Stuart Anderson MP said: "Backing our farmers is a key part of my plan for South Shropshire. 84% of our land is agricultural. Our county has the highest number of farm holdings in England, with farming and agriculture forming nearly 20% of enterprises here in Shropshire. Our farmers play an integral role in our rural economy, feeding the nation and managing our rural environment. UK farmers already produce about 60% of the food we eat, with the UK agri-food and seafood sectors creating over £120 billion of value for the economy every year and employing over 4 million people. Across the West Midlands, total income from farming in 2023 was £527 million. The new government has neglected the needs of rural communities and abandoned places like South Shropshire. I am fighting back against this. Here, you will find key updates in my campaign to support farmers. Please do not hesitate to ever get in touch if I can ever be of any specific assistance to you.
Update: 2024 Autumn Budget
On 30th October 2024, the new government announced that, from April 2026, the rate of Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) would be reduced to 50% after the first £1 million. These reforms will affect 2,000 estates each year. I am worried that this would damage family farms in the longer-term, since the reliefs had enabled them to be handed down to future generations for free of charge. Earlier in October, I had called on the government last month to rule out any changes, with Shropshire having the highest number of farm holdings of any county in England - forming nearly 20% of enterprises. While £1 million sounds like a large threshold, in reality, it only covers farms of up to approximately 90 acres, based on average arable land prices. For context, the average farm size in England is 217 acres. Meanwhile, the new government has said that it will be reviewing the funding spent on flood defences and farm schemes from 2025-26 "to ensure they are affordable", although they had been endorsed as 'world-leading'. I have said that this decision is short-sighted, having warned in September that such cuts would risk national food security. But the Environment Secretary has said farmers will have to “learn to do more with less.” I do not believe that this is right - even a £100 million cut is estimated to equate to 239,000 fewer hectares of nature-friendly farmland.
Environmental Land Management (ELM) Schemes
In the Agricultural Transition Plan of November 2020, the Government announced Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes, designed to help England’s farmers enhance their efficiency, productivity, and environmental sustainability. ELM is the foundation of our new approach to farming, providing farmers, foresters, and other land managers with an opportunity to secure financial support in return for delivering environmental benefits. Almost half of farmers are involved in our Environmental Land Management schemes.
The claim window for existing Countryside Stewardship (CS) revenue and Environmental Stewardship (ES) agreements has opened on Thursday 14 March 2024. Farmers must submit an annual declaration or claim form for Countryside Stewardship or Environmental Stewardship before 15 May to receive payment for works carried out through the schemes in 2024. Any claims submitted after 15 May up to the final deadline of 2 September will have a late claim reduction applied to payments. As of 26 February 2024, there were 62,700 farm businesses participating in Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes across England, constituting:
Sustainable Farming Incentive
The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) rewards farmers for adopting and maintaining sustainable farming practices that can protect and enhance the natural environment alongside food production, and also support farm productivity (including by improving animal health and welfare, optimising the use of inputs and making better use of natural resources). Farmers will receive the first payment 4 months after the agreement starts. After that, they are paid every 3 months, so they have regular, reliable income. It has been expanded and made more flexible in response to farmers’ feedback. The SFI has a rolling application window. On 4 January 2024 updated payment rates were announced, with the average value of an SFI agreement increasing by 10%. The SFI now has over 20,000 successful applications.
Countryside Stewardship (CS)
Countryside Stewardship (CS) provides financial incentives for farmers, foresters, and land managers to look after and improve the environment. It includes actions that can form part of a regenerative or restorative farming approach: to improve soil quality, enhance biodiversity, decrease water pollution, and restore, create, and manage habitats. There are around 35,000 live agreements – a 112% increase since 2020. We are expanding the scheme to make around 30 additional actions available to farmers by the end of 2024, as well as targeting funding towards actions in places where they can have the biggest impacts, in ways joined up across larger areas.
The Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) scheme will pay farmers, land managers, and foresters to carry out location-specific actions that restore, protect, or enhance the environment. This includes sensitive sites, such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), and land that requires more complex, long-term management. This includes 132 actions, from managing woodlands and conserving rare species to restoring historical features. CSHT will also offer grants for 145 capital items, including 25 new items. These grants support delivery of management, restoration or creation of sites. An additional 6 capital items are available to support the preparation of plans for CSHT applications. The scheme is aiming for around 1,200 new Higher Tier agreements by March 2026 - more than the last round of CSHT.
