Chancellor Phillip Hammond reiterated his pledge to maintain farm support at current levels until Britain has left the EU at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham on Monday.

Though Hammond made spending commitments in August worth £6bn a year (including the £3bn annual spend on farm support), Defra has confirmed that this commitment will last only until the December 2019 - June 2020 payment window. In her speech at the Conservative Party Conference PM Theresa May announced that she will invoke Article 50 to begin the UK’s withdrawal from the EU before March next year, meaning Britain could have officially ceded from Europe by spring 2019.

Ministers in the devolved administrations and farmers’ representatives had expressed concern that the funding commitments provide only short-term succour, and don’t address their longer-term concerns over the impacts of Brexit, and that the funds secured by the chancellor leave many projects in jeopardy.

In his speech at the Party Conference, the chancellor said, “I’ve already guaranteed the funding for projects signed prior to this year’s Autumn Statement. Today, I can go further. The Treasury will offer a guarantee to bidders whose projects meet UK priorities and value for money criteria… that if they secure multi-year EU funding before we exit…we will guarantee those payments after Britain has left the EU.”

Landowners’ organisation the CLA welcomed the guarantee of funding for agri-environment schemes signed after the Autumn Statement, with group president Ross Murray commenting, “This is a crucial step in the transition to a strong post-Brexit future both for the environment and for rural businesses. EU funded schemes are vitally important to driving investment in our rural economy and delivering environmental benefits such as creating habitats for wildlife and reducing flood risk.

“The Chancellor’s announcement has made clear that applications made to carry out environmental improvement work under the EU Countryside Stewardship scheme, for example, will be considered and where approved funded until the contract completes. Agreements under the Countryside Stewardship scheme usually run for five years and landowners and farmers can now apply to deliver this type of environmental work with the confidence that the agreement will be honoured until its completion.”

Hammond also discussed the deficit and promised to cut public spending in the long-run, claiming that government borrowing is “un-Conservative” and comments by Theresa May’s policy advisor have stoked further speculation that farm subsidies could be drastically cut or else transformed after 2019.

George Freeman, chair of May’s policy board, said that wider public awareness would make justifying farm spending in an independent Britain all the harder. In a fringe event at the conference, he said agriculture is likely to experience the largest shake up from Brexit of any sector in Britain, and that the electorate would prefer to see spending going to the NHS than to landowners and farmers.  

Freeman said it is likely that some form of support will continue for hill farmers, or those who would not survive otherwise. In recent months campaign groups have heaped pressure on the government to move away from area-based payments which predominantly benefit already wealthy landowners, and the policy advisor admitted that this system is likely to change.  

Speaking shortly after Freeman, and discussing the chancellor’s funding commitment made in August, Defra secretary Andrea Leadsom said it is important that farmers are given a sense of certainty and continuity as Brexit progresses.