Subsidy on NKG
British farmer gets paid for soil health
British Agriculture Secretary Michael Gove has stirred up emotions with a few statements. For example, the Ministry of Agriculture sees the use of non-inversion tillage (NKG) and no-till as the only solution for the future. A financial incentive is in the works.
Details about the exact details of this financial support have not yet been announced by Defra (the British Ministry of Agriculture). Still, the news of Gove has caused quite a stir. Some of the arable farmers are positive, but a large number are mainly skeptical or even downright negative, so writes Farmer's Weekly.
Gove sees NKG as the solution for a large number of issues. This includes capturing CO2 in the soil and reducing emissions, but also preventing erosion and improving the soil structure. "The current system is not focused on the long term. We are investing too little in our joint future because there are no incentives for this," Gove said at a meeting in London. "This means we have to pay farmers to maintain soil health."
NKG is the only option
"The trends of increasing soil compaction and water pollution must be reversed." Gove therefore sees the switch to min-till and no-till principles of tillage and seeding as the only option. "An additional advantage is lowering CO2 emissions, improving the insect population and reducing the use of crop protection agents."
The Agriculture Secretary has emphasized for some time that soil should be the heart of the British agricultural sector. Farmers react very mixed to Gove's harsh words. A number of companies are already using conservation farming techniques, but the vast majority see government involvement primarily as a threat to their business.
Niels van der Boom
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