
Farmers in England fear for nature after sustainable farming funding frozen
The environment secretary, Steve Reed, recently announced that the sustainable farming incentive (SFI), which pays farmers for making space for nature on their land, would be paused and overhauled before June's spending review. The scope of the scheme – and its budget – are being reassessed.
He is considering blocking farmers who make a lot of money from agriculture from applying for the scheme, which is part of a package of payments that replaced the EU's common agricultural policy and paid land managers for the amount of land in their care, with the aim of paying farmers to look after nature, soil and other public goods, rather than simply for farming and owning land.
In England, 70% of land is farmed, so if nature is to recover, farmers need support to make space for it on their land. This includes planting trees and hedges, digging ponds and leaving strips of land for wildflowers.
Amelia Greenaway, 24, farms native cattle and pigs on 365 hectares (900 acres) of the National Trust's Killerton Estate in Devon. She was applying for £94,000 worth of SFI payments when the application was frozen.
'We are already sustainable as we are organic. We have highland cattle and rare breed pigs which we conservation graze,' she said. But she wanted to go one step further.
'We were going to start growing our own pig feed to create a circular system in our farm, we were going to sow wildflowers in there as well, and it was going to be a good thing for pollinators. We now can't afford the seed to do that,' she said.
It is hard for tenant farmers to apply for schemes as they have to work with the landlords. Greenaway had been working on her funding application for months – time that has been wasted. 'The planning we have had to do over SFI has been immense,' she said. 'This has seriously wasted our time. We had to do so many paperwork applications that delayed the process.'
She said farmers were giving up on the government to provide funding and solutions for nature, and had to accept they would need to do it themselves. 'I hope this gives farmers the opportunity not to put their heads in the sand. We weren't reliant on subsidy but it was great to have that cash boost we could reinvest. Not having the reinvestment will make us become a bit stagnant if the SFI doesn't become available again.'
Greenaway says she is lucky to have a good landlord in the National Trust, which supports nature-friendly farming, but not all farmers are so fortunate: 'Since the shocking news of SFI closure, it's just reminded us of our gratitude towards the National Trust. Without the support of empathetic landlords who want to allow sustainable farming to be a viable business we wouldn't be a sustainable business. I am very stagnant now, not moving forward with nature recovery. I have to count my blessings, but I have to look forward to the future and work even more closely with my landlords.'
She feared other farmers may be discouraged from nature-friendly farming: 'I am really worried for the landscape actually; for those farmers who were considering going into regenerative farming, the chopping and changing has completely reduced confidence so it's caused them to want to intensify instead.'
Anthony Curwen, 63, is the country estate manager of Quex Park in Kent, which grows wheat, oilseed rape, oats, beans, potatoes and maize silage across 1,012 hectares (2,500 acres) of arable land.
He applied for the SFI just before the application window closed, and has now been left in limbo.
Sign up to First Edition
Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters
after newsletter promotion
'It is just very shocking and surprising that it was withdrawn last week,' he said. 'What we are doing is helping sustainable farming, pollen and nature strips. We don't use insecticides, we plant cover crops. We have already started doing everything. We were hoping to get the money for doing it.'
Curwen has loved seeing nature come back to the farm. 'I've noticed more insects, more birds. Lots of things were here 40 or 50 years ago and disappeared then came back. We've seen turtle doves come back to the farm, we've seen yellow hammers which I haven't seen for a long time. It is joyous to see it all return.'
He is worried other farmers will not get this same opportunity: 'We've been on this journey for several years, but the vast bulk of farmers don't know what to do. They need persuasion, they need help. It will take a lot of rebuilding trust to hit government targets on biodiversity, carbon and soil regeneration. It is quite scary going on that route as it is very different to what they would have been doing.'
Curwen does not agree with the government's plans to means test it, as it will encourage larger farms to intensify food production with more pesticides and less nature. 'Who could say that nature doesn't matter on a big farm? Nature matters on every farm. Many big farms may go in the opposite direction and intensify and that will hurt nature. It is trying to divide and rule to be honest with you.'
Despite using fewer pesticides and creating more space for nature, productivity has not reduced on his farm: 'Less inputs and more circular farming actually give us more food security. This is all being put at risk because of the clumsy way this is all going on.'
He did not realise this would be the case to begin with, but now is a true convert and a member of the Nature Friendly Farming Network.