At first, applications will be by invitation only. This controlled roll-out will ensure the service works for farmers and land managers and allows time for you to consider the opportunities CSHT can provide. Natural England (NE) and the Forestry Commission (FC) will identify who is invited initially. This will include:
- customers with an existing CSHT agreement that expires at the end of 2025
- those with an approved woodland management plan already in place
- those who want to apply for an agri-environment agreement and have an approved plan in place so are ready to develop an application.
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will contact these groups directly, with an invitation, from 6 January 2025. Customers will be invited to receive advice in tranches each month on a rolling basis. You will need to be invited to receive pre-application advice and then later apply. If you are not in one of the groups above, further details will be provided in February on how to contact the RPA to let them know you are interested in applying. Once invited, and after completing the relevant permissions and plans, you’ll be able to prepare your application with support from advisers and arm’s-length bodies (ALBs). You’ll then be ready to submit an application through the Rural Payments service, which will open in summer 2025. The RPA will then review your application. If successful, you’ll be offered an agreement. After you review the agreement and sign, you’ll be ready to go.
On Wednesday 8 January, DEFRA is hosting a webinar that will cover the guidance and the process of working with Natural England and the Forestry Commission on your application. The webinar will start at 14:30 and will finish at 16:00. There will be an opportunity for you to put questions to the team.
Landscape Recovery
Landscape Recovery supports large-scale, long-term management of land for the benefit of sustainable food production and the environment. It focuses on restoring nature across a wider landscape, bringing together landowners and managers who want to take a more large-scale, long-term approach to producing environmental and climate goods on their land. It funds ambitious landscape-scale projects through bespoke, long-term agreements lasting 20 years or more. Round two LR pilot applications closed on 21 September 2023, but we have committed to launching a further round in 2024 and expect to continue to launch at least annual rounds in future years as we scale the scheme up. With £40 million of funding, we have now got over 55 projects which are working to restore over 600km of rivers, support the conservation of more than 260 flagship species, restore more than 35,000 hectares of peatland; create over 7,000 hectares of woodland including some temperate rainforest; and benefit more than 160 protected sites. These projects involve over 700 farmers and landowners. There are 22 projects in Round One, with a combined total of 266 landowners and 51 tenant farmers. There are 34 projects in Round Two.
Animal Health and Welfare Pathway
The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway was launched in 2023. The Pathway supports continual improvement in farm animal health and welfare. The Pathway is a partnership supporting farmers to produce healthier, higher welfare animals. The Government is working together on each step with farmers, vets, the wider industry, and the supply chain.
The Annual Health and Welfare Review, which launched in February 2023, is a fully funded vet visit that happens on a yearly basis. During the review, keepers of cattle, sheep, and pigs can access bespoke health and welfare advice and test for endemic diseases and other conditions using a vet of their choice. Advice includes recommended actions to take and signposting to further support available. This will support farmers to continually improve the health and welfare of their livestock and the increases in productivity that comes with this.
With over £80 million of funding, a new Endemics Disease Scheme offers additional financial support to eradicate Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) in cattle; control Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) in pigs; and tackle a range of health conditions in sheep. This extra funding will be available in summer. Eligible farmers will also receive funding for the delivery of a biosecurity assessment followed by bespoke advice to help farmers identify how diseases are most likely to spread into their herd or flock, and across their farm.
In June 2024, a new grant for hen housing will be available to laying hen and pullet farmers in England with flocks of 1,000 birds or more. It supports farmers to undertake infrastructure projects that will not only improve the health and welfare of their animals but also support environmental sustainability and innovation. There is no ‘one size fits all’ poultry farm. Farmers have different business priorities because they farm on different acreages and in different environments. That is why the grant has been designed to give farmers options, so they can get funding for a project that best reflects their needs. This can include replacing or upgrading existing laying hen or pullet housing (a ‘comprehensive’ project) or adding a veranda onto existing laying hen or pullet housing (a ‘veranda-only’ project) to provide animal health and welfare benefits.
Animal Health and Welfare grants include smaller grants, where farmers can select from a list of equipment and technology items and larger infrastructure grants, for bespoke projects such as new housing, building upgrades, and pasture improvements.
Farming Equipment and Technololgy Fund (FETF)
The latest round of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) 2024 includes £70 million towards three grants for items to improve productivity, manage slurry and improve animal health and welfare. Farmers can claim up to £125,000 in total towards the costs of eligible items to build the resilience of the sector and boost food security. It includes help to buy 85 different items of equipment to improve productivity, manage slurry, and improve animal health and welfare.
