Tag: farming

Counting on … day 105

15th October 2026

Over the next few weeks, I shall share thoughts from Dave Goulson’s book ‘Eat the Planet Well’.

In his introduction he flags up issues such as the drive to produce cheap food which at the same time degrades the environment and degrades the lives of both domestic and wild animals; issues such as the simultaneous growth in ultra processed foods and obesity; issues around global food waste which is growing and equally shocking levels of starvation; issues around the growth of pesticides, herbicides and forever chemicals and the lobbying power of both chemical and food industries. 

“At the heart of it all is food. Everybody eats, everybody needs bees*, everybody is a stake holder. If we want to save the planet, save the bees and save ourselves, then we need to pay more attention to what we eat…” (page 11) 

*Dave Goulson is Professor of Biology at the University of Sussex and his specialism is bumblebees.

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/469614/eat-the-planet-well-by-goulson-dave/9781787335622

Counting on … day 99

6th October 2026

For farmers adaptation may involve building new  reservoirs on their land to store more water  – this is what they did on the Elveden Estate but despite adding a 500,000 cubic metres reservoir to their exit 700,000 cubic metres storage capacity, they still reached a point if no more water for further irrigation. (1)

To help fill reservoirs, farmers may need new permits to allow them to abstract water from rivers during the wetter winter months – rather than doing so in the hotter dryer summer months. Reservoirs can also host floating solar panels! (2)

Some farmers are experimenting with restoring wetlands -such as water meadows, creating or restoring ponds, and re-wiggling rivers to keep more water on their land when it rains which both helps reduce flooding in the winter and keeping ground water levels higher in the summer.(3)

Another approach is to grow different crops that are more drought resistant, or to use different farming methods such as planting shade crops, sylviculture, smart irrigation techniques etc. Another consideration is to shift growing crops dependent on large amounts of water to a wetter region of the country. (4)

We as consumers can be part of the change: be willing to buy and eat different fruits and vegetables; eating more home grown vegetables (rather than relying on the produce of other drought challenged countries); eating less meat and dairy  – both being large consumers of water.

(1) https://www.farmersguide.co.uk/machinery/drainage-irrigation/elveden-reservoir-water-security/

(2) https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/2026/08/20/tackling-drought-aquifer-recharging-to-smart-irrigation-trials/

(3) https://www.lancswt.org.uk/blog/what-wetter-farming

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/21/somerset-rewilding-holnicote-estate-wetlands-rivers-resilience?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

(4) https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/sep/27/most-of-uks-essential-food-supply-grown-in-drought-risk-areas-report-warns?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Counting on … day 97

2nd October 2026

This summer will hopefully prove the impetus needed for greater adaptation in the face of climate change both within the farming and food industry and for us as consumers.

We will all need to be thinking about eating and therefore growing different crops, and less of some and more of others. For farmers it will also be about different methods of farming. 

Ongoing research and field evidence points to the importance of maintaining good soils. Soils that are full of organic material and active life forms – from worms to mycorrhizal fungi – are soils that retain more moisture and nutrients for crops. 

Shading the soil – and often the crops too – helps reduce moisture loss and sunburn, and creates a micro climate so that moisture returns back into the soil.

Many farmers are increasing water storage, creating ponds, wetlands and reservoirs.  

Trialing different crops is also happening, but is sometimes hindered by the unpredictability of the weather. A hot summer preceded by a dry spring will favour different crops from a hot summer preceded by a wet spring. 

As consumers we will need to be willing to accept different fruits and vegetables in our shopping baskets – and more willing to eat seasonally. We may too want to be adaptive in our gardens, ensuring good soil, using shade to advantage, trying different crops – and different flowering and herbaceous plants. We too can invest in extra water butts to store more water.

Further reading:

Counting on … day 94

29th September 2026

Leafy greens are the third item listed as a food that will cost more this winter as a result of the extreme climate events and the ongoing conflicts around the world.

