Farms in Northern Ireland face a series of challenges due to the crisis in farm profitability which saw farm incomes drop by 16% in 2014/15 and a devastating 46% in 2015/16. Low prices threaten many farms since low profitability makes it less appealing for the next generation to take over.

In order to increase farm profitability and provide a viable future for the farming sector, John Gilliland and other leading figures from the Northern Ireland agri-food, environmental sector and government have prepared a Sustainable Agriculture Land Management Strategy which is aimed at taking advantage of available local resources so as to reduce costs and get a bigger margin from sales. This would not only increase farm profitability but also tackle environmental problems such as nutrient leaching, biodiversity loss and climate change.  More environmental friendly farms in turn, would offer an opportunity to differentiate the food produced in them and get a higher price for it.