Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments worth 1.64 billion and 109 million in Countryside Stewardship (CS) and Environmental Stewardship (ES) has reached farmers’ bank accounts in record time.
The latest version of the Agriculture Bill was published by the Government last week. But what in it is new, and what are the next steps? Abi Kay has spoken to Defra to get the inside track.
The Welsh Conservatives will work with the UK Government to ‘Get Brexit Done’, but also make efforts to assuage any concerns farmers may have about the future, says Paul Davies, the party’s leader.
Cornwall Council has pledged to invest £16.4 million into its county farms estate as part of a new strategy to enhance environment and improve farm tenants’ living conditions.
A new piece of legislation which will allow the Government to continue to pay farm subsidies in 2020 is expected to be passed by the end of this month, according to a Defra spokeswoman.
As we enter a new decade, farmers need details on how the UK’s post-Brexit trade and policy arrangements will affect them, says Conservative peer Anne McIntosh.
The fight between Welsh Government and the UK Government over funding for farmers is likely to intensify in 2020, says Plaid Cymru Shadow Rural Affairs Minister Llyr Gruffydd.
Farmers without formal qualifications could be excluded from accessing Government funding or even tenancies over the next two or three years, a prominent peer has warned.
The NFU has called for farmers in England to keep at least 30 per cent of their direct payments after Brexit.
The NFU has called for the new Agriculture Bill, which will be reintroduced to Parliament this month, to set up a commission to protect food standards in trade deals.