Farming Investment Fund
We are offering farmers and land managers, including those who take a regenerative approach, funding for equipment, technology, and infrastructure that improves farm productivity and benefits the environment through the Farming Investment Fund. This offers funding for equipment, technology, and infrastructure that improves farm productivity and benefits the environment.
Through the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund, farmers can apply for a grant for specific items of equipment and technology for farming, horticultural, or forestry businesses in England. The grant is a contribution towards the cost of buying new technology or equipment for.
The Farming Transformation Fund (FTF) provides grants towards large capital items to help businesses improve productivity, profitability, animal health and welfare, and environmental sustainability.
- Slurry Infrastructure grants are available to pig, beef, and dairy farmers whose farming systems produce slurry. It is for farmers to upgrade (improve or expand) their slurry store facilities and to cover their stores; a critical step to allow livestock farmers to make best use of their organic nutrients and prevent pollution.
- Calf Housing for Health and Welfare grants are for beef and dairy sectors to build new, upgrade, or replace existing calf housing buildings to deliver health and welfare benefits for their calves.
- Improving Farm Productivity grants help towards large capital items to help farmers and horticulturists improve farm and horticulture productivity. For robotic or automatic equipment, you can apply for a grant between £25,000 and £500,000 per applicant business. For solar PV systems, you can apply for a grant between £15,000 and £100,000 per applicant business. The Government is increasing it £30 million to £50 million.
- The Government supports the agricultural sector with its Water Management grants for projects that improve productivity; water sustainability; and the environment. Individuals can apply for a grant of between £35,000 and £500,000 per applicant business.
- The Adding Value grant is available for growers or producers to add value to eligible agricultural products after they have been harvested or reared.
Farming Resilience Fund
The Farming Resilience Fund provides business support to farmers and land managers in the first few years of adapting to agricultural transition. If you currently receive direct payments you can receive this support and it is free of charge. It is designed to help you make the right business choices for the future. The Government has provided free support to over 18,000 farmers, including group workshops, one-to-one advice from experts, and farm visits.
Farming Innovation Programme
Defra’s £270 million Farming Innovation Programme, run in partnership with Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), has committed over £125 million in funding to date and supported 150 projects involving 400 organisations. It supports industry-led research and development in agriculture and horticulture, encouraging groups of farmers, growers, businesses, and researchers to get involved in collaborative research and development and solve challenges and exploit opportunities for increasing productivity and environmental sustainability. This investment is enabling more farmers and growers to become involved in agricultural R&D, helping to maximise the impact of R&D investment in innovation. This includes the Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies (ADOPT) Fund, where businesses will be able to apply for a share of £44 million to test and trial new technology and techniques on farms.
Farming in Protected Landscapes Programme
The Farming in Protected Landscapes programme funds farmers and land managers within areas of outstanding natural beauty or national parks in England to deliver projects that support nature recovery; mitigate the impacts of climate change; provide opportunities for people to discover, enjoy, and understand the landscape and its cultural heritage; protect or improve the quality and character of the landscape or place. The programme has engaged with over 240 farmers and land managers in the Shropshire Hills, supported 147 projects and distributed over £3.1 million to deliver farming projects which are helping to restore nature, tackle climate change, improve access and to make farming businesses more sustainable for the future.
Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF)
NEIRF stimulates private investment and market based mechanisms that improve and safeguard our domestic natural environment by helping nature projects get ready for investment. It is a competitive grants scheme providing grants of between £10,000 and £100,000 to support the development of nature projects in England that help farmers achieve one or more natural environmental outcomes from the Environmental Improvement Plan; have the ability to help farmers produce revenue from ecosystem services to attract and repay investment; produce an investment model that can be scaled up and reproduced by farmers. This is a further step forward in meeting the Government’s target to stimulate at least £500 million of private sector investment into nature recovery in England each year by 2027 – rising to at least £1 billion each year by 2030.
Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF)
Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) works with farmers and partners across England to produce food in a way that protects water, air, and soil. CSF advisers (CSFA) are locally based with an understanding of the challenges farmers face. They will work with you to take the latest advice and tailor it to best benefit your business.
