Farm groups voice concerns over UK agriculture budget
The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) and several high-profile nature groups have joined forces to warn that cutting the agriculture budget will have 'grave consequences for the environment'.
The call comes ahead of UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves' statement at lunchtime today (Wednesday, June 11), which will outline all departmental finances from 2027-2030, including the agriculture budget.
On the eve of the spending review, a CLA poll of nearly 500 farmers found that the majority would abandon nature-friendly practices and revert to intensive methods if government funding is cut.
The main findings of the poll of 460 members included:
88% say they will have to revert to intensive farming if funding is pulled for Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and Countryside Stewardship (CS) schemes;
95% say they will reduce the amount of land managed for the environment;
98% say that Labour does not understand or respect rural communities;
99% don't trust Labour to make decisions that benefit their business;
76% say they are not in a position to fully fund the land management actions in their SFI/CS agreements by themselves.
The CLA and groups including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), National Trust, Soil Association, and the Nature Friendly Farming Network have also sent a joint letter to farming minister Daniel Zeichner outlining the impact a reduced budget will have on nature.
The letter outlines how the organisations are 'deeply concerned about the rumoured cuts to the agricultural budget in the upcoming spending review'.
It warns that any reduction in the budget will be 'catastrophic' to the government's aims.
'Many of the environmental features present in the countryside and enjoyed by the public will be under threat and will disappear. This would be a poor legacy for this government,' the letter states.
Agriculture budget
CLA president Victoria Vyvyan said that 'if funding for sustainable farming schemes is cut, government won't just abandon nature – it will abandon its word'.
'The Sustainable Farming Incentive is working – for farmers, for nature, for the public, and for the Treasury.
'It's bringing back wildlife, cleaning up rivers, and restoring the health of our soil.
'Take that funding away, and farmers will be pushed back to intensive methods – forced to undo years of progress. Nature will suffer as well as farmers, and on the environment, it will go against everything government claims to agree with,' she added.
James Cameron, a farmer based in East Kennett, Wiltshire, explained that since entering these schemes, his farm has become 'a haven for nature'.
'What was once arable land, is now species-rich grassland. Red-listed birds, butterflies and bees have all returned in full force. What we've been able to build is magical.
'But now, all of that could vanish. Our entire financial model depends on this scheme. If funding is cut, it will be disastrous.
'We can't afford to fund all this work ourselves, and the private sector simply isn't there yet. We may have no choice but to re-adopt intensive farming practices just to stay afloat.
'Farming is already an uncertain enough business. We need a government that brings stability, not one that plays policy roulette and makes it impossible to operate at every turn,' he said.
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