About Green Futures in Agriculture

Agriculture is big business across the Norfolk and Suffolk regions with companies ranging from micro-enterprises to major food processing businesses.  Many of these organisations are working towards sustainable practices such as creating habitats for nature recovery, establishing woodland to help tackle the effects of climate change, and investing in improving animal health and welfare. 

A quarter of the planet’s biodiversity is found in soil. Soil and its organisms play crucial roles in supporting food production, tree and plant health, nutrient cycling, carbon capture, water quality, and flood prevention. Careful management is needed to make the soil resources used by agriculture sustainable. 

Employment 

You can get into a career in farming through an apprenticeship, college course, a degree, or working your way up from a starting position.  

If you are between 10 and 28, you can join Norfolk or Suffolk Young Farmers’ Club which are dedicated to supporting young people in agriculture and the countryside. 

Suffolk Rural College and Easton College in Norfolk offer a range of courses and apprenticeships in Agriculture, Arboriculture, Animal Care, Equine Studies, Horticulture & Floristry most of which incorporate sustainability within the course.

Examples of local employers practicing sustainability in agriculture  

Holkham Estate have been practising sustainability for decades but their journey gained momentum in 2013 with the investment in solar energy and aerobic digestion.  In 2023 they launched their roadmap to becoming carbon-negative by 2040.  

Elveden Farms practices environmentally responsible farming and works hard to ensure that biodiversity thrives alongside farming practices. The estate has its own conservation group which helps monitor and advise on conservation matters. 

Dennington Hall Farms practices a range of techniques such as cover cropping, crop rotation and managed grazing to rejuvenate the land, enabling it to become more resilient to climate change impacts and capable of supporting sustainable food production in the long run. 

Rougham Estate Farms encompasses over 2700 acres of arable land and 84 hectares of permanent pasture.  Environmental stewardship is a cornerstone of the estate's ethos, extending to its vast woodland covering 20% of the total area. 

See also:

> Industries > Agriculture, Food & Animal Care
> Green Futures