Farming Minister George Eustice has today discussed details of a new land management scheme, which will provide funding for farmers and land managers who deliver environmental benefits under the reformed Common Agricultural Policy.

Announcing details of the new environmental land management scheme, which aims to support farmers who wish to help wildlife, improve water quality and create woodland, Mr Eustice said, "The new scheme will prioritise promoting biodiversity and will be tailored to fit local needs. It will be more targeted so we can deliver wildlife corridors but there will also be grants available to all farmers.”

The new scheme will be introduced in 2016. Biodiversity benefits will be locally targeted, so farmers deliver environmental priorities specifically related to their local area. On Wednesday, Defra gave some examples; if one area is home to rare farmland birds, farmers will be reimbursed for enhancing their habitat. If, in another area, agricultural pollution has affected local rivers, farmers will be able to apply for funding to reduce soil erosion and run-off from their fields, boosting water quality.

Defra said these changes mean that existing Environmental Stewardship and England Woodland Grant Schemes will be brought together into a universal scheme that will be open to applications from both farmers and foresters.

On Wednesday, Mr Eustice added that, in light of modulation (the ability to transfer funds between the direct payments and rural development pillars of a state's CAP allocation), which the UK pushed for in EU negotiations, £3.1billion will be available for funding the new environmental schemes in England alone.

Eustice said this is a higher proportion of the CAP budget than ever before. However, modulation has been extremely controversial. The NFU opposed the process because they argued that loss of direct funding would put UK farmers at a competitive disadvantage to their Euopean counterparts. On the other hand, greens added that, to date, only two member states have expressed a desire to transfer money from farm subsidies to conservation work and many more states are likely to shift funds in the opposite direction.

Young farmers scheme

Plans for England’s implementation of the EU’s Young Farmers Scheme to give extra support to farmers under forty years of age were also set out by Defra ministers. Defra has announced the intention to apply this support to the maximum land area of farms. Young farmers will be able to claim a top-up payment for up to ninety hectares of their holding for the first five years of its operation.

The full CAP consultation response is available here

A new timeline showing key milestones in implementing the new CAP has also been published

More details to follow.