Funding

The EU has promised to learn lessons from the coronavirus pandemic by developing a new food security contingency plan.

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has confirmed that more than 3,800 bridging payments worth around £43 million have been successfully made to farmers and land managers.

North East MSP Mike Rumbles has called for changes to be made to the Scottish Agriculture Bill to limit Ministers’ power over future policy.

NFU Cymru president John Davies has called on the Welsh Government to pause and review its work on post-Brexit policy as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

Around half of Welsh farmers who applied for Glastir payments for 2019 commitments were still waiting for their money at the start of May, prompting concern about how the planned post-Brexit scheme will function.

The NFU has urged farmers to submit their 2020 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) applications ahead of the June 15 deadline to ease pressure on the Rural Payments Agency.

The Farming Community Network (FCN) has raised over £500 in a 25 mile sponsored walk to celebrate 25 years of helping those in need.

A leading farm consultant has warned farmers must make plans now to replace the loss of income, due to the phasing out of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in 2021. 

Diversified farm businesses have been hit hard by the Government’s unprecedented lockdown restrictions, but industry experts claim agritourism is set to ‘bounce back’ post Covid-19. Mollie Leach reports. 

The Government’s failure to protect our standards in the Agriculture Bill was very disappointing, but UK farmers shouldn’t be too demoralised because they have high quality products to sell, says Andrew Robinson, head of agriculture at Armstrong Watson.