Funding

With the BPS set for extinction between now and 2028, farmers can make use of a free service to help their businesses navigate the Brexit transition, says James Dunn, technical director for business development at ADAS.

Farmers can apply for a share of £25 million as part of round three of the Countryside Productivity Small Grants scheme.

AHDB has confirmed it has received valid requests for a ballot from more than five per cent of horticulture levy payers

Abolishing direct payments completely will force farmers in England to quit the industry, Labour’s Shadow Defra Secretary Luke Pollard has warned.

Defra’s new Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) will not help farmers prepare for the Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme, a coalition of green groups has warned.

The NFU has set out proposals for how the new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme should work, after industry raised concerns about Defra’s ‘lacklustre’ plans.

Asking farmers to build on their progress and go even further to protect the countryside is the right thing to do, but they must be given as much support as possible from Government to get the job done, says High Peak MP Robert Largan.

Farming families looking to ‘future-proof’ their businesses have been urged to register for the Prince’s Farm Resilience Programme.

The UK’s ‘Climate Assembly’ has said supporting farmers on their net zero journey should be the number one consideration of Government as it puts together its climate change policy.

Defra is planning to introduce a new ‘stepping stone’ scheme to bridge the gap between BPS and ELMs, but it should not weaken the resolve to introduce a long-term policy, or delay the timetable, says Vicki Hird, head of sustainable farming at Sustain.