Soil Association dismay at static organic area
© Tim Scrivener Scotland is leading the way in organic land growth for a sixth year, while other nations in the UK continue to fall behind considerably, much to the dismay of the Soil Association.
In 2024, 503,000ha were farmed organically in the UK, of which 59% was in England, 26% in Scotland, 14% in Wales and 1.4% in Northern Ireland.
However, the fastest growth in organic farmland was in Scotland, where the area grew by 13% in 2024 to 131,500ha.
See also: Advice for livestock farmers considering a switch to organic
England recorded just a 1% rise to 502,800ha, while Wales saw a decline of 11% to 68,300ha.
The area of organic farmland “in conversion” has actually increased across the UK been recorded – up 36% from 2023.
Again, this was dominated by new entrants in Scotland, where organic farmland in conversion more than doubled over the 12 months of 2024 to 26,500ha.
England saw just a 7% increase in “in conversion” land at 19,600ha, while Wales experienced a sharp decline of 45% to 2,300ha in 2024.
Government support
The reason for Scotland pushing ahead, Soil Association organic development adviser Adrian Steele explains, is the strong government support and ambitious targets to boost nature friendly farming.
“England is falling significantly behind with little or no discernible growth in total organic farmland in 10 years. The freezing of the Sustainable Farming Incentive [SFI] is also having an immediate impact on organic conversions,” Mr Steele said.
“What is so disappointing is that the opportunity to supply the growing organic market is now being handed on a plate to farmers in the EU.”
The association is calling on the UK government to act swiftly to replace the SFI with a programme that will unlock the potential for home-grown organic produce.
Farmers discouraged
The Soil Association believes that farmers are keen to adopt nature-friendly farming practices, but are discouraged to commit without the reassurance the SFI payments would have offered.
“In the short-term, the government could put organic back into the Countryside Stewardship scheme to provide an incentive for new entrants and the necessary maintenance support to avoid farmers losing faith and abandoning the sector,” said Mr Steele.
He added that positive conversations have been held with Defra about an organic action plan that could help to mirror the success seen in Scotland and other European countries.