2022-08-04
The UK government has released "full guidance" on its Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme (for England).
This is "the first of 3 new environmental schemes being introduced under the Agricultural Transition Plan. The other 2 schemes are Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery."
"We are phasing out subsidies so that we can invest the money in farm productivity, the environment, and animal health and welfare" - New farming policies and payments in England
I know almost nothing about farming, but I can hazard a guess where this is likely going.
- If you rely on subsidies, and you can't manage without them, then you will be forced to change your farming objectives (or sell up and out)
- If you apply for the new support, you will in practice become a farm manager for the government
- The rules are unlikely to become less restrictive over time - the government will always know better than you
“While today marks the start of this important rollout, the NFU remains committed to working with Defra to improve its ELM schemes. In particular, the NFU is arguing that Defra needs to offer farmers a net zero standard, which starts with soil and includes a consistent approach to measuring progress on farms, and that schemes need to assure the viability of farming in our precious uplands”
That "viability" needs to include the continuing and increasingly viable production of food.
