Farmers Warn They May Struggle To Fund Nature Projects Amid Freeze On Sustainability Payments

Farmers across England are expressing serious concern that they may no longer be able to afford to restore wildlife habitats or reduce their carbon emissions after the government halted funding for environmental land management.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed recently confirmed that the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) – a scheme designed to pay farmers for supporting biodiversity and sustainability on their land – would be paused and restructured ahead of June’s spending review. Both the scale and financial scope of the initiative are currently under reassessment.

As part of the review, Reed is reportedly considering whether to exclude high-earning agricultural businesses from receiving SFI payments. The scheme, which replaced the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, aims to reward land managers not for the size of their holdings, but for delivering public goods such as healthy soils, clean air, and restored natural habitats.

With farmland covering approximately 70% of England, farmers play a crucial role in reversing nature decline. Measures such as planting hedgerows, digging ponds, creating wildflower margins and growing trees all require upfront investment – support many say is no longer viable without SFI funding.

Among those affected is 24-year-old Amelia Greenway, who farms native livestock on 365 hectares (900 acres) of the National Trust’s Killerton Estate in Devon. She had applied for £94,000 under the scheme before applications were suspended.

“We are already sustainable as we are organic. We have Highland cattle and rare breed pigs which we conservation graze,” Greenway explained. She had hoped to use the funding to further enhance the farm’s environmental credentials. “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.”

As a tenant farmer, Greenway faced additional challenges in preparing her application, which required close collaboration with her landlord. “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 believes the uncertainty has damaged farmers’ confidence in government support: “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.”

While Greenway feels fortunate to have the backing of the National Trust, which supports environmentally friendly practices, she acknowledged not all tenant farmers enjoy similar support. “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 fears that the policy shift could deter others from adopting regenerative methods: “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, manages Quex Park in Kent, which spans 1,012 hectares (2,500 acres) and grows crops such as wheat, oilseed rape, oats, beans, potatoes and maize silage. He also submitted an SFI application before the programme was halted.

“It is just very shocking and surprising that it was withdrawn last week,” Curwen 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.”

He has witnessed first-hand the return of wildlife to the estate: “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.”

Curwen worries the freeze could undermine progress elsewhere: “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.”

He is critical of proposals to means-test the scheme, warning that it could have damaging consequences. “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 taking a more ecological approach, Curwen reports that food production has remained strong. “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.”

A member of the Nature Friendly Farming Network, Curwen says he was once a sceptic of regenerative agriculture but is now a firm believer. “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.”

Source: The Guardian