UK dairy summit to tackle environment issues

Growing concerns over the food industry's impact on climate change have prompted a dairy industry conference on farming and the environment in the UK.

Reducing farming's impact on the environment will form a central part of EU policy to make food production more sustainable, and will also play a role in cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Conference-goers will hear how dairy farmers can limit their environmental impact in the most cost-effective way.

Forthcoming regulations that will affect the dairy sector will also be addressed, including on carbon emissions reduction, nitrate vulnerable zones, nutrient management plans and anaerobic digestion.

Jim Begg, Dairy UK director general, said the conference would equip farm advisers "to give clear and consistent messages to dairy farmers".

Pressure to act on the environment has been growing in Brussels and London.