Farm leaders have issued a stark warning that Labour could be 'giving up' on its environmental ambitions if rumours of deep cuts to nature-friendly farming schemes prove true.
The warning comes in response to a report from The Guardian suggesting Defra may face significant cuts to its funding for nature-friendly farming under June's Spending Review.
The chancellor will set out the government’s tax and spending priorities until 2030. According to the report, the Treasury is planning to scale back support for the post-Brexit Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes.
It will form part of a broader wave of departmental cuts, with police, social housing, and environmental funding among those expected to be hit hardest.
NFU President Tom Bradshaw responded: “If this story proves to be correct it will be another blow, not just for farmers and growers, but for the viability of nature-friendly farming and for the environment.
"If promises from government that farmers would be partners in doing environmental good have been reneged on, it will leave farmers prioritising economic returns and balancing tough choices between farming the land as hard as they can just to make a living and continuing to focus on environmental works."
He added that any shift away from the principle of “public money for public environmental goods” towards a more socially focused policy would be “misjudged”, stressing that farms of all sizes play a role in delivering for food, nature and climate.
The NFU has requested urgent clarification from Defra and pledged to step up its lobbying efforts to secure investment in food security and sustainable farming.
Environmental organisations have also expressed alarm at the reported cuts. Alice Groom, head of sustainable land use policy at the RSPB, said it would leave Labour's credibility on nature and climate "in tatters".
“Cutting the nature-friendly farming budget would have a catastrophic impact on the UK’s ability to tackle the nature and climate crisis, and undermine our long-term food security."
Barnaby Coupe, senior land use policy manager at the Wildlife Trusts, added that the potential for further cuts to the farming budget was "deeply concerning".
"If true, would cripple funding for restoring nature and remove all hope of reaching the government’s targets for wildlife recovery.”
ELMs, which include the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), have been a cornerstone of the UK’s post-Brexit agricultural strategy, replacing the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy with a system designed to reward farmers for environmental stewardship.
Since its launch in 2022, the SFI has supported over 37,000 farms in delivering environmental outcomes such as healthier soils, cleaner water, and increased habitats for wildlife.
Defra’s own figures show that 75,000km of hedgerows are currently being actively managed under the scheme, contributing to biodiversity, carbon storage and improved water management.
But the future of the scheme now appears uncertain, with fears that any reduction in funding could reverse progress and jeopardise the UK’s ability to meet its legally binding environmental and climate commitments.
The NFU, along with a coalition of rural, environmental and conservation organisations—including the RSPB and National Trust—has long called for the government to uphold its promises to restore nature through well-funded agricultural partnerships.
Mr Bradshaw concluded: “Without funding, this will be the government giving up on its own environmental targets – targets which it relied on farmers to deliver.”
