As outlined in the Chancellor’s announcement, we have secured a budget of £2.4 billion for the next financial year. This means we can maintain the momentum of our environmental land management (ELM) schemes, which will rise to the highest funding levels ever by 2025/26.
In this blog post, I’ll share how we have worked with the farming community to develop the standards for the Sustainable Farming Incentive from 2021.
Last week, I wrote a post about the importance of England’s Protected Landscapes – our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Today, I’m pleased to tell you about the new Defra-funded Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, which will be open for applications from next month.
Farming is going through the biggest change in a generation.
Government's approach to working with the sector is changing too.
Click on the link below for an overview of the programme, our schemes and delivery timeline.
One of the areas we’re looking at is how much advice and guidance farmers and land managers might need in our new schemes. We’ve got 43 tests and trials exploring this and in this post we’ll share the latest findings.
You might remember that in the Agricultural Transition Plan, we mentioned the introduction of a Farming in Protected Landscapes programme. We’re preparing to release more information about that programme in the coming weeks, but before then, I wanted to share a few reasons why protected landscapes are so important.
In March, I blogged about the Future Farming Resilience Fund (FFRF). The FFRF provides business support to farmers and land managers to help them navigate the changes that are happening during the agricultural transition. I wanted to give a short update on how this work is progressing.
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.
Trees give us oxygen. They store carbon. They help the soil and provide a habitat for wildlife. For these reasons and many more, protecting them from pests and diseases is important. With tree and woodland managers, we are designing a new range of grants as part of a future Tree Health scheme. I'll share more in this post.
Farmers like Harry Baker Cresswell are helping us to shape the future of farming in England. In this video, Harry explains what it was like working with Defra to test and trial land management plans. He shows us around Preston Mains Farm and talks about the improvements he will make in his own land management plan.
In March, we invited farmers to express interest in taking part in the first Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot. In this post, we'd like to share the response and what we’ll do next.
On 9-10 January we’re at the Oxford Farming Conference and the Oxford Real Farming Conference.
Come and say hello to our team.
You can also find us at these agricultural shows and conferences in 2025.
