Practical Guides
On this page, we've gathered our Farming for a Better Climate practical guides, covering wide range of areas helpful in running your farm.
Energy & Renewables
Practical Guide: Introduction to Small Scale Renewables
This Practical Guide gives an overview of small farm scale renewable systems
DownloadPractical Guide: Anaerobic Digestion (Biogas)
This Practical Guide focuses on anaerobic digestion and how it can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
DownloadPractical Guide: Micro-Hydro
This Practical Guide concentrates on micro-hydro opportunities. Installing micro-hydro could reduce electricity bills, provide an additional income, and reduce GHG emissions from the farm.
DownloadPractical Guide: Monitoring Energy Use
This practical guide looks at how you can record and monitor farm energy and fuel use.
DownloadPractical Guide: Electricity Use in Dairy
This Practical Guide highlights how technology can improve energy use during milking and lead to improved farm efficiency.
DownloadPractical Guide: Introduction to Energy Auditing
This Practical Guide highlights how to assess and optimize farm energy and fuel use.
DownloadPractical Guide: Optimising Tractor Fuel Use
This Practical Guide looks at how to reduce tractor fuel consumption
DownloadPractical Guide: Tyre Selection & Management
This practical guide explains how to reduce soil damage, improve fuel usage and reduce overall green house gas emissions by selecting the correct tyre size, type and pressure.
DownloadPractical Guide: The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)
This Practical Guide explains the Renewable Heat Incentive.
DownloadPractical Guide: Wind energy
This Practical Guide concentrates on how to develop a medium scale wind turbine and help reduce GHG emissions. (Note: other scales of development may be appropriate at your site. The basic principles still apply.)
DownloadPractical Guide: Making the Most of On-Site Energy Generation
This Farming For a Better Climate Practical Guide looks at how demand management can reduce the need to import electricity from the grid.
DownloadPractical Guide: Transition to a Decarbonised Energy System
This guide outlines what changes are expected to take place, technologies involved and what opportunities there are for rural businesses.
DownloadCarbon Management
Practical Guide: Biodiverse Hedgerows for Carbon
This Practical Guide explores the benefits of biodiverse farm hedgerows, including management, Farm Carbon Storage Network and planting.
DownloadPractical Guide: Carbon Footprinting on the Beef Farm
This Practical Guide concentrates on some of the opportunities that could come from carrying out a carbon footprint on the beef farm.
DownloadPractical Guide: Carbon Footprinting on the Dairy Farm
This Practical Guide concentrates on some of the benefits that could come from carrying out a carbon footprint on the dairy farm.
DownloadPractical Guide: Farm Woodlands and Carbon
This Practical Guide looks at opportunities for locking up carbon in farm woodlands and benefits for the farm business.
DownloadPractical Guide: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
This Practical Guide looks at the main agricultural greenhouse gases and how farm emissions might be reduced.
DownloadPractical Guide: Transition to a Decarbonised Energy System
This guide outlines what changes are expected to take place, technologies involved and what opportunities there are for rural businesses.
DownloadFarm Soils
Practical Guide: Soil sampling I – How to take a soil sample
This practical guide details what is required to take a soil sample for analysis that is representative of the area sampled.
DownloadFarming For A Better Climate: Practical Guide – Alleviating Soil Compaction
This Practical Guide gives some ideas on how to alleviate soil compaction.
DownloadPractical Guide: Assess Your Soil Structure
This practical guide concentrates on how to assess and improve soil structure using the VESS (Visual Assessment of Soil Structure) system. This can benefit crop yields and reduce GHG emissions.
DownloadFarming For A Better Climate: Practical Guide – Improving Soil Quality
This Practical Guide concentrates on how we can improve soil quality to help us to adapt to climate change.
DownloadPractical Guide: Managing Soil Phosphorus
This Practical Guide will help you manage the phosphorus in your soils. It will help you understand the risk of phosphorus pollution and how you can reduce bagged fertiliser costs in grassland by incorporating nitrogen fixing clover into your sward.
