Last month, the Chancellor committed to continued funding for agriculture up until 2020.

The government said funding would be guaranteed for farm support and research projects formerly covered by EU spending, as the UK negotiates its exit in the wake of June’s Brexit vote.

However, information on the headline measure has been limited. A Defra spokesperson this week told Farming Online that funding announced in August is guaranteed only until the December 2019 BPS payment window, so the last funding allocations will be made between December 2019 and June 2020.

This means the 2020 harvest will not be covered by the Chancellor’s promised funds.

Earlier this month, Northern Ireland’s farming minister announced details of a new agri-environment scheme in the country which will not be covered by the Chancellor’s funding commitment, and Welsh and Scottish ministers have also said the promised pot of up to £6bn a year will not cover a huge number of projects which were formally guaranteed through EU funding.

This week, Lib Dem leaders criticised the Chancellor’s funding guarantee, which they said does not go far enough. Lib Dem leader Tim Farron and Welsh Lib Dems’ Dr Mark Williams have said thousands of farms could go out of business under the government’s plans.

The party leaders launched the ‘Not a Penny Less’ campaign against the removal of farm subsidies at their party conference in Brighton. They complain that farmers are having to take decisions now that will affect their businesses after 2020, but are being left in the dark about what will come after. Farmers themselves have complained that they haven’t had enough information on the exact cut-off date of the headline funding guarantee.

It is expected that future payments after the Chancellor’s guarantee expires will be subject to hefty reductions or linked to environmental performance.