In this guest post, Jonathan Statham introduces the Annual Health and Welfare Review, a fully-funded vet visit which farmers will receive each year of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. Jonathan is a cattle vet and chair-elect for England’s Animal Health and Welfare Board.
In October 2021, Defra will launch the first competitions of our new Industry-led R&D Partnerships fund. This is the first of three different funds to launch in Defra’s new Farming Innovation Programme.
At the start of this year I posted about what we had in store for the year. This post is about how we’re getting on and what’s coming next.
In this post I’ll provide a summary of what will be on offer through the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme and what we’re doing ahead of opening the scheme up to farmers next year.
The Census of Agriculture for England is now open. The census has existed in various forms for over 150 years. As it stands, we run them every 10 years, alongside an annual sample survey. The census provides us with the data we need to agree priorities, make decisions and design agricultural policies.
The Future Farming Resilience Fund (FFRF) awards grants to organisations so that they can support farmers and land managers who are in receipt of Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments. Today, (25 March) we’re inviting organisations to apply for funding.
At NFU21, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, George Eustice, spoke about the Sustainable Farming Incentive. In this post, Tom Lewis explains our approach to SFI and what you need to know.
Our Countryside Stewardship scheme is now open for 2022 agreements. Countryside Stewardship will eventually be replaced with the new Environmental Land Management scheme. By entering an agreement now, farmers will benefit from the new agricultural policy once it is fully rolled out in 2024.
We want to know what you think about our revised national action plan for the sustainable use of pesticides. The draft plan covers the next 5 years and aims to minimise the risks and impacts of pesticides to human health and the environment, while ensuring pests and pesticide resistance are managed effectively.
Today the government publishes the Agricultural Transition Plan (ATP). It represents the biggest shift in farm policy for 50 years.