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All articles about Farm policy

Find out about UK and EU government agricultural policy and what it means for farmers. Be the first to hear the news on Defra’s plans for farm payments and subsidies post Brexit, and environmental schemes and funding. Hear how the NFU, AHDB and farm industry leaders’ lobby the government to help shape farm policy.

Advice and tips

FARM POLICY

Tips to survive and thrive amid falling BPS payments

The UK agricultural sector is undergoing the biggest policy shake-up in 60 years, and government support for farmers is facing a radical overhaul. Defra has started its new Environmental Land…

MACHINERY

Q&A: Using CCTV - what farmers need to know

Farmers are increasingly turning to CCTV to protect their farm from thefts. New technology has made it easier than ever to set up camera surveillance, but the rules around data…

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Case studies

DIVERSIFICATION

Field to plate - diversification on Japanese farms

Japan’s food culture is built on strong regional associations and loyalties, alongside superb quality and freshness.  However, accelerating rural depopulation, falling farm incomes, concerns over food security and a crippling…

BUSINESS

Farming without subsidy - New Zealand's experience

UK farmers must seize the opportunity of Brexit to ramp up productivity and become more competitive, industry leaders have been told. Former New Zealand agriculture minister Sir Lockwood Smith suggested…

ENVIRONMENT

Wild bird project – a blueprint for future farm support?

Farmers in the South West have helped to save a rare farmland bird in a 25-year collaboration with the RSPB.  Farmers and the RSPB don’t always see eye to eye,…

NEWS

‘Defra blunder crippled my farm business’

Devon beef and dairy producer Winston Reed has seen the administrators called in at Cleave Farm, Templeton, near Tiverton – despite winning a four-year battle with Defra, which saw the…

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Insights

AGRICULTURAL TRANSITION

Defra's survey reveals lack of confidence in farming schemes

More than half of farmers are not at all positive about their own future in farming when taking into account changes to existing payments and regulations, according to Defra’s latest…

AIR AND WATER

What next for Natural England’s protected landscapes plans?

Farmers on the Land’s End peninsula, West Penwith, have managed the land without outside interference for millennia. But that is all about to change after the Defra body Natural England…

BOVINE TB

Is England headed for healthy cattle and TB-free future?

Bovine TB is a devastating disease affecting cattle, causing significant trauma for livestock farmers and rural communities. It is the most challenging animal health disease the UK faces, costing taxpayers…

AGRICULTURAL TRANSITION

Transition survey reveals depth of policy and cost concerns

Input price volatility and uncertainty over government policy continue to hold back farmers looking to secure a sustainable future for their businesses, a major survey has revealed. The third Farmers…

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News

AGRICULTURAL TRANSITION

Defra’s 2023 SFI scheme opens for applications in England

Defra’s Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme for England is starting to accept applications after its launch was delayed by technical issues. Farmers in England who are claiming basic payments will…

AGRICULTURAL TRANSITION

More support for upland farmers demanded in petition

A Cumbrian dairy farmer has launched a petition demanding better support from Defra for farmers in the uplands and nature-friendly agriculture. James Robinson, an organic dairy farmer based at Strickley…

NEWS

New border control regime poses biosecurity risk

Industry figures have warned the government’s new food border control regime poses a biosecurity risk. While the UK was a member of the EU, it relied upon a team of…

AGRICULTURAL TRANSITION

Defra to fast-track SFI 2023 payments before year end

Defra has announced plans to make earlier payments to farmers in England who enter its Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) this year after the launch of the new scheme was pushed…

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Opinion

NEWS

Charlie Flindt: We need to talk about deer numbers

It has been obvious for some time that we need to talk about deer – or, more specifically, the explosion in their numbers. There can’t be a farmer or landowner…

FARM POLICY

Eustice: I’ll ensure money coming out of BPS goes to farmers

George Eustice is the secretary of state at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Here he sets out his arguments why the new Environmental Land Management scheme is…

NEWS

Eustice: Creative solutions needed to cut dependence on AN

George Eustice is the secretary of state at Defra. Here he sets out his arguments for why more imaginative thinking is needed to reduce farming's dependence on inorganic fertiliser. My…

FARM POLICY

Liz Truss: US Trade deal will benefit UK farmers

Liz Truss, Secretary of State for International Trade, explains why she believes US trade talks will benefit UK farmers, despite concerns from the farming industry about being undercut by imported…

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Podcast

NEWS

Trade deals and tree planting debated at FW Question Time

Issues surrounding trade deals, imports, and farming policy were debated in front of a full auditorium at the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) in Cirencester for the final Farmers Weekly Question…

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Video

NEWS

Trade deals and tree planting debated at FW Question Time

Issues surrounding trade deals, imports, and farming policy were debated in front of a full auditorium at the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) in Cirencester for the final Farmers Weekly Question…

NEWS

What has Rishi Sunak done for farmers in his first 100 days?

Today marks Rishi Sunak’s 100th day in office as Prime Minister. But what has he done for farming in that time? Upon becoming PM on 25 October 2022, Mr Sunak set…

FARM POLICY

Video: Tractor protesters target Swindon MPs’ offices

Fed-up farmers staged a tractor protest in Wiltshire against government policies that they fear will ruin their livelihoods. Campaign group Save British Farming (SBF) held the rally, which started at…

FARM POLICY

Video: Farmer demands clarity on autumn muckspreading ban

A Surrey farmer is demanding clarity from the Environment Agency (EA) on behalf of all farmers over its effective ban on most manure applications to arable land in the autumn.…

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Webinar

BREXIT

What is the future of farming post Covid and post Brexit?

The long-term success of British farming depends on the sector becoming more internationally competitive, says renowned economist Sean Rickard. Post Brexit, the government will be doing trade deals with countries…

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