51AVÊÓƵ

Government retirement schemes which only compensate for monetary loss from farming are doomed to fail, new research commissioned by Welsh Ministers has found.

That the country needs coherent solutions to the structural problems it faces around labour and creaking supply chains is nothing new. Whether it has a Government fit enough to deliver such solutions is another matter altogether.

Farmers and the Scottish Government must take positive action to avoid what NFU Scotland president Martin Kennedy described as the ’car crash’ of England’s Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme.

The Government has made a number of important announcements affecting farming in recent months. Abi Kay speaks to Defra Secretary George Eustice to get the inside track on the latest developments.

Now open for English arable and horticultural growers under the Farming Transformation Fund, water management grants could be very appealing to those looking to install new infrastructure.

While financial support from the Government is becoming more targeted, opportunities still exist for farmers to access grants which could facilitate improvements or perhaps a new direction of travel. 

Andy Cureton, head of research and partnerships of UK Research and Innovation says agritech can help UK agriculture and horticulture overcome the challenges it faces.

51AVÊÓƵand environmental groups have warned the new payment rates for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), published this week, are too low and ‘lack ambition’.

With a range of grants available to farming businesses, Charlie Fowler, agri-business consultant at Fisher German, offers his advice on applying for funding.

Farmers in England must act swiftly if they wish to tap into the Governments new £27 million Farming Investment Fund, industry has warned.