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environmental land management schemes

Environmental land management schemes: progress update

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Yesterday, Rt Hon Mark Spencer MP, Minister for Food, Farming and Fisheries and Janet Hughes, Programme Director, Future Farming and Countryside Programme appeared before the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. The session was part of a committee inquiry into the rollout of the new environmental land management schemes.

Sustainable Farming Incentive: more farmers can apply without being invited

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: environmental land management schemes, Things we're doing
Farmland pastoral scene in Bradninch, Devon.

From 1 September, if you have land in a Countryside Stewardship or Environmental Stewardship agreement, but not on common land, you can now apply online directly by signing into the Rural Payments service.

Watch: The North Cumbria Farmers Group test and trial

Farmers in North Cumbria's Forgotten Lands are working with Natural England and Defra to help shape future environmental land management schemes. In this third video in a series of 3 about the North Cumbria Farmers Group Test and Trial, uplands livestock farmer and local history expert Barbara Smith explains how the group have been mapping the natural capital of the land, and the background to this history-rich area of north-west England.

Environmental land management: a forward look 

Autumn Colours at Killerton with cow

Through our new environmental land management schemes, we will pay farmers and land managers to enhance the natural environment alongside food production. In this post, I'll share more information about how we expect Local Nature Recovery to work.

Common land test and trial: findings from the field

Over the past 2 years, the Foundation for Common Land, in collaboration with the Federation of Cumbria Commoners, delivered a tests and trials project to look at commons. In this guest post, Professor Julia Aglionby shares their work which explored how environmental land management schemes should be developed to support commons.  

Future Farming Podcast: everything you need to know about the Sustainable Farming Incentive

Future Farming Podcast: Martin Lines and Jonathan Marsden

In the latest episode of the Future Farming Podcast, Cambridgeshire farmer Martin Lines and Sustainable Farming Incentive lead Jonathan Marsden talk all things Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and environmental land management.

Local Nature Recovery in 2022

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Rolling green hills of the Yorkshire Dales

Local Nature Recovery is the improved and more ambitious successor to the Countryside Stewardship scheme in England. In this post, we’ll provide further detail on what Local Nature Recovery will pay for and explain how we will be working with you over the course of the year to develop the detailed scheme design.

6 months on: How the pilot is shaping the Sustainable Farming Incentive  

Hele Payne Farm

In November, we started to offer agreements to farmers taking part in the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot.  In this post, we'll share an overview of the things we’ve learned over the past 6 months and how we’re incorporating them into the design of the full scheme.

How we designed the Sustainable Farming Incentive Standards 

Mid Devon District, England, United Kingdom

As a farmer, I am only too aware of the financial pressures which force farmers to make short-term decisions to address an immediate need. This isn’t always ideal for the environment and the sustainability of farming in the longer term. The marketplace is very good at driving the efficient production of high-quality grain, meat, milk and vegetables for today and tomorrow, but less so at rewarding high water quality, great soil or increasing the numbers of birds and insects over time. In this post, I’ll explain how the Sustainable Farming Incentive will start to redress the balance and how it will reward farmers for delivering environmental benefits as well as efficient food production.