On 25 March 2026, the Scottish Government published a revised Code of Practice on Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture (the “Code”). The Code supersedes the preliminary version published in June 2025, which was issued on an interim basis pending publication of the Rural Support Plan.
The Code is required by section 29 of the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024 (the “2024 Act”), which places a duty on Scottish Ministers to prepare and publish guidance on sustainable and regenerative agriculture. It is a best practice guide available to all farmers and crofters to help inform business decisions.
The Code explains how farming and crofting businesses can take practical steps to support sustainable and regenerative agriculture, balancing high-quality food production with economic and environmental sustainability.
What is sustainable and regenerative agriculture?
The Code sets out what Scottish Ministers consider to be sustainable and regenerative agriculture for the purposes of Scottish agricultural policy.
Sustainable agriculture is described as producing food in a way which means the business can be profitable, but where management activities do not have an adverse impact on people or natural resources such as soil, water, air and biodiversity. Notably, the Code makes clear that sustainability in this context is not purely environmental: drawing on the United Nations Environment Programme, it encompasses profitability, environmental health, and social and economic equity. Scottish Government objectives around fair work and women in agriculture are accordingly treated as elements of a sustainable business.
Regenerative agriculture is described as a collection of farming practices with a focus on renewing and conserving soils, landscapes and ecosystems. The Code recognises that regenerative agriculture is a flexible, farm-specific approach underpinned by each farmer's knowledge of their own land, systems and enterprises: there is no definitive list of methods. The main aim is regeneration and conservation of the farm’s ecological system.
The Code identifies five regenerative principles: minimising soil disturbance (through no-till or reduced tillage); maximising crop diversity (via cover crops, intercropping and rotation); keeping soil covered; maintaining living roots year-round; and integrating livestock into the farming system.
Management Actions and Measures
The Code sets out a wide range of Management Actions and Measures across four categories, each offering practical steps that businesses can choose to adopt:
-
Nature and climate
Nature and Climate is the most extensive, covering everything from soil management (continuous cover, minimum tillage and soil health) to hedgerow and habitat management, regenerative grazing, integrated pest management, peatland and wetland protection and restoration, nutrient management, water resource planning, tree integration and carbon auditing.
-
Livestock, climate and productivity
Livestock, climate and productivity focuses on nutrition planning, breeding improvements and herd management practices designed to reduce greenhouse gas emission intensity.
-
Animal health and welfare
Animal health and welfare is framed around the One Health and One Welfare frameworks, covering health planning, biosecurity and targeted disease prevention.
-
Business profitability
Crucially, the Code is not a checklist - farmers and crofters are expected to choose the actions that suit their particular land type and business, and there is no requirement to adopt all, or any of them.
Legal Status and Review
The Code is not law and does not create any legal obligations. However, section 9 of the 2024 Act enables Scottish Ministers to make regulations that specify the extent to which guidance on a particular topic (including the guidance in the Code) is relevant in determining whether or not a person has complied with a statutory duty or a condition of support. At the time of writing, no such regulations have been made.
The Code also intends to complement the provisions relating to sustainable and regenerative practices in the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025, which will update the Rules of Good Husbandry so that tenant farmers will be expected to farm in a way that achieves sustainable and regenerative production. The Code mentions that the courts might have regard to the terms of the Code when interpreting a relevant sustainable and regenerative agriculture provision in a lease.
The Code will be reviewed and, if necessary, revised on a five-year cycle, with the next review due by 2031. Any Code or revision must be consulted on with people Scottish Ministers “consider likely to be interested in or affected by it”.
For further information or advice please reach out to a member of Brodies Rural Business and Nature capital team, or your usual Brodies contact.
Contributors
Senior Solicitor
Partner