Leafy greens need a lot of water – think how much water there is in a lettuce leaf! Many leafy greens are also susceptible to fluctuations in available water: too little water one day cannot be compensated for by extra water the next. Either the plant will die or it may shoot up quickly and go to seed, or its growth will be uneven. Cabbages with thick green leaves cope better than delicate lettuce leaves. Cut-and- come lettuces do better than head forming lettuces. Sprouting broccoli does better than Calabrese, whilst cauliflowers can suffer sunburn! 

Again we can’t necessarily rely on importing leafy greens from Europe when our crops run short – although,  as reported below, countries like Spain already have in place better infrastructure for efficient irrigation. We may have to adapt to eating a different spectrum of green leafy vegetables. Equally we might look to growing some at home – and even without a garden we can grow herbs, sprouting seeds and mustard and cress.

For some leafy greens, there maybe technological alternatives such as vertical growing – https://canadawater.co.uk/latest/news/harvest-london-at-canada-water/ – or – as demonstrated in Germany,  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/11/supermarket-salad-rooftop-garden-berlin?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other – growing salads on top of the supermarket where they are to be sold! 

Alternative drought tolerant vegetables – https://www.rhs.org.uk/garden-inspiration/grow-your-own/crops-to-beat-heat-and-drought

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/aug/01/uk-importing-vegetabless-drough-heat-hit-british-crops-price-rises?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/14/how-england-summer-heatwave-affecting-farm-animals-crops?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Counting on … day 93

28th September 2026

The second item listed in the Conversation as one of five foods that are going to cost more this winter as a result of extreme weather events, global conflict etc, as potatoes. Potatoes as a crop need a lot of water – which is perhaps why they became a staple food crop in Ireland with its typically heavier rainfall. Whilst low rainfall over the last few years has caused an increase in prices, this summer’s drought will be impactful. And as the drought has been Europe wide, it will not be easy to import potatoes to make up this year low yield.  Potatoes also need fertile soils. For none-organic farmers, this year’s increased cost of fertilisers, will also be pushing up prices to the consumer. 

However potato is one of the foods most frequently thrown away as waste. This might be because potatoes have typically been a cheap food. If too much is cooked for a meal, it easy to throw away. If a plate is overfull, we probably eat the more interesting foods and leave the potato. And if we don’t store the potatoes well, they can start sprouting or go mouldy. This issue maybe accentuated if we end up buying a larger bag than we need – either because the larger bag is better value or because there are small bags or no option to buy loose potatoes.

It maybe that the increasing cost of potatoes will encourage us to value them more. We can:

Counting on … day 87

8th September 2026

Recently I was listening to an episode from Farming Today about a biodiversity restoration project in Norfolk which joined together the work of multiple farmers to create  a long nature corridor. The work sounded amazing but what really caught my attention was how, in participating and seeing the restoration of natural ecosystems with all their biodiversity, it was helping with the farmers own mental well being. Farming is not an easy profession especially when faced with droughts and floods where crops and livestock re diminished, as well facing the financial crises of rising costs for fuel and fertilisers. It is can also, I think, be quite a lonely occupation. 

https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/m0030x81

Green tau restoring biodiversity as part of the bigger picture

27th July 2026

“According to the Natural History Museum’s Biodiversity Intactness Index, the UK ranks 189th out of 240 countries and territories for how intact its nature and biodiversity remain. Just 53% of the UK’s original nature is left intact – far below the Index’s safe limit of 90% and the global average of 79%. Each of the four UK nations sits near the bottom of this ranking, with England at 47%, Northern Ireland at 50%, Wales at 51%, and Scotland at 56%.” (1)

Worryingly the government’s State of  Nature Report suggests this decline is still ongoing: “…more indicators are deteriorating or showing no change than improving, over both the long and short term.” And: “No indicators which are deteriorating in the long term, are showing improvement in the short term.” (2) 

19% Across the UK species studied have declined on average by 19% since 1970.

