Rules relaxed to support farmers amid driest weather in decades

The new support for farmers follows the Environment Agency declaring drought status for large parts of England
The new support for farmers follows the Environment Agency declaring drought status for large parts of England

Rules are being relaxed to allow farmers to cut or graze areas of land set aside in their agreements, as part of new support to help the sector deal with the impacts of some of the driest weather for decades.

The new support measure means farmers will have the option to relax rules in their agri-environment scheme agreements, to make it easier to provide food for livestock.

The changes come into effect from today (17 August) and will last until the end of this year, Defra confirmed.

Agreement holders in the Countryside Stewardship or Environmental Stewardship schemes will be allowed to take steps such as cutting or grazing additional areas of land to help ease shortages of bedding, fodder, grazing or forage crops.

A full list of these easements has been published by the Rural Payment Agency (RPA) and includes steps, such as allowing ‘buffer strips’ and field corners to be cut early.

Guidance has also been made available to inform farmers how to record the adjustments they have made.

The new rules aim to help increase access to bedding, fodder, grazing or forage in ways that limit its environmental impact.

Forage crops are also being impacted as less silage is made and farmers are feeding stocks to their livestock now, instead of saving them for the winter months.

It follows the Environment Agency declaring drought status for large parts of England, including the South West, South East and East, with Yorkshire added on Tuesday 16 August.

Defra Secretary George Eustice said: “We are better prepared than ever before for these unprecedented dry conditions, but 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.”

Paul Caldwell, chief executive of the RPA added: “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.”

Through its agriculture monitoring groups, Defra said it was continuing to assess the impacts from dry weather, as well as what further steps could be taken in the coming weeks.