New payment scheme for farmers unveiled amid industry doubts
The SFS will replace EU-era subsidies, which farmers had received for decades based largely on how much land they had. Most rely on these payments - an average of 67% of Welsh farm income - came from subsidies in 2020-21.
The SFS aims to reward farmers and land managers for 'public good' practices such as like wildlife habitat and soaking up carbon in the land.
Wildlife groups warned the new plan fell "far short" of helping farmers to successfully tackle climate change and nature loss.
For their initial 'universal' payment, farmers will have to agree to carry out 12 actions ranging from soil health planning and habitat maintenance, to online courses to enhance knowledge and skills related to sustainable farming.
There will also be funding to recognise "social value" - something farmers had called for - and which aims to recognise what are described as the wider benefits that sustainable agriculture provides to society, from food production to sustaining rural communities.
An extra £1,000 will go to smaller farms in 2026 as a one-off stability payment to acknowledge the uncertain period of transition.
A further optional layer of the scheme is intended to top up farm incomes for further environmental work, including woodland creation, improved public access to the countryside and support to go organic.
A collaborative payment will also be available in future to support farmers working together on landscape-scale projects.
The Welsh Government has said it will commit £238m in 2026 for the universal payments - equivalent to the current, main subsidy farms receive, known as the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).
'Significant' funding for optional and collaborative work is also promised - with an overall budget similar to the £340m currently designated to farming.
But farming unions and environmental groups alike said far more was required - closer to £500m, to account for rising costs in agriculture and the scale of what was now being asked of farmers to deliver.
The Welsh Government said its plans will support food production and address environmental concerns
A requirement for 10% tree cover has ben dropped.
Instead the government said it was asking farmers to plant at least 0.1 hectares - or 250 trees by the end of 2028.
There would be "generous support for tree and hedgerow planting" in the optional layer, including a higher payment rate for tree planting during the first three years of the scheme.
The government is also targeting 1,500km (932 miles) of hedgerow extension by 2030, with an aspiration of achieving 2,000km (1,243 miles).
NFU Cymru said the Welsh Government's decision to slash the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) by 40% for 2026 overshadows much of the positive work undertaken to improve the new Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS).
NFU Cymru President Aled Jones said: 'This unwelcome decision by Welsh Government is extremely worrying for farmers in Wales who had previously been informed that those opting not to enter the new Sustainable Farming Scheme in 2026 would receive 80% of their BPS. Farming businesses have forward planned on this basis.
'This development is even more of a blow given significant guidance and technical detail is yet to be published which farmers need if they are to make informed decisions about whether to enter the scheme from 1st January 2026.'
He also argued that '… the level of detail, constraints, administration, costs and bureaucracy attached to the SFS is significant and far greater than anything seen before. We remain deeply worried about the burden this scheme will place on a sector low in confidence and already dealing with a mountain of red tape.'
Farmers Union of Wales President Ian Rickman the scheme marked a generational milestone for the future of Welsh agriculture.'
'To highlight some of the key successes, we have secured a total budget for the Universal Baseline Payment and BPS taper combined of £238 million, providing workable payment rates and much needed stability for the sector,' he said.
'This includes the provision of universal payments for common land rights holders.