16% Nearly one in six species are threatened with extinction from Great Britain

151 of 10,008 species assessed have already become extinct since 1500 (3)

Scientists warn that if we don’t reverse this decline imminently – the Kunming Montreal framework target is protect 30% 2030  – it will become near impossible to reverse. 

https://www.robeco.com/en-uk/insights/2024/07/bending-the-curve-investing-in-biodiversity-as-an-economic-necessity

Conversely if we don’t manage to turn the tide by 2030, the prospects for improving biodiversity are good.  

To make a bit of a leap, I’m going to interpret increasing biodiversity as meaning restoring nature. But this too may not be clear cut. To restore nature could mean:  

https://research.senedd.wales/media/z4alhnt5/biodiversity-fig-2-en.png

“In simple terms, restoration means bringing more nature and biodiversity back across different ecosystems, from forests, peatlands and agricultural land, to freshwater, marine and urban ecosystems.

Restoration is a process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed. This could be through rewetting wetlands and peatlands, improving degraded soil and agricultural land by adding natural features such as hedgerows and trees, recreating lost natural forests, removing invasive species, planting native vegetation, removing obsolete barriers from rivers, increasing tree coverage in cities, and much more.” (4)

It could mean restoring landscapes to their wild, pre-human state:-

“At Rewilding Britain, we define rewilding as the large-scale restoration of ecosystems to the point where nature is allowed to take care of itself. Rewilding seeks to reinstate natural processes and, where appropriate, missing species – allowing them to shape the landscape and the habitats within. It’s focused firmly on the future although we can learn from the past.

“Rewilding encourages a balance between people and the rest of nature so that we thrive together. It can provide opportunities for communities to diversify and create nature-based economies; for living systems to provide the ecological functions on which we all depend; and for people to reconnect with wild nature.

“Our vision is at least 5% of Britain rewilding, with 25% returned to broader mosaics of nature-friendly land and marine uses — including farming, forestry and fishing. We see this expansion reversing biodiversity loss and enabling nature to bounce back, helping us adapt to climate change as our complex ecosystems find their own answers.” (5)

Or it could be a pragmatic approach:-

  1. Restore nature now – the Government must honour its commitment to manage 30% of land for nature by 2030. That means designating more space for nature and paying our farmers properly to help nature thrive. 
  2. Defend nature and wildlife – stop weakening the laws that protect them. Introduce a strong Water Reform Bill to clean up our rivers, streams and seas, and make polluters pay.  
  3. Build places to be proud of – demand that neighbourhoods are rich in nature and end unfair access to green space, starting by publishing the Government’s long-promised action plan by the end of the year. (6)

However what I want to suggest is that however we set about restoring nature and reversing biodiversity loss, we cannot address this issue in isolation. If we consider why biodiversity has been in such sharp decline, why it is that we have lost to so much of our natural environments, we will see that these losses are linked to:-

  • Expansion of the built environment where buildings, roads and other transport links, mines and quarries, have encroached on land where nature previously existed. Many species are in decline because their habitats are disappearing.
  • Pollution from smoke (causing acid rain), from vehicles exhaust pipes, from industrial processes, and  the run off from farms of slurry, fertilisers etc. 
  • From intensive farming where large fields have resulted in the loss of trees and hedgerows that once provided essential habitats for many species, and the proliferation of monocultures which do not support a diversity of other life forms.
  • Replacing mixed broadleaf woodlands with monocultures of coniferous plantations.
  • Overgrazing of uplands and the replacement of meadows with grass monocultures suited purely for grazing cattle – again reducing habitats for other species.
  • Increasing use of pesticides and herbicides that do what it says in the tin – kills insects and plants.
  • Intensive cultivation of the soil destroying its natural structures and resident populations of insects, grubs, fungi and micro-organisms – and requiring their substitution with fertilisers to maintain the fertility of the soil.
  • Climate change which is human-induced and which has depleted native species who have been unable to adapt or to adapt fast enough to the increasing heat/ floods/ droughts and wildfires.

