Farmers in England face losses under new cap on sustainable farming payments | Farming

Some farmers will lose money by opting for environmental schemes under new plans to cap payments available for sustainable farming.

Emma Reynolds, the Environment Secretary, said the new system is “fairer”, adding: “Too much of our most productive land has been taken away from conventional farming. » Under his plans, farmers will have no incentive to take large amounts of their land out of food production and rewild it for nature.

After Brexit, England moved from a system in which farmers were subsidized based on the amount of land they managed, to one in which they were paid for their environmental benefits.

This was paid on a “lost income” basis, meaning farmers would never have to pay out of pocket to dig ponds, plant trees or sow wildflower seeds on land previously intensively farmed.

Today the Government is introducing caps, meaning no farm will be allowed to claim more than £100,000 a year from these schemes. For some larger farms and estates, this will likely mean reinvesting their land into food production.

Reynolds told the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) conference: “Currently a quarter of the funding goes to just 4% of farms. That’s not right. I want more farmers to have the opportunity to benefit from the scheme. I think it strikes the right balance between value for money, better environmental protection and real simplicity whilst retaining choice for all types of farms.”

She told farmers that she “cannot assure them” that there will be no funding gap between the old sustainable agriculture and landscape management incentive programs and the new ones. 10,000 deals expire in December.

Jake Fiennes, head of conservation at the Holkham Estate, which was one of the pilot projects for the new environmental land payments, said: “With this new policy there is all the potential for wonderful work for the environment being undone. »

He said large farms and estates, which have dedicated much of their land to environmental projects, would be discouraged from pursuing these projects in the long term. “Many major projects are scheduled to end in December. They will have significant environmental value and the change in revenues brought about by this policy will likely result in reduced environmental outcomes in these areas. Some of them have been committed to environmental improvement for decades.”

Food production is declining in England, with declines in wheat, vegetables and beef, due to rising costs and extreme weather caused by climate change. Many farmers are struggling to make ends meet due to rising costs which have not been offset by the prices supermarkets pay them.

Tom Bradshaw, president of the NFU, said: “In recent years, production of commodities such as wheat, beef, poultry and vegetables has declined. We need a food strategy that sets clear ambitions, sector by sector – something we can measure, something we can hold ourselves accountable for. The years of decline in food production must end now.”

Under the new government plans, small farms of less than 50 hectares will benefit from priority funding. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said this was because 25% of funding was previously aimed at 4% of farms.

Farmers have called on the government to stop changing these programs and now keep funding levels secure and transparent so they can take long-term action for the environment.

Martin Lines, chief executive of the Nature Friendly Farming Network, said: “To meet our climate and nature goals, funding must now increase and remain constant over the long term to help boost food security. Some restrictions still risk leaving farmers without support, but a resilient food system will ultimately require every farm in England to be able to work with nature.”

Fiennes added: “I completely understand the government’s ambition to rebalance the distribution of farm and land programs. But when we try to fix a problem of disproportionate distribution, we risk destroying good work.”