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Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

Farmers in Defra

Meet the team: Policy Adviser Emma and her background in agriculture

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: environmental land management schemes, Farmers in Defra, Things we've learned
Emma Bailey-Beech

In this post, Emma Bailey-Beech writes about her background in agriculture and how it led to working on the Future Farming and Countryside Programme. We’re grateful to have people in the team with hands-on experience in the farming sector, and can bring it to bear on our work. 

The farmers who work in Defra

Posted by: and , Posted on: - Categories: A view from the farm, Farmers in Defra

Some of our colleagues are also farmers. In this post, Ben Keene and Brian Longman introduce the Defra Farmer's Forum, the group which brings them together. They also share their stories. In the months that follow, we’ll hear from more farmers who either work in the Future Farming and Countryside Programme or support our work from their teams elsewhere in Defra.

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About us

This blog is managed by Defra’s Farming and Countryside Programme.

On this blog, we explain the reforms to agricultural policy in England.

We share what we’re working on, what we’re learning and how you can get involved.

Find out more

Talk to us

On 25 February, we are attending the NFU Conference in London.

Come and say hello to our team.

You can also find us at these agricultural shows and conferences in 2025.

Funding for farmers, growers and land managers in England

GOV.UK is the place to find official guidance and information.

Funding for farmers, growers and land managers sets out every payment on offer with links to learn more.

Get advice

The Farming Resilience Fund provides free, independent business support to farmers. If you’ve received direct payments since October 2022, you’re eligible. 

The Farming Advice Service (FAS) provide free, confidential advice to farmers and advisers.

Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) helps farmers in England protect water, air and soil. CSF advisers can provide advice on best practices and specific SFI actions that will benefit your farm business and the environment.

We’ve compiled a list of organisations offering wellbeing support to those in the farming community.

New: drafts of further endorsed SFI actions

We’ve published drafts of an additional 14 SFI endorsed actions. Once we take stakeholder feedback on board, we expect these actions to be available from summer 2025.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive

Thumbnail image showing link to SFI site - farmer in foreground and cows behind.

Find out how SFI can work for you.

Webinars in 2025

Attend upcoming webinars and watch recordings.

BPS and delinked payments

Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in England will be replaced with delinked payments in 2024.

Learn how they’re calculated and who’s eligible.

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