DownloadPractical Guide: Regenerative Agriculture – Integrating Livestock
This Practical Guide looks at the fifth principle of regenerative farming: Integrating livestock.
DownloadPractical Guide: Regenerative Agriculture – Keeping Soil Covered
This Practical Guide looks at the fourth principle of regenerative farming: Keeping soil covered.
DownloadPractical Guide: Regenerative Agriculture – Maintaining a Living Root
This practical guide looks at the first principle of regenerative farming: Maintaining a living root.
DownloadPractical Guide: Regenerative Agriculture – Maximising Crop Diversity
This Practical Guide looks at the third principle of regenerative farming: Maximising crop diversity.
DownloadPractical Guide: Understanding Soil Carbon
This practical guide takes a closer look at Soil Carbon.
DownloadPractical Guide: Regenerative Agriculture – Transitioning to Reduced Tillage
his Practical Guide unpicks some common problems around transitioning to reduced tillage and offers practical solutions.
DownloadPractical Guide: Soil sampling II – Benefits to your business
This practical guide details how soil sampling can benefit businesses by increasing productivity and create efficiencies on fertiliser inputs through better nutrient planning.
DownloadPractical Guide: Soil Organic Matter
This practical guide looks at soil organic matter, tests to take and what ideal soil organic matter looks like.
DownloadNutrient Management
Practical Guide: Nutrient budgeting I – The Benefits to your Business
This practical guide looks at the benefits of creating and using a nutrient budget for your farm business.
DownloadPractical Guide: Nutrient Budgeting II – Getting Started
This practical guide looks at what factors you need to consider when making a nutrient budget for your farm, fertiliser recommendations and how to get the most out of your nutrient budget.
DownloadPractical Guide: Applying Nutrients
This Practical Guide gives ideas on managing nutrient applications differently to help reduce GHG emissions.
DownloadPractical Guide: Establishing a Grass Clover Sward
This Practical Guide gives tips to help you establish a grass clover sward.
DownloadMaximising The Performance of Grass Leys
This Practical Guide gives some tips to maintain long term production on grass leys.
DownloadPractical Guide: Nitrogen Fixation
his Practical Guide looks at how to optimise nitrogen fixation for more efficient plant growth and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
DownloadPractical Guide – Optimising Organic Nitrogen (Updated Sept 2025)
This Practical Guide concentrates on how you can manage organic nitrogen to benefit the business and help reduce GHG emissions.
DownloadPractical Guide – Optimising Inorganic Nitrogen (Update Sept 2025)
This Practical Guide concentrates on how you can manage nutrient application and help reduce GHG emissions.
DownloadPractical Guide: Use of Cover Crops
This Practical Guide concentrates on the benefits of cover crops and how they can help your farm adapt in a changing climate.
DownloadPractical Guide: On-Farm Trials Guide
This Practical Guide designed to help you take a look at the impact of making changes to your fertiliser policy and soil management on your farm.
DownloadPractical Guide: Resource Use Efficiency on Arable Farms
This Practical Guide concentrates on some of the opportunities that could come from carrying out a carbon footprint on an arable farm.
DownloadOptimising Livestock Performance
Practical Guide: Improving Ewe Efficiency (1)
This Practical Guide looks at benchmarks to assess flock efficiency. Additional guides in this series focus on maximising performance both pre and post lambing.
DownloadPractical Guide: Improving Ewe Efficiency (2) – Pre Lambing
This Practical Guide looks at maximizing performance within the flock, concentrating on pre lambing.
DownloadPractical Guide: Improving Ewe Efficiency (3) – Meeting Benchmarks Post Lambing
This Practical Guide looks at maximizing performance within the flock, concentrating on post lambing.
DownloadLivestock nutrition
Livestock nutrition: A practical guide
DownloadPractical Guide: Feed-in Tariff
This Practical Guide focuses on the Feed in Tariff Scheme to fund renewable resources on farm, which can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
DownloadPractical Guide: Improving Shed Ventilation for the Beef Herd
This practical guide looks at maximising performance of housed beef cattle by improving ventilation in buildings.
