The NFU has expressed fear that changes in funding and allocations under the new Common Agricultural Policy will have serious impacts for farmers; figures which have not yet been officialised show the UK is set to receive drastically reduced payments under the new, smaller CAP budget.

The allocations to each country from the EU budget have not yet been officially confirmed, but the union said that "well-founded reports" indicate that the UK's share of Pillar One payments will be reduced by 10 per cent in real terms over the next seven years, close to the European average, whilst the UK's second pillar allocation, which was already the lowest in Europe, will be slashed by 22per cent - by far the largest cut of any member state.

The next seven year budget will begin on 1st January 2014. Reacting to the discovery, NFU leaders attending the union's council meeting this week said "The amount of money transferred from the single farm payment to rural development measures must be kept to an absolute minimum". The union believes the UK government will take advantage of regulatory changes that make it possible to transfer funds between pillars one and two to make up for the hefty cuts to the rural development pillar. Minimising subsidy payments will also tie in with the government's own ideological opposition to subsidy funding. 

The Council suggested that the government is likely to examine the possibility of moving to two regions (Moorland and the rest of England) rather than three for the single farm payment in England.

President Peter Kendall said transferring money out from the single farm payment pot into rural development would be "intolerable". He said that the harsh weather experienced over the past fifteen months has demonstrated the value of single farm payments, and called on the government to review programmes funded under rural development to ensure money is being well spent.