The Forestry and Arboriculture Fund
The newly expanded Forestry and Arboriculture Training Fund covers training costs for short, practical forestry and arboriculture courses. Funding has been extended to cover new courses in arboriculture, which cover the care, management and safety of amenity trees including chainsaw operation; operating heavy machinery; planning and planting new woodland; deer management; marketing and selling timber; aerial tree pruning; and branch removal. In the workforce, over 30,000 people are already dedicated to expanding and protecting our precious woodlands, contributing more than £2 billion to our economy every year.
Woodland Creation Grant (EWCO)
This includes capital grants which are required to create woodland, such as planting trees and allowing natural colonisation of trees. Producing woodland creation plans ensure all proposals for new woodland consider any impacts on existing biodiversity, landscape character, water, soil and the historic environment, and that local stakeholders have been consulted. Maintenance payments are also essential to support the establishment of young trees. On 18th March 2024, the Government announced that farmers and land managers can now get up to £11,600 per hectare – a 45% increase on the current amount. The Environment Agency's Water Environment Improvement Fund supports the planting of thousands of riparian trees across England.
Woodland Carbon Guarantee Scheme
Farmers, foresters and other land managers are encouraged to apply for the Woodland Carbon Guarantee scheme ahead of the eighth auction taking place online from 23-29 September. Administered by the Forestry Commission, the £50 million scheme aims to help accelerate woodland planting rates and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It has already resulted in nearly 3,000 hectares of new woodland across the country. £20 million is now available as part of the eighth auction. Successful bidders will be offered the option to sell woodland carbon in the form of Woodland Carbon Units – a financial value given to each tonne of carbon stored – to the Government up to 2055 at a guaranteed price protected against inflation. For the first time, the auction will be opened up to farmers, foresters and land mangers whose projects are not currently in receipt of government funding to allow an even greater number of woodlands to benefit. Before applying, land managers need to register with the Woodland Carbon Code, which provides information to verify and record the carbon they are capturing.
Tree Health Pilot Scheme
The Tree Health Pilot expands on support available through the existing Countryside Stewardship Woodland Tree Health grant by testing new ways to help people who own or manage trees in regions including the West Midlands, primarily targeting the Malvern Hills AONB and Shropshire Hills AONB, to keep trees healthy by stopping the spread of pests and diseases, and maintaining the treescape through resilient restocking after pests and diseases induced tree loss. Learning generated through the pilot will be used to develop future incentives schemes for tree health. The pilot is funded through Defra’s Future Farming and Countryside Programme and delivered in partnership with the Forestry Commission. The Tree Health Pilot delivers on the Agricultural Transition Plan 2020, supporting the commitment to the 25 Year Environment Plan, the Tree Health Resilience Strategy and the UK’s carbon net zero goals. The Tree Species Guide for UK Agroforestry Systems, which was developed by Forest Research in partnership with the University of Reading, provides information on 33 different species of trees and shrubs suitable for planting in UK agroforestry systems. This guide will help inform farmers’ tree species selections based on the individual needs and conditions of the farm.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a whole-farm approach that uses all available methods to prevent, monitor, and control pests, weeds and diseases. It can help manage pesticide resistance and minimise the risks of environmental harm by targeting application and making use of non-chemical alternatives. IPM is not a fixed set of practices but a flexible approach to help you make the best decisions for your farm. It blends farming skills, conventional wisdom and approaches with the latest technology and scientific research and development. To help farmers, growers and land managers adopt different IPM approaches, the government has published a new guidance page on GOV.UK.
Seed Sourcing Grant
The Seed Sourcing Grant (SSG) is a competitive grant to provide support for activities that enhance the quality, quantity, and diversity of tree seed sources in England. The Government aims to at least treble tree planting rates in England by 2025 and has set legally binding targets to increase tree and woodland cover to 16.5% of total land area by 2050. The SSG will help to ensure the availability of planting stock to meet these targets. The SSG supports projects that will increase the quality, quantity, and diversity of Seed Stands and Seed Orchards on the Forest Reproductive Material (FRM) Register of UK Basic Material.
Species Survival Fund
The multi-million-pound Species Survival Fund grant scheme will create and restore a range of habitat types, including wetlands. Together these projects will enhance connectivity, species recovery and resilience to climate change. The new funding will support projects with grants of up to £3 million to tackle habitat loss, safeguard our fragile ecosystems and create nature-rich landscapes full of wildlife-friendly habitats such as grasslands, woodlands and wetlands.
