Funding

Scotland’s finance secretary Kate Forbes has announced a further £220m of grants for businesses, including the recently self-employed, to help them deal with the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing has called on the UK Government to take advantage of any EU cash made available to support farmers through the coronavirus crisis.

Agricultural charities have adopted new strategies to support farmers in the face of unprecedented challenges presented by the Covid-19 crisis.

With changing support structures for farmers and concerns over food standards in post-Brexit trade deals presenting unprecedented challenges for Number 10, has the Government delivered on its promises for UK farming?

Farm groups have welcomed a series of emergency measures issued by Government to support Welsh farmers during the coronavirus outbreak.

A raft of business support has been introduced to keep firms afloat during coronavirus disruption and support workers who may have to be laid off. Cedric Porter reports. 

The coronavirus crisis has exposed the Government’s failure to think about food policy, and it needs to be properly considered now, says Tim Lang, professor of food policy at City, University of London.

In these unprecedented times, farming’s pivotal role in feeding the nation has been brought back into sharp focus.

Defra Ministers are ‘in constant discussion’ with industry about delaying the phase out of direct payments, as the Agriculture Bill faces a fresh hold up due to the coronavirus epidemic.

No farm should face the prospect of losing more than a quarter of its direct payment before the new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme is up and running, the CLA has said.