Funding

Rural communities in Wales are facing a ‘double hit’ of potential cuts to development funding, Plaid Cymru has warned.

Agri-environment subsidies could provide more stable farm incomes than direct payments, a new study of farms in England and Wales has found.

Welsh farmers will continue to receive the same level of funding in 2021 as they received in 2019 – there is no need for worry about rural spending, says Paul Davies MS, leader of the Welsh Conservatives.

Farmers cannot afford to lose half their BPS income over the next four years. Government must maintain current farm payments until the new ELM scheme is rolled out in full to protect the future of family farming, says Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale.

Scottish Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing has accused the Treasury of plotting to cut payments to farmers under the guise of environmentalism.

There were many unpredictable and unprecedented events in 2020, but what does 2021 have in store for farmers? Sustain’s head of sustainable farming, Vicki Hird, explores what could be on the horizon.

Controlling fixed costs will be key as agriculture moves away from direct payments

A farm budgeting model has revealed the true financial cost to all sectors from the loss of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in England

Farming Minister Victoria Prentis has said the UK Levelling Up Fund and the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) will take into account the specific needs of rural communities.

Like politicians, the general public have short memories, and however strongly they felt last year about ‘getting Brexit done’, realities that hit them in the pocket will lead to far more unrest than being sick of Brexit headlines, says FUW’s head of policy Dr Nick Fenwick.