TFA Chief Executive, George Dunn, said “Over the past six years, we have been locked in full-scale discussions with DEFRA. These have focused on how we manage the transition away from the EU Common Agricultural Policy towards a bespoke scheme for the farmed landscape in England. Thus far, the Government had been good at the easy bit, which was the removal of the Basic Payment Scheme providing direct payments to farmers according to the farmland they had at their disposal. However, it had been woefully inadequate in providing any details for the way in which farmers would be encouraged, rewarded and helped to deliver wider environmental benefits, the costs for which are not routinely factored into the prices received by farmers through food supply chains. However, today’s announcements are a major step change in a much more positive direction.”

Central to today’s announcement is a significant expansion of the entry-level standards for the new schemes which will have wide appeal across the farming community.

“We have been calling on DEFRA to set out a more robust offering to farmers and at long last we are now getting somewhere. It is great news that a broad range of farmers and farming types will now be able to participate in schemes, which will deliver environmental outcomes and other public goods. In most cases, there should be a range of options with which farmers can engage,” said Mr Dunn.

DEFRA has also produced a prospectus of further initiatives that it will be bringing in over the next few years, under an expanded offering, through the pre-existing Countryside Stewardship scheme. This prospectus will allow farmers the opportunity to plan ahead.

However, there are three areas which need further work and which the TFA will be pressing the Government to look at over the weeks and months ahead.

“Much of the expanded offering targets farmers on arable and grass systems in the lowlands. However, the hills and uplands of our country have the potential of delivering huge amounts of environmental goods and services to wider society alongside their ability to produce high quality food. More detail is needed to understand how the Government intends to partner with farmers who operate in some of the most economically fragile and remote areas of our country,” said Mr Dunn.

“Deliverability is another key area about which we need to hear more. Too many times in the past, good policy initiatives have floundered on poor administration. We need there to be good dialogue between the policymakers and those organisations, such as the Rural Payments Agency, who will be charged with delivering the policy in the field,” said Mr Dunn.

“Finally, whilst it is good to see that the specific challenges faced by tenant farmers have been identified, the Government has yet to respond to the detailed recommendations contained within the Rock Review report from the Tenancy Working Group provided to DEFRA in October. This report contains important solutions for Government on scheme design, changes to legislation, taxation and wider issues and it must get on with delivering on those recommendations. Having commissioned Baroness Rock in January of last year and with her completing her report in just nine months, there is no excuse for the Government’s continued delay,” said Mr Dunn.