Farmers 'could make more money saving the environment'

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Rows of raw beef hanging in a butcher shop, ready to be cut and sold - Getty Images

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Farmers could make more money making less meat, according to Green Alliance

English livestock farmers are more likely to profit from improving the environment than producing meat, according to new data from Green Alliance.

Analysis from the think tank and charity said that despite beef and lamb production tending to make a loss from 2020 to 2024, farms have been profitable thanks to government payments.

The data revealed that upland grazing farms made 58% of their average profitable income from basic payments and 32% from agri-environment schemes.

Meanwhile, lowland grazing farms earned 49% of their profitable income from basic payments and 31% from diversification activities over the same period.

“Our research suggests that if some British beef and lamb farmers produce a bit less meat, and do more to improve the environment instead, they could actually increase the profitability of their farms,” said Lydia Collas, head of environment at GA. “Meanwhile, we’d all benefit, as farmers would help wildlife recover, improve water quality and prevent flooding.”

The environment focussed body’s research suggested the best route to future profitability for these farms may be to shift their businesses further towards providing public goods, such as creating habitats or restoring peatlands.

GA said activities under the government’s Environmental Land Management schemes were likely to be more profitable than meat production, although it called for a quicker rollout of ELMs, which are not currently open to new applicants.

This comes as government data showed that beef production had increased by 29%, and pork by 35% over the past two decades, despite declining consumption the organisation said.

This has started to shift in the past year as beef and lamb productions declined, by 2.2% and 1.2% respectively, according to latest government numbers.

“British people are eating less meat than they were 20 years ago, which is good for their health and the planet’s,” said Collas. “If this trend continues, people will rightly question how this will affect farmers.”