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 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.
We want to offer farmers in England the option to leave the sector with a lump sum payment. We also plan to delink Direct Payments from the land. Today we launch a consultation on our proposals. In this post, I’ll give an overview.
Gabe Brown is this month's podcast guest. The American soil health pioneer and agricultural influencer talks to Janet Hughes about education in farming, shortening supply chains and the six principles of soil health.
To many, cross compliance is something of a mystery. I want to explain what it is, why it’s important and what we are doing to improve it.
We are invited to join a number of panel discussions, Q&A sessions and webinars, hosted by external organisations. This post contains links to some recent discussions.
The success of any piece of policy or scheme depends on how it holds up in real life. That is why we’re running a series of Test and Trials with farmers before the launch of new schemes.
On 27 and 28 November, you can come and put your questions to us at the CropTec in Stoneleigh.
Find us at these shows and conferences.
