DEFRA's Blog

We want to make it easier for farmers to strengthen their businesses. To that end, several changes to permitted development rights are coming into effect from 21 May.  

Today, we updated the data showing the uptake of actions in Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and the uptake of options in Countryside Stewardship (CS) and Environmental Stewardship (CS). In this post, I’ll share an overview of the data for the Sustainable Farming Offer in 2023. I’ll also include some findings from research we conducted with around 500 SFI agreement holders, advisers and stakeholders.

Our project, the Waveney and Little Ouse Landscape Recovery Project, sits on the headwaters of the 2 rivers, covering over 1,600 hectares between the towns of Diss on the Waveney and Thetford on the Little Ouse. The project seeks an opportunity to realise the invaluable services our floodplains provide. In this post, I'll share an overview of our work.

Our response to the Rock Review set out our commitments in light of its recommendations. It is now one year since we published our response. And, of the 75 commitments, we have completed or are working on 64. In this post, we’ll summarise the progress we have made over the last year. We also shine a light on the role of the Farm Tenancy Forum and the collaborative approach of one farm in Oxfordshire. 

From today, small groups of farmers in England can apply for a Local Resource Option (LRO) screening study. An LRO is a water resources scheme that improves the resilience or supply of water in a local area. LRO screening studies are one way farmers and growers can better understand their options to improve the supply or resilience of water. In this post, I’ll share the background, explain how the studies work and include links to learn more and apply. 

In the latest Farming in Protected Landscape (FiPL) project spotlight, I shine a light on the work of the Central Dartmoor Farm Cluster.

We are pleased to tell you that legislation to protect hedgerows has today been laid in both Houses of Parliament. If approved by Parliament, the Management of Hedgerows (England) Regulations 2024 will put baseline hedgerow management practices into law, providing a consistent approach across all people operating on agricultural land. 

We are pleased to tell you that legislation to protect hedgerows has today been laid in both Houses of Parliament. If approved by Parliament, the Management of Hedgerows (England) Regulations 2024 will put baseline hedgerow management practices into law, providing a consistent approach across all people operating on agricultural land. 

On Wednesday 27 March, we held a webinar on the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and Countryside Stewardship (CS) schemes for upland farmers.  In this post, we summarise what we covered and include links for you to learn more.