Unless we can address these issues to, no amount of planting native trees, or sowing wildflower meadows, or reintroducing lost species, is going to work. Restoring nature and improving biodiversity has to involve us in reviewing and reforming our whole way of living. 

For example, we need to review the way we farm and therefore what we eat. Our current agricultural system is designed to produce increasing amounts of meat and dairy, with the parallel need to produce – or import – more  animal feed, which necessitates the intensive farming methods that are widespread. If we wish to reduce that scale and intensity of livestock production we need to eat less meat and dairy products and instead adopt diets that are rich in tasty, diverse UK grown fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans. 

We may want to look at how land is farmed. Would it be better for nature – and for us as communities – if we had more smaller farm units, employing more people and less heavy equipment? Would it be better to have more hedgerows, more ponds and pockets of woodland? Would it be better to have more publicly accessible green spaces? 

Yes there would be a cost – food prices would go up – and that might mean reducing the lower rates of taxation, but that cost would surely be less than the costs of the continued loss of biodiversity and the resulting negative impact on climate change, on floods and droughts, on the fertility of the soil, on clean air and clean waterways, and of the loss of essential pollinators leading to depleted harvests. 

These are all serious issues that we need to consider as a society and which we need to address collectively.

  1. https://policy.friendsoftheearth.uk/insight/how-britain-became-one-most-nature-depleted-countries-world

(2) ditto

(3) https://stateofnature.org.uk/

(4) https://www.restorenature.eu/en/faq-on-nature-restoration#What is nature restoration

(5) https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/why-rewild/what-is-rewilding/an-introduction-to-rewilding/defining-rewilding

(6) https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/our-cause/nature-climate/nature-conservation/nature-is-our-future

Proper 10, 7th Sunday after Trinity

19th July 2026

Reflection with readings below.

We have heard in previous weeks of Paul wrestling because, although he know what he should do, he does what he shouldn’t do. We have heard Jesus and the Pharisees puzzle why a ‘good’ person chooses to mix with ‘bad’ people – and that it is those who are ill who need the attention of the doctor. We have considered that sin might be ignoring  – or being ignorant of – and pursuing the opposite of, God’s wisdom. And we have considered systemic sin – sin we are sucked into not by choice but because it is a sin that embraces the whole system or structure within which we live. 

For example, God’s wisdom tells us to welcome the stranger but we in the UK live within a system where the current law makes many strangers unwelcome – and indeed turns them away. This system makes it impossible to fully fulfil God’s word. This is not to say we shouldn’t repent of the sin, nor that we shouldn’t try to do as best we can to welcome the stranger, nor that we shouldn’t try to change the system. However as individuals are ability will be limited. 

The parable from today’s gospel may be one way of exploring the issue of systemic sin. We believe and trust that the world which God has entrusted to us, is inherently good.But we are also acutely aware that systems have grown up within our societies that are not inherently good. Systems that have different objectives from those desired by God. Think of our economic system. God’s desire is for the flourishing of all people alike, for the flourishing of the natural environment, for flourishing biodiversity. Our economic system is predicated on the objective of maximising profit. It is not concerned with who gets the profit but the systems bent is such that once someone has wealth they will tend to grow richer, whilst someone who hasn’t will start off from a disadvantage. The system is also bent in favour of things which have a clearly identifiable monetary value – it favours building houses which have a market determined price, rather than the value of family life. It favours things that can be bought and sold – it favours oil and gas which have a market determined price rather than clean air,  for air is too fluid and uncontainable to be bought and sold.

It would be lovely to be able to completely uproot the economic system that we have and get rid of its systemic evil. But to do so would – at least in the short term – lead to loss of jobs and livelihoods; it would cause the collapse of shops and supply chains leading to theft and rioting; it would lead to power cuts, the failure of water supply and sewage systems, the collapse of social care infrastructure etc etc. 

This stickiness should not prevent us from trying to prune and reshape – and overcome and replace – the economic system we have inherited. 

