Farmers across England say they feel “abandoned” as thousands of long-standing environmental land management contracts are due to expire at the end of the year, with no clear replacement in place.
According to a Freedom of Information request by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), 5,830 Countryside Stewardship (CS) agreements will finish in December. The schemes provide financial incentives for nature-friendly measures such as insecticide-free farming, wildflower strips and hedgerow maintenance.
For farmers like David Barton, who runs an arable and livestock farm in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, the announcement has come without warning or guidance.
“This came out of the blue and with no clear direction,” he said. “It’s absolutely woeful of any government to not have that direction. I feel completely abandoned.”
The contracts are being phased out as part of the government’s shift towards post-Brexit environmental land management schemes, including the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). But earlier this year ministers angered farmers by closing applications to SFI after the annual funding allocation was used up, leaving many in limbo.
Barton said his farm had already committed to expensive long-term environmental projects that require careful planning. Without support, he warned, these could quickly unravel, causing “significant” environmental damage.
Mark Meadows, an arable farmer in Warwickshire, faces a similar cliff edge.
“We’ve been hit with the double whammy this year — poor yields and falling prices,” he said. “To top it all off, we don’t know what’s going to happen with our environmental land.”
The NFU is pressing the government to extend existing Countryside Stewardship agreements for another year while a long-term strategy is developed.
David Exwood, NFU deputy president, said he had written to farming minister Daniel Zeichner to urge action.
“Defra must provide a clear plan for their future, and urgently,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) insisted the government was continuing to invest in nature-friendly farming.
“We are aware there are some agreements ending in the months ahead and are considering how best to deliver for the environment, the public and farmers,” they said.
But with more than 5,800 agreements expiring on 31 December, farmers say the uncertainty risks not only their financial stability but also the progress made on biodiversity and soil health since Countryside Stewardship began.
