There’s still time to get free business advice

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Transition support
Rare breed pig farmers Sarah and Byron Odell are visited on their Shropshire farm by adviser Karen Fisher from the Soil Association. They stand in a field with pigs in the background.

The Farming Resilience Fund offers free, tailored business support to help farmers and land managers plan during the early years of the agricultural transition. With over 100 actions available through the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) a range of grants to explore and with the advice offer ending in early 2025, now is a good time to …

Dartmoor Land Use Management Group: appointment of a chair

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Farming and Countryside Team
Sun and showers over Vixen Tor, Dartmoor, Devon, UK.

In April, we published our response to the Independent review of protected site management on Dartmoor. We agreed with the recommendation to create a land use management group. I'm pleased to say that the position of chair has just been advertised. In this post, I'll share a short summary and provide links to learn more.

An update on SFI and our agri-environment schemes 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: environmental land management schemes, Sustainable Farming Incentive
Combine Harvester at work in Bradfield St George with farmer in foreground

It's been a while since our last post. We’re glad to be back! Over the past month, we've been welcoming Defra's new ministerial team, who are fully committed to environmental land management schemes. We've been working with them to optimise our schemes and grants for farmers, food security and nature recovery. In this post, we’ll …

The Smaller Abattoir Fund: increase in intervention rate and grant amount

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Farming and Countryside Team, Grants

In December, we shared details of a new capital grant to support smaller abattoirs in England, offered through the Smaller Abattoir Fund . To recognise the cash flow challenges that many smaller abattoirs face, we’re increasing this support. We’ve raised the intervention rate from 40% to 50% and we’ve increased the maximum grant amount from £60,000 …

Further funding to tackle endemic diseases

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Payments to support animal health and welfare
A farmer and a vet in discussion lean on the railings of a pen.

By reducing the levels of endemic disease in livestock, we can increase productivity, support businesses and unlock wider benefits too — from reducing greenhouse gas emissions to slowing antimicrobial resistance. The very nature of endemic disease means it is an ongoing concern. Managing it requires the sustained effort of livestock keepers, the support of vets and …

Introducing Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grants

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Grants, Payments to improve animal health and welfare
Chickens

Next month, a new grant for hen housing will be available to laying hen and pullet farmers in England with flocks of 1,000 birds or more. We've just published the guidance for the grant on GOV.UK. In this post we’ll share an overview of the grant and a link to the guidance.

Wet weather and temporary adjustments to agri-environment agreements

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Countryside Stewardship, Environmental Stewardship, Sustainable Farming Incentive, Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot, Things we're doing

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 …