Last week, members of synod debated a motion calling on the Church Commissioners to restore and protect 30% of the land they control for nature – for the restoration and conservation of biodiversity. The motioned failed even though it is clear to everyone that we have already lost so much biodiversity that it threatens the health and wellbeing of our future. Declining biodiversity will lead to more flooding, poorer soils, more disease, less protection from the elements, poorer harvests, less happiness. 

The motioned failed because the way we farm the land is tied up within an economic system that can put a price on a tonne of wheat but not on sky full of swallows, that can put a price on a pint of milk but not on a stretch of clean river, that can put a price on a plank of wood but not on the life of an oak tree. 

The motion failed because farm tenants are paid to grow crops, not to supply clean air; to rear cattle, not to maintain flood plains; to produce eggs, not to protect pollinators. The motion failed because farm tenants have to maximise profits to pay rents, and because the Commissioners have to maximise returns on investment to finance the Church. The motion failed because we as consumers want cheap food or – as is often the case – because the economic system does not pay us enough to pay a fair price for fairly produced food. The motion failed because we as consumers don’t want to pay for clean air, for fertile soils, for flood management etc. Or maybe because there is no way as consumers we can buy these life-giving products? The motion failed because as consumers we want to eat more meat and dairy rather than eating more plant based items – and therefore require  a  land-use pattern which allocates land for livestock rather than nature. 

What then should we do? What then is the wisdom of God? The people of Ancient Israel took on board God-given laws that required that the land have time to rest and recover, that fields and trees should not  be stripped to the bone, that the harvest should be shared with the vulnerable. The prophets passed on God’s wisdom about caring for the land, caring for the vulnerable, and being in a good relationship with God and with all that God has created. Jesus taught the importance of questioning the rules and traditions we grow up with, about sharing what we do have, about avoiding greed, about caring for the vulnerable and for those society despises. We have the radical example of the early church pooling and sharing their resources. 

As Christians we have a wisdom that counters the systems we live within. It is not always a wisdom we can follow as individuals because we maybe so constrained by those systems – the degree of constraint depending upon personal circumstances – but as communities and as the Church we do have more scope to be counter-cultural. We could – surely – mandate the Church Commissioners to use funds to support tenants willing to restore and enhance nature on the land they farm. We could – surely – mandate that the Church Commissioners could accept a lower rate of return on farm investments. But at the same time we would have to accept a smaller distribution of funds for the Church and instead look to our own pockets to make up the shortfall (depending on our means as per the early church).

We could at the same time, look to our own lifestyles – choosing a diet that is compatible with the restoration of more land for nature. We could reprioritise our spending to support nature. 

As a Church – as a significant land owner and as a prophetic voice – we could challenge the system that allows the degradation of nature at the expense of profit. We could challenge the system that doesn’t provide every citizen with a fair wage. We could challenge the system that doesn’t ensure every citizen has access to affordable healthy food. We could challenge the system that doesn’t protect the environment for the wellbeing of generations to come.

As individuals and as a Church, we are called to speak out and act to bring in the reign  – the rule – of God so that God’s will is done on Earth as in Heaven.

Isaiah 44:6-8

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel,
and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: 

I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god. 

Who is like me? Let them proclaim it,
let them declare and set it forth before me. 

Who has announced from of old the things to come?
Let them tell us what is yet to be. 

Do not fear, or be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
You are my witnesses! 

Is there any god besides me?
There is no other rock; I know not one. 

Psalm 86:11-17

11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
and I will walk in your truth; *
knit my heart to you that I may fear your Name.

12 I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, *
and glorify your Name for evermore.

13 For great is your love toward me; *
you have delivered me from the nethermost Pit.

14 The arrogant rise up against me, O God,
and a band of violent men seeks my life; *
they have not set you before their eyes.

15 But you, O Lord, are gracious and full of compassion, *
slow to anger, and full of kindness and truth.

16 Turn to me and have mercy upon me; *
give your strength to your servant;
and save the child of your handmaid.

17 Show me a sign of your favour,
so that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed; *
because you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Romans 8:12-25

Brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh– for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ– if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Matthew 13:24-30,36-43

Jesus put before the crowd another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” 

Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!”

