Now in its fourth year, the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme is helping farmers and land managers in England’s protected landscapes farm more sustainably while restoring nature, heritage and access to the countryside. This post highlights what collaborative working has achieved.
The government has today launched a new Animal Welfare Strategy. It sets out a comprehensive programme of reforms to improve the lives of millions of animals across England, from farm animals and pets to wildlife. In this post, we’ll summarise what this means for livestock keepers and the wider rural community.
With the next round of the Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies (ADOPT) fund now open, we highlight some projects that have recently begun, to inspire you to apply.
In this episode of the podcast, guest host Neil Pickard talks with Stuart Johnson, Soil Farmer of the Year 2023, and Kyle Richardville from Understanding Ag. They discuss how improving soil health can increase profitability on mixed, arable and upland livestock farms.
Last year, money collected from fines on water companies between April 2022 and October 2023 was invested in the £11 million Water Restoration Fund. In this post, we share the list of successful grant applicants and highlight one of the projects.
Alan Laidlaw has been appointed as England’s first Commissioner for the Tenant Farming Sector. In this guest post, he shares his background, his ambitions for the role, and how he plans to work with the sector to strengthen relationships and collaboration between tenant farmers, landlords, and advisers.
The Farming and Countryside Programme’s annual report is out, highlighting how funding has helped farmers, foresters, and land managers support nature, sustainable food, and innovation. In addition to this, guidance for Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier applications is available, with the online service opening next week for invited applicants who have completed pre-application advice.
In September, the new Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) service will open for applications to those who have been invited to apply, have received pre-application advice and have completed any preparatory work.
Following the Spending Review, Defra has secured a multi-year funding commitment from HM Treasury. More than £2.7 billion a year will be invested in sustainable farming and nature recovery from 2026 to 2029. Funding for the Environmental Land Management Schemes paid to farmers will increase by 150% over this time period.
We've launched a call for evidence to better understand how we can support and incentivise business to invest in nature recovery.
From 6 April 2026, full inheritance tax relief will apply to the first £2.5 million of qualifying agricultural and business assets, with lower relief applying to any value above this. Learn more
4 February YAMS (Yorkshire Agricultural Machinery Show) at York Auction Centre, York.
4 February Dairy Tech at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire.
The Farming Advice Service (FAS) provides free, confidential advice to farmers and advisers.
Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) helps farmers in England protect water, air and soil. CSF advisers can provide advice on best practices and specific actions that will benefit your farm business and the environment.
We’ve compiled a list of organisations offering wellbeing support to those in the farming community.
