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Things we're doing

Advancing work on supply chain fairness

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Today, Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, announced that the government will advance work on supply chain fairness by using the fair dealing powers in the Agriculture Act 2020.  In this post, we provide background and a summary of what you can expect.

Wet weather and temporary adjustments to agri-environment agreements

Heavy rainfall has a devastating and long-term impact on farming. This disruption not only affects livelihoods but also has wider implications for food security and the economy too. We're introducing temporary adjustments and easements within the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), the SFI Pilot, Countryside Stewardship (CS) and Environmental Stewardship (ES) to support farmers and land managers dealing with the impacts of severe weather in England.

Webinar follow up: livestock and grassland

We recently held a webinar for livestock and grassland farmers in England. In the webinar, we gave an overview of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer and how the scheme supports both productivity and the environment. We also covered the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway and the grants on offer through the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund. In this post, we summarise what we covered and include the recording and links for you to learn more.

Next round of Large R&D Partnerships competition on the way

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A hand holding a rapeseed pod

On 15 January, we’ll open another round of the Large R&D Partnerships competition. Part of the Farming Innovation Programme, this competition offers a share of £7.8 million to farmers, growers and foresters in England to take forward ideas that improve productivity, sustainability, resilience and move the sector towards net zero. Together with our delivery partners Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), we published the competition guidance today. 

Watch: Funding for farmers webinar

Someone writes in a notebook with laptop in the background

On Wednesday 6 September, we held a webinar for farmers to learn more about the funding available in England. In this post, you can watch a recording of the session.

Watch: Trialling farmer-led land management plans at Aqualate Mere, Staffordshire

In this film, farmers from the Aqualate Mere catchment share their experiences of taking part in Tests and Trials. This test created a land management plan and worked to set priorities for the catchment, incorporating biodiversity, water quality and carbon sequestration.

Slurry Infrastructure grants: first round summary and our next steps

Cows on the Fursdon Estate, Cadbury

Offered alongside better advice and fairer, more effective regulation, the Slurry Infrastructure grant is designed to help livestock farmers make better use of their slurries to meet crop need and cut pollution. In December, we opened the first round of the Slurry Infrastructure grant for applications. In this post, I’ll explain how we prioritised projects and what will happen next. I’ll also describe some changes we are making to the payment process in light of the high demand for the scheme.