'We have retained and strengthened the application of capped and redistributive payments, a longstanding policy position for the FUW and one that maximises the amount of money going to typical Welsh family farms and rural communities.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BreakingNews.ie
17 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Explained: Zelenskiy's controversial move against Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy is under pressure at home and abroad for stripping the independence of anti-corruption agencies whose work is seen as essential to Kyiv's path to join the European Union. Amendments giving his appointed prosecutor more power over the two investigative bodies have drawn criticism from top EU officials and sparked the country's largest wartime protests. Advertisement Here is what it means. What are Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies? The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) were set up after a 2014 revolution toppled a pro-Russian president and set Kyiv on a Western course. They are responsible for independently weeding out high-level graft, a central requirement for Ukraine to receive billions of dollars in Western aid and join the 27-member EU. The agencies have stepped up their work during Russia's full-scale invasion, producing charges against lawmakers, senior government officials and a former deputy head of Zelenskiy's administration. Advertisement Last month, they accused a deputy prime minister of accepting a €300,000 kickback. Why have their powers been curbed? In a late-night address on Tuesday, Zelenskiy said the agencies needed to be "cleansed" of Russian influence and their work strengthened and sped up. A day earlier, Kyiv's domestic security agency had arrested two NABU officials on suspicion of ties to Russia and conducted sweeping searches into agency employees, a move critics described as excessive. The new measures, which were fast-tracked in large part by Zelenskiy's ruling party, allow the general prosecutor to transfer cases away from the agencies and re-assign prosecutors, several lawmakers said. Advertisement Critics, including an anti-corruption campaigner charged this month with fraud and evading military service, have alleged the crackdown was a politically motivated response to their work. What was the reaction? After the vote, the EU's enlargement commissioner said she was "seriously concerned" about the measures, and on Wednesday Germany's foreign minister warned Kyiv against hampering its path to the EU. At home, thousands of Ukrainians rallied in Kyiv just steps away from the site of the 2014 uprising, which itself was sparked by a democratic rollback and threats to Ukraine's European integration. Protesters in Kyiv hold placards during a demonstration about the independence of Ukraine's two anti-corruption agencies. Photo: AFP via Getty Fighting corruption and embracing the West, especially since Moscow's 2022 invasion, are seen as critical to erasing a legacy of Russian rule. Advertisement Ukrainians are furious at signs of corruption and misrule at a time when tens of thousands of troops have been killed on the front fending off Russia. "My brother didn't die for this kind of future," read a placard at the Kyiv protest. What's next? On Wednesday, Zelenskiy said he had met with anti-corruption and security officials to hash out a joint plan within two weeks to better combat corruption. Writing on X, he said the officials would aim to "resolve existing contradictions, and eliminate threats". "We all hear what society is saying," he said. "We see what people expect from state institutions." Still, NABU and SAPO said in a joint statement on Wednesday that they wanted their independence restored through legislation. Meanwhile, lawmakers pledged to challenge the amendments while Ukrainians on social media called for continuing public protests.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
EU prepares €100bn no-deal plan to match Trump's threat of 30% tariffs
The EU has threatened to impose nearly €100bn (£87bn) worth of tariffs on US imports ranging from bourbon whiskey and Boeing aircraft in one fell swoop if Donald Trump does not agree a trade deal by the end of next week. The European Commission said on Wednesday it now planned to combine two previously prepared separate lists of US goods to be included in any retaliatory moves against the US president's import tariffs. If Brussels follows through on the threat, it would mean tariffs on US imports to the EU including poultry and alcohol in the first €21bn list, as well as the more recent list of €72bn of goods, which featured cars and planes. If agreed by EU member states, through a vote expected in the coming days, the €93bn of counter-tariffs could be imposed from 7 August. 'The EU's primary focus is on achieving a negotiated outcome with the US,' said Olof Gill, a trade spokesperson for the European Commission,adding that it would 'continue in parallel to prepare for all outcomes'. To make countermeasures 'clearer, simpler and stronger we will merge lists 1 and 2 into a single list', he said. The EU trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, was due to talk to the US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, before a briefing to EU ambassadors on Wednesday afternoon. Diplomats say the mood is hardening in Brussels towards Trump after the US president rejected an agreement in principle 10 days ago while at the same time upping the ante by threatening 30% blanket tariffs from 1 August in the event of no deal. Germany, which has publicly pushed for a quick deal to end the crippling 27.5% tariffs on its car industry, is now favouring the use of the anti-coercion instrument (ACI), an EU regulation considered its 'nuclear deterrent' against economic coercion. The ACI would enable the EU to retaliate with an arsenal of measures including tariffs, but also a potential ban on US services, which would hit the tech sector hard. The European car industry has been particularly impacted by the tariffs. Stellantis, the owner of Jeep and Vauxhall, this week said Trump's tariffs have cost it €300m and Volvo reported a sharp decline in second-quarter operation. