Sustain welcomes Stockfree Farming to the alliance

Stockfree Farming bring welcome expertise in helping farmers to grow more high quality plant-based protein for human consumption. Stockfree Farming is a charity based in Scotland but working across the UK. They explain that their purpose is “to build a just, sustainable, food system by supporting and assisting farmers and crofters throughout the UK to engage in economically viable, site-suitable, stockfree land management activities that positively contribute to healthy plant-based food production, climate change mitigation, and nature recovery”. 

The work of Stockfree Farming complements the work of the Sustain alliance’s Sustainable Farming campaign, Bridging the Gap, and the Food for the Planet campaign, which advocate for a plant-rich approach to diets and a ‘less and better’ approach to meat and dairy.

Stockfree Farming shares Sustain’s mission to address the climate and nature emergency and achieve a good food economy with healthy, sustainable food for all. They work towards this in three main ways, by:  

• Offering a range of free services to farmers, including “expert advice, transitioning planning, enterprise budgeting, business plans, access to funding, and end-market support”.
• Engaging in political advocacy at Westminster and in the devolved nations, “to gain public funding to incentivise farmers to make the shift to stockfree, site-suitable land management”.  
• Undertaking research and publication in the areas of farmer mental health, and in “novel plant-protein production as a sustainable income stream for farmers”.

Rebecca Knowles, Founding Director of Stockfree Farming, said:

"We have realised the benefit of working in conjunction with other, like-minded organisations. Networks and numbers are power.  When it comes to influencing policy makers in the direction of better farming and food, they always want to know: how many others think this way, how many others want this?  Working as a powerful alliance, agreeing on key points, and focusing on taking these forward together, is the means to achieve change."

Kath Dalmeny, Chief Executive of Sustain, said:

“Stockfree Farming offers support to farmers wanting to transition out of livestock farming and focus more on growing horticultural and arable crops. It is helpful that farmers are provided with advice, business planning and marketing support. We look forward to welcoming Stockfree Farming to our longstanding Sustainable Farming working party at this very important time for agricultural policy, in which accelerating the transition to agroecological farming and sustainable diets is a priority.”

Stockfree Farming upholds its commitment to “protecting and improving the environment” by advocating for “a just transition to stockfree/organic farming and other alternative land uses that would release more land for ecosystem restoration, enhance biodiversity, emit less greenhouse gases, cause less pollution, preserve and improve soils, and use fewer natural resources”. In 2023, Stockfree Farming was an official Earthshot Prize nominee.

Read case studies of farmers who are transitioning to stockfree farming.

Find out more about the Stockfree Farming team.