Smaller Abattoirs Fund
Smaller abattoirs are really important. They’re vital to farmers getting their products to market. Smaller abattoirs are an important part of rural economies. They offer a higher value route to market for native and rare breeds. They also support higher standards of animal welfare by helping to maintain reduced journey times to slaughter. The Government launched the Smaller Abattoirs Fund on 13 December 2023. The Fund will provide £4 million to help smaller abattoirs improve their productivity, enhance animal health and welfare, add value to the products they process and encourage investment in innovation and new technologies. It will directly support farmers by providing access to local private kill services maintaining choice in slaughter destination and facilities. It will also increase local employment opportunities and improve animal health and welfare through better on-site facilities and shorter journey times for livestock. We have raised the intervention rate from 40% to 50% and increased the maximum grant amount from £60,000 to £75,000. The minimum grant amount remains the same at £2,000.
Dairy Export Programme
The Prime Minister committed £1 million to the dairy sector, especially SMEs, at the Farm to Fork Summit hosted at 10 Downing Street in May 2023. This is a direct result of the funding and will provide a wide range of targeted support for businesses, through education sessions on how to boost exports and target new markets and trade promotion activity, including an inward buyer trade mission and a UK Dairy Showcase. The Programme was agreed following consultations with UK dairy businesses and industry bodies. It is UK-wide and designed to unlock new opportunities for our dairy exports in growth markets around the world.
Local Resilience Forum Innovation Fund
The LRF Innovation Fund is a £1.35 million fund (£450,000 per annum over the period 2022/23 to 2024/25) designed to allow LRFs in England to develop and test new and innovative ways of working which partners would not have been able to progress otherwise.
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the government funds and supports interdisciplinary research linking agriculture, nutrition and health to food security, environmental sustainability, and biodiversity. In 2023-24, BBSRC funded around £140 million on research to improve crop and livestock health and enhance food safety and nutrition, whilst reducing food loss and waste. BBSRC’s wider investments to increase agricultural productivity include the Roslin Institute’s research programmes which have contributed to an estimated ~£18.9bn GVA in 2019-20 through global productivity improvements in agriculture and aquaculture.
Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator
By using powers in the Agriculture Act 2020, we can improve the relationship between agricultural producers and their direct purchasers. This enables the introduction of regulations which apply to businesses purchasing agricultural products directly from farmers. These can mandate that contracts include certain information. For example, termination clauses, duration, pricing information and set parameters around these details. These fair dealing powers are being exercised on a sector-by-sector basis to account for the variation in circumstances between each agricultural sector. The first use of the powers introduced the Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations 2024 (FDOM24) and established the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA) to enforce them. The ASCA will also be responsible for enforcing any future regulations developed under the fair dealing powers.
The Farming Advice Service (FAS)
The Farming Advice Service (FAS) is a national network of qualified, independent advisers from agricultural consultancies and research organisations throughout England funded by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) to help farms understand and meet the regulations that apply to their business. It provides free advice confidentially to farmers and land managers in person and over the phone to help them understand farming policy and meet the regulations that apply to their business. Farmers can contact them through their main customer service helpline (03000 200 301). Call handlers can often resolve common queries or will offer a call-back if they are unable to resolve more complex queries at the first point of contact. Lines are open Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm. This includes the Rural Payment Service. Regulations for the UK pig sector are in the latter stages of development and are expected to be introduced in Parliament in spring 2025.
Farm Tenancy Forum
The Farm Tenancy Forum is a joint industry and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) group that will have the primary role of working with the government to ensure a thriving and collaborative farm tenancy sector; explore all issues relating to the tenant farming sector in England; and provide ongoing engagement and feedback between Defra and the tenanted sector. The Forum will feed into and support the design and delivery of policy and schemes in England from the perspective of the tenanted sector. The Forum is made up of members of industry organisations which represent tenant farmers, landlords and professional advisors working in the sector.
Organisations representing tenant farmers will be:
- Tenant Farmers Association (TFA)
- National Farmers Union (NFU)
- National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (NFYFC)
Organisations representing landlords will be:
- Country Land and Business Association (CLA)
- Association of Chief Estates Surveyors (local authorities with tenant farming estates)
- Institutional Landowners Group
Organisations representing professional advisors will be:
- Agricultural Law Association (ALA)
- Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV)
- Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
The Government has announced that there will be a commissioner for the tenant farming sector in England. This role, the first of its kind in England, will address one of the recommendations from the Rock Review, to improve relationships and collaboration between tenant farmers, landowners and advisers. It has said the appointment will provide a neutral point of contact for all parties in the sector who have concerns about poor conduct helping to facilitate collaboration and solutions for all parties.
