Agriculture
Agriculture provides wildlife habitats, a well-loved landscape and a place for recreation but it also has some less desirable impacts on the environment.
We regulate farming through regimes such as Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) compliance, water abstraction licences, discharge consents and farm waste regulations.
Further information, including Environmental Permitting guidance, is available according to your farming sector.
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Find out what to do with the waste that you produce on your farm
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The UK is the fourth largest producer of cereal and oilseeds in Europe. Cereals are grown on over 70,000 farms, mainly along the drier east side of the UK. We also grow around nine million tonnes of sugar beet
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Around 42,300 beef and dairy farms in England and Wales manage over 160,000 square kilometres of land
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Energy crops are plants grown to use as fuel
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Pig and poultry production is a vital part of UK agriculture and accounts for around one fifth of total agricultural output.
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With a national flock of 25 million sheep and lambs, Britain is one of the major sheep producers in Europe and the seventh largest lamb producer in the world. Our sheep farmers also produce 70 thousand tonnes of wool each year.
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There are a variety of things farmers can do to make their business more efficient and greener. Find out more about what you can do.
