The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has today (Wednesday, August 17) announced more support for farmers to help them deal with the impacts of the recent and severe dry weather.
This support comes in the form of the temporary relaxation of rules in agri-environment scheme agreements, to allow farmers to cut or graze additional areas of land to help ease shortages of bedding, fodder, grazing or forage crops.
This will make it easier to provide vital food for livestock, Defra said.
The optional changes, which apply to Country Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship options, will come into effect from today and last until the end of 2022. From January 1, 2023, all options will revert to their original requirements, unless otherwise stated in the detail of the individual options.
A full list of the easements has been published by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA), which includes guidance.
Commenting, chief executive of the RPA Paul Caldwell said:
“We know that farmers are facing pressures as they deal with the consequences of these exceptionally dry conditions, and we hope these practical steps will help farmers safeguard food production and help with animal welfare.
“We are committed to supporting agreement holders as much as we can during this difficult period and help ensure that they can maintain existing environmental commitments.”
Environment Secretary George Eustice added that while the UK is more prepared for this dry weather than ever before, “many farmers are concerned about water supplies and the impact on their crops and livestock”.
“We are therefore introducing temporary easements on agri-environment schemes to give them the flexibility to respond,” he said.