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has long argued that the EU needs to be prepared to retaliate and counter Trump's threats in a tougher fashion. Both Germany and France spoke about the ACI at a meeting of ambassadors last Friday. 'It was certainly a shift in rhetoric, but it is not clear whether they would be advocating pressing the actual button,' said one diplomat in Brussels. Tobias Gehrke, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations thinktank, said the EU had missed an opportunity by not warning that it would use the ACI after a trade ministers summit early last week, two days after Trump sent the EU a letter threatening 30% tariffs. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion 'There is a sense that the bloc has fumbled its hand, despite holding decent cards,' he said. 'The EU should have immediately retaliated against US tariffs. While the mantra 'negotiate from a position of strength' was oft-repeated in speeches, any associated actions never materialised,' he added. He argues the only move to break the impasse is a face to face meeting between Merz, Macron and Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni and Trump, who is in Scotland this weekend. The latest EU move comes ahead of a summit with China on Thursday between European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the EU council, Antonio Costa, and China's president Xi Jinping. China maintains a dominant position in the trade relationship – its trade surplus for the first six months of 2025 stood at €143bn, up 20% year on year, with exports of hybrid electrical cars tripling from January to May. These do not attract the punitive tariffs introduced in 2023 by the EU. Electric car imports dropped 32% for the same period. At the same time, China's restriction on rare earths is hitting the German car industry which needs magnets for window and boot opening mechanisms.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Wall Street poised for higher open as US-Japan trade deal lifts sentiment
July 23 (Reuters) - Wall Street was poised for a stronger start on Wednesday after President Donald Trump struck a trade deal with Japan, shoring up expectations of further agreements ahead of the fast-approaching August 1 deadline. The pact will slash tariffs on the Japanese auto sector to 15% from 27.5%, with duties on other goods also dropping to 15% from 25%. At 8:24 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis were up 22.5 points, or 0.35%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 17.75 points, or 0.08%, and Dow E-minis were up 233 points, or 0.52%. Futures tracking the domestically focused Russell 2000 small-cap index (.RUT), opens new tab rose 0.9%. Representatives from Washington and the European Union were headed into negotiations, hoping to secure a breakthrough deal. At the same time, the European Commission declared plans to submit counter-tariffs on 93 billion euros ($109 billion) of U.S. goods for approval to EU members. "The United States has been working very hard on trying to get a lot of trade deals in time before the August 1st deadline, and it seems like they're starting to get some momentum. So I do think this is a very positive sign," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 notched its eighth record close in a month on Tuesday, buoyed by easing trade tensions, a resilient U.S. economy, and upbeat second-quarter earnings. The Dow climbed 0.4%, now within striking distance of its all-time high, while the Nasdaq slipped as declines in Meta and Microsoft weighed on the tech-heavy index. Investors are now laser-focused on earnings from the "Magnificent Seven" — the market's star performers who have powered stocks to record highs. Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab and Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab are set to report after the bell on Wednesday. With AI optimism running high and valuations stretched, expectations for these tech giants are sky-high, leaving little margin for disappointment. Both the stocks eased about 0.3% premarket. In earnings-focused moves, Texas Instruments (TXN.O), opens new tab tumbled 9.9% after its quarterly profit forecast failed to impress investors, as it pointed to weaker-than-expected demand for its analog chips from some customers and underscored tariff-related uncertainty. The earnings also weighed on its peer analog chipmakers, with NXP Semiconductors (NXPI.O), opens new tab, Analog Devices (ADI.O), opens new tab and ON Semiconductor (ON.O), opens new tab falling between 3.1% and 5.4%. Automaker General Motors (GM.N), opens new tab also became a casualty of the trade war on Tuesday when it said Trump's tariffs took a $1.1 billion hit on its quarterly earnings, sending its shares down more than 8%. Toymaker Hasbro (HAS.O), opens new tab rose 0.5% after raising its annual revenue forecast, while AT&T (T.N), opens new tab slipped 3.4% despite beating quarterly profit estimates. In economic data, existing home sales numbers for June are due on the day. Thursday's weekly jobless claims numbers and S&P Global's flash PMI data will be closely assessed to gauge economic health in the wake of tariff uncertainties. Following a mixed set of economic data last week, traders have ruled out an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week. Odds for a September reduction stand at 56%, according to the CME FedWatch tool. The Fed's July meeting will follow on the heels of mounting concerns about its independence amid political interference and President Trump's persistent attacks on Chair Jerome Powell for his reluctance to cut rates.
