accurate data on every aspect of your carbon emissions across your farming business, and a good audit will use two different calculators to verify the accuracy of these emissions. From that data your auditor can produce a carbon management plan which identifies the actions you can take to improve your carbon performance."

There is a wide range of Defra and private funding initiatives available to subsidise the cost of carbon auditing consultancy, but the key message from both presenters is that reducing your carbon footprint requires improvements in farm management efficiency, which makes the path to Net Zero a route to both commercial and environmental sustainability.

"Net Zero is about producing the same or more but with less carbon," says Brian Richardson. "A carbon audit is a deep dive into a farming business that highlights the fundamental questions a farmer needs to ask about how to secure a sustainable future. Where can you make potential productivity improvements and efficiencies? Are you looking at all aspects of production – including the possibilities of regenerative farming? How are can you align your production with customers' requirements and expectations?"

Carbon and climate change are global issues, he points out, and so are food security and agricultural sustainability. British farmers have set the highest standards in the world for the quality and safety of the food they produce. Now they can set a similar standard for carbon reduction and environmental excellence that gives UK farmers a new advantage in a global marketplace.

For individual farmers and agricultural businesses Net Zero is a goal that can support business efficiency, uptake of new technology, reduction in costs and access to markets. Cutting carbon brings commercial rewards such as supply chain rewards for performance improvements alongside access to markets and access incentivised loans.

Concluding Brian said: "It's important that British farming leads the way on this journey. How we farm is right at the heart of the climate change debate, and farmers can play a huge part in the fight to reduce carbon not just because it makes business sense, but because it's the right thing to do."

The farming community requires specialist advice for support, and it has always been extremely important to Virgin Money to ensure it has the expertise required to support the diverse range of agri-businesses. The team of Agricultural Business Managers at Virgin Money have considerable of experience in the farming sector, an average of 18 years of agricultural banking, so it's worth getting in touch to discuss your proposed diversification project.