On the 14 August, the Government announced a £65 million package to help farmers in England manage the effects of prolonged dry weather following the driest July on record.
The measures are intended to provide immediate flexibility and improve resilience to future droughts. Key elements include an additional £50 million for the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026, taking its total budget to £290 million, and up to £15 million to support the construction of on-farm reservoirs. The Government also intends to reduce planning barriers for reservoirs, with further detail expected in an updated National Planning Policy Framework. Farmers with Sustainable Farming Incentive, Countryside Stewardship or legacy stewardship agreements will be offered greater flexibility where drought makes agreed management activities impractical. This may allow land normally restricted from grazing or cutting to be used for livestock feed without loss of payment, provided soil is not damaged.
The package also promises improved access to water during drought conditions, including Environment Agency support and simpler arrangements where abstraction is restricted. Although, understandably, many TFA members will see this as too little too late, the TFA’s Chief Executive has responded the by saying “The TFA welcomes the attention being given by the Prime Minister to the major crisis across large parts of the farming landscape in our country caused by the current drought and with the added pressure of disease, not least bluetongue, exacerbating that position. The short-term measures announced are very much welcomed but they must form the beginning of a new conversation between the farming industry and the Government about the long-term sustainability of UK agriculture in the context of driving food and environmental security. All the indicators suggest that this year will not be unique and we need to take a systematic approach to building farming resilience through reimagining policy on planning, environment, supply chains, agricultural tenancies and access to land.”
The TFA has invited the Prime Minister to initiate that conversation with us, and we will wait to hear from him and his Ministers about how we take this forward.” In addition, the TFA has also made the point that the package is very arable orientated and the Government must address specific issues for the livestock sector, not least bluetongue in line with the TFA’s proposals provided to DEFRA in the previous week.
This news story was written by George Dunn, Chief Executive, Tenant Farmers Association.
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Related stories
Government Press Release – PM: Farmers should not carry the risk of a changing climate alone
TFA Lobbying #15 – TFA Calls on Government for a Coordinated Response to Bluetongue and Drought
TFA Blog #370 – Temporary Adjustments to Environmental Land Management (ELM) Revenue Agreements
