Rural grant funding from 2021

What rural grant funding will be available from 2021?

Over the next few years farmers are going to experience a fundamental shift in agricultural support and they will need to use the next few years to plan for this change. 

Funds will be diverted away for direct support payments, currently paid via the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), towards schemes that will deliver “Public Goods” for which the government is prepared to pay. 

Up until now, farmers have been able to utilise the payments received from the BPS to support their existing farming businesses but in future farmers will be expected to farm their land in a sustainable and profitable manner, complying with all basic regulations without any public support. And, farmers should be under no illusions - these basic regulations are likely to become tougher.

This will require a shift in thinking for many farmers who will need to adapt their business models over the transition period between 2021 to 2027 as the direct payments are reduced to nothing by 2028. For some farmers, this will mean the difference between profit and loss but for all farmers it will represent a loss of income.

Therefore, farmers will need to assess the impact of this change on their business and as part of that process, one of the options to consider is enhancing one’s income by being paid to deliver Public Goods.

What does public goods include?

The Public Goods which the government will be prepared to pay for are:

• Clean & plentiful water
• Clean air
• Protection from and mitigation of environmental hazards
• Mitigation of and adaptation to climate change
• Thriving plants and wildlife
• Beauty, heritage and engagement

These Public Goods will be delivered through a variety of grants and schemes, some of which are already in existence such as Countryside Stewardship, while others are being piloted, such as the government’s flagship offer which is called Environmental Land Management (ELM).