Farming

Watch: Harry's farming test and trial story

Graham Higgins, 27 May 2021 - Conversations we're having, environmental land management schemes, Ways to get involved

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.

Interest in the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme pilot

Tom Lewis and Karen Brash, 20 May 2021 - Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot, Things we're doing, Things we've learned

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.

Call for views: leaving the sector and delinked payments

Alastair Walton, 19 May 2021 - Ways to get involved

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.

In conversation with a soil health pioneer

Janet Hughes and The Team, 11 May 2021 - Conversations we're having, Future Farming Podcast

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.

Our work to improve inspections and make penalties proportionate

Andy King, 6 April 2021 - Things we're doing, Things we've learned

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.

Conversations we're having

The Team, 1 April 2021 - Conversations we're having

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.

Shaping the new Landscape Recovery scheme

The Team, 1 April 2021 - environmental land management schemes, Payments to restore landscapes and ecosystems

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.

The Farming Investment Fund: an overview

Gordon Jones, 30 March 2021 - Things we're doing, Ways to get involved

In the Agricultural Transition Plan, we said we believe there is a way for the industry to increase productivity in an environmentally sustainable way without relying on Direct Payments. In this post, I'll give an overview of the fund.

The Future Farming Resilience Fund: supporting farmers through transition

Andrew Powley, 25 March 2021 - Transition support

The Future Farming Resilience Fund (FFRF) awards grants to organisations so that they can support farmers and land managers who are in receipt of Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments. Today, (25 March) we’re inviting organisations to apply for funding.

How we're encouraging innovation in farming

Leah Segal, 22 March 2021 - Payments for research and innovation

To improve productivity and reduce the negative impact of agriculture on our environment, we need to think about innovation and invest in research and development. In this post, I'll give an overview of the Farming Innovation Pathways competition, which is open for applications.

Blog Farming

Watch: Harry's farming test and trial story

Interest in the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme pilot

Call for views: leaving the sector and delinked payments

In conversation with a soil health pioneer

Our work to improve inspections and make penalties proportionate

Conversations we're having

Shaping the new Landscape Recovery scheme

The Farming Investment Fund: an overview

The Future Farming Resilience Fund: supporting farmers through transition

How we're encouraging innovation in farming

About us

Quick links

Talk to us

Get advice

Webinars in 2025

Sign up and manage updates

Using this blog

Follow us

Related content and links