Funding

Defra Secretary George Eustice has been accused of ‘missing the point’ on slaughterhouse investment, after he suggested no local abattoir network policy was needed to accommodate Government plans for shorter livestock journey

Welsh farming unions have accused the chancellor of a ‘Brexit betrayal’ after he announced a decision to slash Wales’ agricultural budget in last week’s spending review.

Farmers and land managers will have greater freedom and more choice in the future thanks to the Government’s new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme, says High Peak Conservative MP Robert Largan.

The UK Government’s decision to cut agricultural funding in the devolved nations will have far-reaching consequences for every farm in Wales, says Plaid Cymru MS Llyr Gruffydd.

If Defra’s latest document is anything to go by, the path of agricultural transition will be beset by instances in which bureaucratic ideology butts up against the realities of farming and food production.

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has paid £1.67 billion of Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) money to more than 95 per cent of farmers in the first day of the payment window.

We understand farmers are anxious about the changes outlined by Defra in its agricultural transition plan this week, but that change will offer real opportunities for the sector, says Farming Minister Victoria Prentis.

Defra has confirmed farmers in England are set to lose 50 per cent of their direct payment by 2024.

This week, Defra published its agricultural transition plan (ATP), which sets out some of the major milestones for the sector over the next seven years. Abi Kay reports.

Farming customers of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank could claim thousands of pounds in a High Court case against the bank.