The Government has today introduced new legislation intended to help farmers farm more innovatively and protect the environment.

The Agriculture Bill sets out a series of new powers for the Secretary of State to give financial assistance in England in the shape of a grant, loan or guarantee to support a range of activities, including:

• managing land or water in a way that protects or improves the environment;
• supporting public access to and enjoyment of the countryside, farmland or woodland and better understanding of the environment;
• managing land or water in a way that maintains, restores or enhances cultural or natural heritage;
• managing land, water or livestock in a way that mitigates or adapts to climate change;
• managing land or water in a way that prevents, reduces or protects from environmental hazards;
• protecting or improving the quality of soil

It sets out how farmers and land managers in England will in the future be rewarded with public money for “public goods” – such as better air and water quality, higher animal welfare standards, improved access to the countryside or measures to reduce flooding. Introducing the legislation, the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) this would contribute to the government’s commitment to reaching net zero emissions by 2050, while at the same time, helping to boost farmers’ productivity.

This will replace the current subsidy system of Direct Payments which pays farmers for the total amount of land farmed. According to DEFRA, this skews payments towards the largest landowners rather than those farmers delivering specific public benefits.

The reforms set out in the Bill are supported by the manifesto commitment to maintain overall annual funding for farm support at current levels for the duration of this Parliament.

Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers said:

"Our landmark Agriculture Bill will transform British farming, enabling a balance between food production and the environment which will safeguard our countryside and farming communities for the future."

"This is one of the most important environmental reforms for many years, rewarding farmers for the work they do to safeguard our environment and helping us meet crucial goals on climate change and protecting nature and biodiversity."

The Government said that investing in the foundations of food production, such as clean air, soils and water, will safeguard food security. The Bill will legally require any UK government to report regularly on food security to Parliament.

In order to spend more on boosting productivity and environmental benefits, Direct Payments will be phased out over an agricultural transition period, which is due to start in 2021 and run for seven years.

Later in the agricultural transition, the government plans to ‘delink’ Direct Payments from the requirement to farm the land, a requirement that currently exists under EU law. This is intended to give farmers greater flexibility to plan for their future as these payments will be able to be used by farmers to invest in their business, diversify their activities or help new people enter the sector.

For farmers new to environmental work or hoping to do more than they currently do under the future Environment Land Management (ELM) scheme, the transition period will also allow them time to understand how new schemes can work best for their farm.

The government has already announced that the funding available for Direct Payments for 2020 will be the same as for 2019, and the Direct Payments to Farmers (Legislative Continuity) Bill has been introduced to Parliament to enable us to make Direct Payments to farmers for the 2020 scheme year.

For subsequent years the Government said it is committed to matching the current budget available to farmers in every year of this Parliament, providing certainty and stability in advance of transitioning to the new system in England and phasing out direct payments in favour of rewarding the provision of “public goods”.

Click here to download the Agriculture Bill.