DownloadPractical Guide: What can your Dairy Cows Tell You?
This practical guide looks at helping to maximise performance of cattle by improving their environment.
DownloadPractical Guide: Improving Dairy Feed and Water Intakes
This practical guide looks at helping to maximise performance of housed dairy cattle by improving feed and water intakes.
DownloadPractical Guide: Improving Shed Ventilation for the Dairy Herd
This practical guide looks at helping to maximise performance of housed cattle by improving ventilation in buildings.
DownloadPractical Guide: Farm Woodlands for Shelter
This Practical Guide looks at opportunities for improving shelter on the farm by the presence of woodlands.
DownloadPractical Guide: Silage Testing: Interpreting the Results
This practical guide looks at helping to maximise performance of
housed cattle by improving the use of silages.
Practical Guide: Alternative Forages for Ewes
This practical guide looks at reducing ewe feed costs while aiding rotational benefits and animal performance.
DownloadPractical Guide: Improving Fertility in the Beef Herd
This practical guide looks at helping to maximise performance of the beef herd by improving fertility within the herd.
DownloadPractical Guide: Improving Fertility in the Dairy Herd
This practical guide looks at ways to maximise fertility in the dairy herd which in turn helps improve annual milk production and reduce carbon footprint.
DownloadPractical Guide: Improving Grass Growth
This practical guide looks at how to optimise grass production.
DownloadPractical Guide: Maximising Growth Rates
This practical guide looks at ways of maximising growth rates in the beef herd.
DownloadPractical Guide: How do we Reduce Emissions from Beef?
This practical guide introduces some idea that we can all consider to improve profitability and reduce the carbon footprint from the beef enterprise.
DownloadPractical Guide: Agroforestry for Beef and Sheep Farmers
This Practical Guide outlines some considerations for beef and sheep farmers considering agroforestry.
DownloadPractical Guide: Comparing Grazing Methods
This Practical Guide is designed to improve understanding of different grazing strategies, their impacts for farm businesses and the environment.
DownloadPractical Guide: Pre Lambing Management of Hoggs
This practical guide takes a closer look at the management of lambs during pregnancy to lambing.
DownloadPractical Guide: Managing Bull Fertility
This practical guide takes a closer look at stock bull fertility checks to ensure performance.
DownloadPractical Guide: Improving Dairy Cow Performance
This practical guide looks at helping to maximise performance of cattle by improving their environment.
DownloadPractical Guide: Beef Bull Selection
This practical guide looks at what you should consider when selecting a breeding bull for use within the beef herd
DownloadPractical Guide: Managing Parasites in Beef Cattle – Lungworm
This Practical Guide highlights the need to manage internal parasites such as lungworm in cattle.
DownloadPractical Guide: How do we Reduce Emissions from Dairy?
This practical guide suggests from ideas to improve efficiency and profitability, while reducing the carbon footprint of the dairy enterprise.
DownloadPractical Guide: Managing Parasites in Beef Cattle – Liver Fluke
This Practical Guide highlights the need to manage internal parasites such as liver fluke in cattle.
DownloadPractical Guide: How do we Reduce Emissions from Sheep?
This practical guide takes a closer look at flock productivity.
DownloadPractical Guide: Improving Feed Conversion Efficiency and Reducing Waste in the Dairy Herd
This Practical Guide introduces some ideas that we can all consider to improve feeding efficiency and reduce waste from the dairy enterprise.
DownloadPractical Guide: Dairy Heifer Rearing
This practical guide looks at rearing dairy heifers for optimum lifetime performance.
DownloadOther Guides
Practical Guide: Adapting New Farm Buildings to a Changing Climate
This practical guide looks at the effects of climate change that should be considered when planning a new farm building.
DownloadPractical Guide: Adapting Traditional Farm Buildings to a Changing Climate
This practical guide looks at adaption of traditional farm buildings to cope with climate change.
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