Farmers in England want to see more details about the scheme which will replace direct payments.

On Monday, Environment Secretary George Eustice published a 66-page document on a transition period which will run from 2021 to 2027.

The plan is for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) to be phased out in England over the seven-year period, with a new scheme gradually brought in which will pay farmers for carrying out environmental measures.

“There are warm words but precious little that I can plan the future of my business on. I think we have just had an announcement that there will be future announcements,” Rutland farmer Sarah Bell told Eustice during an online panel discussion.

Halved

The money taken from direct payments will be used to mainly fund Environmental Land Management to be rolled out across England by 2024. By then direct payments to most English farmers will already be halved, with more severe cuts applied to large claimants.

“Expecting farmers to run viable, high-cost farm businesses, continue to produce food and increase their environmental delivery, while phasing out existing support and without a complete replacement scheme for almost three years is high risk and a very big ask,” said National Farmers’ Union president Minette Batters.

She also pointed out that the same cuts to direct payments will not be applied in other parts of the UK. In Scotland and NI, area-based payments are set to remain in the longer term, albeit at lower levels than the current BPS.