In late March, DEFRA announced a number of steps they are taking to support farmers ahead of the coming growing season. With farmers facing increasing costs for inputs such as gas prices and fertilisers, they are hoping to ease the financial pressures in a number of ways:
Fertilisers & Slurry Storage
Firstly, there will be a delay of at least a year to the planned changes to the use of urea fertiliser, to help famers manage costs and to give them more time to adapt to pressures on the supply of ammonium nitrate fertilisers. You can read the outcomes of DEFRA’s latest consultation on this matter here.
Alongside this, farmers are also being encouraged to make use of organic fertilisers with revised and improved statutory guidance recently published on how to manage the use of slurry and other farmyard manure during the autumn and winter months. This guidance aims to provide more clarity and has been developed in partnership with farmers and farming bodies.
As the ‘Farming Rules for Water’ guidance referenced above has been updated, farmers will be supported by new slurry storage grants introduced this year, to help the industry meet the guidance requirements and reduce dependence on artificial fertilisers. Slurry related grants will be included in later rounds of the recently debuted Farming Investment Fund (FIF), where applicants can apply for funding towards the cost of specific equipment and infrastructure eligible under the scheme.
Grants & Schemes
To account for the losses in BPS, there are a variety of schemes in early stages of development, each with an environmental focus, that farmers will be able to enter. One of these schemes set to launch in June 22, is the Sustainable Farming Incentive. The early rollout will consists of three standards, each with a set of requirements at different levels that will pay for actions completed in regards to your land. The idea of the scheme is to help farmers move towards more sustainable farming practices over time; supporting farmers to build the health and fertility of their soil, and to reduce soil erosion which are essential for food production, helping to boost food security and the longer-term resilience of the sector.
Furthermore, DEFRA are opening more farming grants worth more than £20m. The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund, a part of the aforementioned Farming Investment Fund, has recently been almost trebled to over £48 million after the first round of applicants was significantly oversubscribed. This part of the of the FIF grants farmers between £2000 – £25,000 for equipment, whilst the Farming Transformation Fund within the FIF, allows grants between £35,000- £500,000 for larger scale investments.
For information on any of the above schemes or for advice on how to move forward in light of current changes, we’d be happy to answer any queries you may have.
