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The United States Government does not ‘have enough money’ to reward its farmers for adopting more sustainable practices, a top American official has said.

Farmers are being urged to look again at the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and Countryside Stewardship (CS) after Defra boosted payment rates under both schemes.

Urgent action must be taken to make supply chains fairer if food is to be produced more sustainably in the coming years, a new report commissioned by the Oxford Farming Conference (OFC) has said.

Industry bodies have welcomed an announcement from Government that 45,000 seasonal workers will be allowed into the UK for the 2023 growing season.

Rural communities are celebrating after the Government backed down on a series of planning issues that countryside groups claim would have a catastrophic effect on rural areas.

Welsh farm groups have welcomed the news that direct payments to farmers in 2023 will remain the same as they have over the past three years.

Further fears farmland is being put at risk from tree-planting have been raised after commercial forestry values rose by 15 per cent over the past year.

Ploughing more money into Defra’s Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme will keep food prices down for consumers, according to AHDB technical knowledge exchange manager Harry Henderson.

An increase in agroforestry is essential to meet nature and climate targets, while securing long-term food production, a new report from the Woodland Trust has shown.