'I was sceptical of regenerative farming but we have now realised it makes a huge difference to everything around you,' he said. 'I am in despair. I am just saddened as I think it is going to be harder now. I thought we were a world leader in this journey and now it's all up in the air.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Scotsman
29 minutes ago
- Scotsman
How Labour minister's attack on quality of Scotland's water backfired badly
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Westminster went into recess this week, a time of year when MPs can take a breath, undertake summer surgery tours and constituency visits, and generally catch up with work back home that can be difficult with the weekly commute to London. It is also historically when we enter what is known as 'silly season', described in the Collins dictionary as 'the time around August when the newspapers are full of unimportant or silly news stories because there is not much political news to report'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This week it arrived a few days early as a Labour Cabinet minister sought to make the case against water nationalisation using inaccurate figures about Scottish water quality. A Labour politician, Environment Secretary Steve Reed no less, arguing against a successfully nationalised public utility and showing a courageous streak by criticising Scots over the quality of their tap water. Just 16 per cent of England's water bodies are in good ecological status, compared to 66 per cent in Scotland (Picture: Christopher Furlong) | Getty Images Swimming in sewage Now, there are times, when stories that the political bubble, politicians and journalists alike, think are terribly serious fail to capture the public imagination. The quality of Scotland's water is not one of them. People in Scotland, of all political persuasions and none, take some pride in the quality of Scotland's water – not least those of us who drink London tap water during our weekly London commute! The Secretary of State was swimming in sewage of his own making and gave Scottish Government Cabinet minister Gillian Martin ample opportunity to rebut his claims in a pointed letter. Sixty-six per cent of Scotland's water bodies are of good ecological status compared to 16 per cent in England and 29 per cent in Wales. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Whilst there is always more that can be done and Scottish ministers are right to focus on areas for which they have responsibility, Scottish water is improving with 87 per cent assessed as 'clean or good', up from 82 per cent in 2014. There is always work to be done in Scotland, and in fairness Scottish ministers have the benefit of being answerable to the public rather than shareholders, but nonetheless the intervention was 'courageous' by the British minister. £78bn in shareholder dividends A recent report by the UK Environment Agency showed serious pollution incidents in England were up 60 per cent compared to the previous year with 'consistently poor performance from all nine water and sewage companies' in England. The Environment Agency put this down to 'persistent underinvestment in new infrastructure, poor asset maintenance and reduced resilience due to the impacts of climate'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Secretary of State even conceded on Sky News this week that most of the £104 billion investment needed in the water industry in England would have to be paid back by bill payers. What's more, since privatisation by the Tories in the 1990s, water companies have paid out £78bn in dividends and millions in bonuses to water company bosses, a system that a Labour minister was now seeking to defend. One might say that the UK Government has found itself up a rather polluted creek without a paddle. No wonder so few voices are calling for Scottish water to be privatised given the unfolding disaster south of the Border. Bill payers in Scotland gain from successive devolved administrations managing water better. Since 2010 for instance, average charges to Scottish customers have reduced by over 10 per cent with average prices significantly lower than in England and Wales. Given all of this you might have expected the Secretary of State to be more focused on keeping to past Labour commitments that might help voters down south. In the 2020 Labour leadership race, one of Keir Starmer's ten key pledges was to 'support common ownership of rail, mail, energy and water'. That commitment appears to have been one of many dropped by Labour in office. Scottish Labour's favourite tactic Labour finds itself politically rudderless in stormy waters, pun absolutely intended. No wonder, the party has won power and doesn't know what to do with it. The Secretary of State was left gasping, a fish out of water. When he was interviewed, unable to defend his own record, he did what Labour MPs are getting rather good at, talk about something else entirely. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It's a favoured tactic of Scottish Labour MPs to talk about anything but their own Westminster government. At the most recent Scotland Office question time, supposed to be Scotland's voice in the UK Government, only my Dundee colleague Chris Law and I seemed to be bothered to ask about issues pertinent to the UK Government. Labour MP after Labour MP stood up to talk about the Scottish Government, telling us something of who is setting the policy agenda – and it isn't this Labour administration. The lack of Labour MPs' curiosity about the work of their own government and the Secretary of State's brazen deflection tells us of a Westminster government and UK ruling party without much of a political compass, holed below the water line by their own lack of purpose. My experience of speaking to voters tells me that people want to know what you are for, rather than what you are against. Even where voters disagree with you, and plenty do, they respect parties who are clear on their beliefs. Things could always be better and Scottish ministers should continue to keep up their work to ensure that Scottish water is cheaper, less polluted and more sustainable than elsewhere. The same goes the other way, and given the state of England's waters maybe, just maybe, Labour ministers could do with focusing on areas over which they have responsibility. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Water is a precious commodity, and it has rightly grabbed a bit of attention this week. It's certainly more deserving than this week's early silly season but we shouldn't let that wander into September. Time for some serious politics about a serious resource – time for Labour ministers to focus on the day job?