Tending the earth for all

18th July 2026

Trust in the Lord and be doing good; dwell in the land and be nourished with truth.
  Let your delight be in the Lord and he will give you your heart’s desire.
Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him, and he will bring it to pass. 

Psalm 37:3-5

You Lord are the bread of life;

feed us with your wisdom.

Our meat is to do the Father’s  will.

guide us in all we do

Whenever we eat or drink

Let it be to the glory of God.

A Reading  – Mark 4:3-8

 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.  But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.  Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” 

Pause for reflection

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
    and do not return there until they have watered the earth,

So may we store water for when and for whoever needs it,

and safeguard those living with the threat of flooding.


As the earth brings forth and sprouts,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

So may we harvest what is needed, 

sharing the bounty so no one goes hungry.

So shall God’s word be that goes forth; it shall not return empty,
but it shall accomplish that which is purposed
    and succeed in the thing for which it is sent.

May we pay attention to God’s word,

 following the ways of wisdom that God desires 

for the wellbeing of all creation.

For as the earth brings forth its shoots,

May we protect the fertility of the soil,

not polluting it with chemicals nor stripping it of nourishment.

And as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,

May we treasure those who tend and farm the land,

paying fair wages and sharing profits.

So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
    to spring up before all the nations:

May we welcome God’s kingdom with all our being,

following God’s law with hands, hearts and voices.

Based on Isaiah 55:10,11 and 61:11


The Grace

Counting on 2026 … day 8

16th  January

Reversing land system change needs to include both reforestation and the adoption of regenerative farming methods – ie methods that restore the fertility of the soil, restores fresh water cycles, protects the environment from pollutants such as pesticides, fertilisers, slurry etc, that promotes increasing biodiversity and produces healthy food. Somehow nations  need to find ways of valuing the role that trees and good agricultural practice play in maintaining the wellbeing of the earth systems on which we rely. 

This might be by levying a rate or tax to cover the cost similar to the water rate we used to pay for clean water – and which could be used to pay for planting trees and/or  for setting aside land for woodlands. In the UK farmers can be paid by the Government (and thus ultimately paid for by the tax payer) to protect and enhance the natural environment – eg through the Sustainable Farming Incentive – https://www.farmingadviceservice.org.uk/category/funding-support

In a similar vein, consumers can actively chose to support environmentally friendly farming by paying a premium for the products thus produced – eg organic fruit and vegetables, grass fed meat, wild flower honey. 

It might be by levying a fee on those whose businesses pollute the environment – eg levied against beef and dairy products, or against industrial chicken farms. Denmark – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20nq8qgep3o

Governments and other institutions- like health bodies, schools etc – might promote a switch to largely plant based diets (as per the Planetary Health Diet). Denmark is developing a concerted switch to a largely plant based diet with support for farmers as well as encouragement for consumers. https://rethinkpriorities.org/research-area/plant-based-diet-shift-initiative-case-studies-denmarks-plant-based-food-grant/

Governments and farming bodies can encourage a switch to crops better suited to the changing climate in their region – eg switchIng from olives and almonds to pistachios in the dryer Spanish climate, introducing agroforestry, replacing cotton with hemp (as is happening in Turkey – https://egedeniztextile.com/turkish-hemp/) etc. https://inspain.news/spains-green-gold-rush-and-why-pistachios-are-the-future-of-farming/

Governments could mandate that public purchasing should favour sustainably produced products – both food and timber based products. This report urges the use of timber in the construction industry: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/timber-in-construction-roadmap-2025/timber-in-construction-roadmap-2025

Conversely governments can implement legislation to limit or end land use and farming practices that damage planetary boundaries. The UK and the European Union have both introduced legislation that requires companies to ensure through the length of the supply chains that not products are derived from sources where deforestation is involved: https://www.clydeco.com/en/insights/2025/02/spotlight-on-deforestation-regulations-in-uk-eu

NB both sets of policies have yet to be fully implemented.