Increasing genetic diversity in Northern seeds and Breeds
Our collaborative review process revealed that there are opportunities within the wider farming community to explore how to transition to using different breeds and seeds from, or well suited to, the changing North of England climate. Access to knowledge and information can be a challenge however. There is also a need to build an economy system that better supports farmers and procurers to understand the value and characteristics of native breeds of livestock, heritage varieties and novel genetically diverse cultivars so that they can be valued alongside the larger, faster growing mainstream breed and varieties and the associated economies of scale.
To address these challenges, our strategy outlines the following steps towards increasing genetic diversity in our fields and on our plates:
Our goal: Genetic diversity in production has increased. This includes more open pollinated and heritage varieties as well as more native breeds of livestock.
Desired outcomes
- Northern seed growing and processing capacity is expanded and professionalised.
- Native and particularly hill breeds of livestock are more prevalent in farming systems.
- Markets are available for genetically diverse seeds and breeds
Example activities that were identified as supporting these immediate outcomes – and which should therefore be urgent priorities for funding – are as follows:
- Supporting the setup of more training opportunities by, for example, coordinating the offerings of members of the consortium.
- Attracting large scale investment into agroecological farming in the North of England by, for example, setting up rural agroecological bonds (like city bonds).
- Facilitating value chain collaborations within pulses, grains, and meat sectors
- Supporting those networks that facilitate routes to market for agroecological produce
- More knowledge exchange on the economics and production traits of native breeds of livestock in different farming systems
Some examples of what is currently being delivered by NFF network members:
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- Seed Sovereignty Programme North of England activity including training, knowledge exchange, growth of seed libraries and events
- Yorkshire Grain Alliance bringing together farmers, millers, bakers and others interested in developing a more diverse, democratic and decommodified grain system
- Great Northern Fruit Moot for those interested in sustainable fruit production at a community scale
- Northern Pulse Collaboration, coordinated by NFF, exploring approaches to increasing the production and consumption of a range of legume crops in the North of England
- Rare breed conservation and maintenance
- Creation of a ‘Directory’ of farmers willing to be contacted about their experience of different livestock breeds
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Priority next steps identified by the NFF network in May 2025:
- Continue to support interest and engagement in use of diverse pulses in the North, creating the market for more farmers to include legumes in their farm rotations
- Build existing initiatives into funding applications to ensure their work continues
- Increase support of activity on trees (including fruit trees) and rare breeds – notably there is government support for diversifying into rare breeds and network members who can provide specialist advice
- Strategic campaigning around the importance of crop and livestock diversity in our food and farming system