Metro
38 minutes ago
- Metro
Trump warns 'there'll be no Europe left' before immediately hitting golf course
Donald Trump is following up his dire warnings about the future of Europe by cracking on with the real business of his trip to Scotland: a few rounds of golf. The US President landed at Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire yesterday evening for his first UK visit since returning to the White House in January. It took only a few minutes after stepping off Air Force One for Trump to begin predicting doom for the West due to immigration. He told reporters: 'On immigration, you better get your act together. You're not going to have Europe anymore, you've got to get your act together.' The President claimed nobody had entered the US last month before describing the situation faced by Europe as a 'horrible invasion'. His British mini-break will begin with a day of golf at his Turnberry course on the Ayrshire coast. Craig Munro breaks down Westminster chaos into easy to follow insight, walking you through what the latest policies mean to you. Sent every Wednesday. Sign up here. More serious discussions with leaders including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Scottish First Minister John Swinney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will come on Sunday and Monday. Police in Scotland are bracing for a major operation as protesters begin to gather at a number of spots Trump is expected to visit on his brief tour. The presidential motorcade, containing more than two dozen vehicles, passed a small protest on its way into Turnberry yesterday evening but demonstrations are expected to swell today. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Later, the entourage will travel east across Scotland to Aberdeen and another of Trump's links courses near Balmedie, on the coast north of the city. Scottish Secretary Ian Murray, who met the President at Prestwick just after he arrived at around 8.30pm yesterday, said Trump's first words after stepping off the plane were: 'It's great to be here, I always love standing on the soil of Scotland.' Murray added: 'I said, 'I hope you're looking forward to a bit of downtime with some golf this weekend', and he said, 'Yes'. 'And I said, 'Well, we've whipped up a bit of a wind for you to make it a bit more competitive', and he went, 'I'm looking forward to it'.' Trump is expected to meet with von der Leyen tomorrow in an effort to thrash out a trade deal between the EU and the US. More Trending The EU has been one of the biggest targets of the tariff campaign from the White House since dramatic new trade measures were announced at the beginning of April. Starmer is understood to be travelling to Scotland on Monday for a meeting with the President, where the finer details of the UK's trade deal with the US are likely to be discussed. Speaking at Prestwick yesterday, Trump said: 'I like your Prime Minister, he's slightly more liberal than I am – as you probably heard – but he's a good man. He got a trade deal done.' He also suggested the meeting would be taking place this evening, which is not believed to be accurate. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: New arrest in cold case of mum killed 30 years ago walking home from shops MORE: Trump says 'I'll give you a list' of Epstein associates and 'I'm allowed' to pardon Maxwell MORE: Donald Trump's Scotland visit branded 'cynical circus' by his nemesis in land battle


Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Qatar threatened to cut EU LNG supplies over sustainability law, letter shows
BRUSSELS, July 26 (Reuters) - Qatar has threatened to cut gas supplies to the European Union in response to the bloc's due diligence law on forced labour and environmental damage, a letter from Qatar to the Belgian government, seen by Reuters, showed. Qatar is the world's third-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), after the United States and Australia. It has provided between 12% and 14% of Europe's LNG since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In a letter to the Belgian government dated May 21, Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said the country was reacting to the EU's corporate sustainability due diligence directive (CSDDD), which requires larger companies operating in the EU to find and fix human rights and environmental issues in their supply chains. "Put simply, if further changes are not made to CSDDD, the State of Qatar and QatarEnergy will have no choice but to seriously consider alternative markets outside of the EU for our LNG and other products, which offer a more stable and welcoming business environment," said the letter. A spokesperson for Belgium's representation to the EU declined to comment on the letter, which was first reported by German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. The European Commission also received a letter from Qatar, dated May 13, a Commission spokesperson told Reuters, noting that EU lawmakers and countries are currently negotiating changes to the CSDDDD. "It is now for them to negotiate and adopt the substantive simplification changes proposed by the Commission," the spokesperson said. Brussels proposed changes to the CSDDD earlier this year to reduce its requirements - including by delaying its launch by a year, to mid-2028, and limiting the checks companies will have to make down their supply chains. Companies that fail to comply could face fines of up to 5% of global turnover. Qatar said the EU's changes had not gone far enough. In the letter, Kaabi said Qatar was particularly concerned about the CSDDD's requirement for companies have a climate change transition plan aligned with preventing global warming exceeding 1.5 celsius - the goal of the Paris Agreement. "Neither the State of Qatar nor QatarEnergy have any plans to achieve net zero in the near future," said the letter, which said the CSDDD undermined countries' right to set their own national contributions towards the Paris Agreement goals. In an annex to the letter, also seen by Reuters, Qatar proposed removing the section of CSDDD which includes the requirement for climate transition plans. Kaabi is also chief executive of QatarEnergy ( Qatar Energy gas has long-term supply contracts with major European companies, including Shell (SHEL.L), opens new tab, TotalEnergies ( opens new tab and ENI ( opens new tab.