On Tuesday 25th February 2020 DEFRA published a policy and progress update, Farming for the Future. The update gives further information on agricultural policy (in England) for the next 10 years and how the Agriculture Bill will achieve the changes.

View the policy paper update here 'The future for food, farming and the environment: policy statement (2020)'.

The policy update gives further information on ELMS (Environmental Land Management Scheme). ELMS could be split into three tiers to allow for tailoring to different needs of farmers, land managers, foresters etc. Some commentators and consultants are drawing similarities with the potential ELMS tier system and the current CAP tiers with Countryside Stewardship, Entry-level and Higher Level Stewardship schemes.

The proposed ELMS tiers are:

The aim is for ELMS to start late 2024 with a pilot scheme being run from 2021 - 2024. Meaning there will be an overlap between ELMS starting and Direct Payments being phased out.

Rather than yearly payments during the transitional period of the Direct Payments being phased out, a one-off lump sum is being considered. However, the tax and accountancy implications associated with such a one-off payment are yet to be clarified with HMRC.  This would have an impact on buying/selling land, succession and estate planning among other legal matters.

In addition to the above policy update being released, the Environment Secretary, George Eustace, has asked farmers and land managers to give their views on the new ELMS, follow this link for the Environmental Land Management: policy discussion online survey. This is a chance to have your say.

If you have any queries please contact our Agricultural team 01482 324591 (Hull), 01904 928720 (York) or contact us via our website.