Environment Secretary Steve Barclay has announced updates for the government's Sustainable Farming Incentives, including a 10% funding uplift, during a speech at the Oxford Farming Conference today (Thursday 4 January).

The Soil Association welcomes the cash boost and unveiling of new incentives for nature-friendly farming including agroforestry and rewetting peatlands.

Responding, Soil Association Chief Executive Helen Browning said: "As both a farmer and an environmentalist, my mind is buzzing with the potential opportunities that could open up for my farm following this announcement from Defra. Many farmers are already working with nature and many more are keen to do so but have been waiting for reassurance from government.

"There is widespread agreement that we need a farmer-led tree revolution, so I am delighted to see vital funding coming through this year for agroforestry and wood pasture, alongside further support for farmers to create habitats.

"With further incentives for combining nature-friendly practices, we could finally be moving towards a resilient farming system where farmers produce good food in harmony with wildlife across all of their land, as agroecological and organic farmers already do. This is essential in the face of the escalating climate and nature crises – small tweaks to the status quo will not be enough.

"We want to see the budget for agroecological farming doubled, so today's funding uplift is an important step forward for our farmers who are under huge pressures. We hope this will lead to more investment in sustainable farming, alongside support for farmers to enact whole farm plans for nature and move away from harmful practices."

Next steps that the Soil Association is calling for:

• A good advice service for the Sustainable Farming Incentives to ensure high take up of the good options currently available for farmers.
• A focus on outcomes – we want to see government monitoring to check these practices are working for wildlife, the environment and animal welfare.
• Reliability of the delivery of outcomes on-farm to be facilitated through implementation of whole farm plans for working with nature, and recognition of whole farm systems.
• Support and regulation to help farmers move away from practices that are harmful and drive pollution both in the UK and overseas, with reduction targets for artificial fertiliser, harmful pesticides, and imported feed.
• Research into alternatives to peat as a growing medium and palidiculture – growing in rewetted peat – to build on the welcome new payments for rewetting peat.