Latest news with #GeorgeDunn
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Some farmers can apply for SFI funding, Defra confirms
SOME farmers locked out of SFI mid-application can now access funding, Defra confirms. Farmers who were locked out of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme despite being midway through an application will now be allowed to access support. Defra says those who saved their application but didn't submit within two months of the scheme's closure will be allowed to apply up to a maximum of £9,300 per application. It comes after the scheme was shut without any warning in March, sending shockwaves through the farming sector. Defra had said that 'SFI has reached its completion' so stopped accepting new applications with immediate effect, with a revised scheme to follow. With talk of a potential legal challenge to the lack of notice, the government now says the thousands of affected farmers will be supported. Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner said he is 'addressing the situation and have remade the decision to close the SFI 2024 scheme to new applications, without notice, on March 11'. TFA Chief Executive, George Dunn, while welcoming the relaxation said it was not perfect and would not help everyone. Country Land and Business Association (CLA) President Victoria Vyvyan said it was a 'limited' amount of money, but it did take a 'bit of the sting out of the suddenness of the closure'. NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: 'The government's abrupt and wholly unacceptable decision to close the scheme was always wrong. While it's good to see an acknowledgement that the decision to close the scheme was flawed, we are disappointed by the constraints imposed which will still leave many farmers unfairly disadvantaged. 'This is a really critical time for the farming industry, and while today's announcement falls short of what our members deserve, this issue highlights the NFU at its very best, working with its members to stand up for what we believe is right.'
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tenant farmers call on Labour to reconsider ‘ill-thought' farm tax raid
LABOUR must reconsider the 'ill-thought' farm tax raid after the May 7 local election setback, says tenant farmers in Cumbria. The Tenant Farmers Association said the May 2025 local election results should serve as a warning to Labour that the party could lose rural seats at the next General Election if they do not change tack on changes to the farm tax raid. TFA Chief Executive and Farmer columnist, George Dunn, said: 'The TFA is apolitical - we lobby all parties equally. However, inevitably, there is a focus on the Party in power which, at the current time, happens to be Labour. 'To that end, we understand the dual objectives of Government to bring the public finances into balance and to go after wealthy individuals who are seeking to hide that wealth from the tax system. However, we cannot stand idly by whilst the agricultural sector becomes the collateral damage for those policies.' Mr Dunn's comments come after the author of the Rock Review, Baroness Kate Rock, into the tenanted agricultural sector told Parliament that she had received 'many heartbreaking messages' from tenant farmers who told her they could not go on and feared eviction in light of the Chancellor's Budget. She said: 'A Farmers Guardian and Tenant Farmers Association joint survey reports that 55% of tenant farmers will invest less in their farms and 25 per cent of tenant farmers expect their landlords to take back land for non-farming purposes and reduce their investment. Furthermore, over half say their mental health is suffering. They fear eviction. I have had many heartbreaking messages from farmers who fear they just cannot go on.' As a solution, Ms Rock proposed that landlords who let land for 'eight years or more' should be allowed to include the value of that land as 'part of the zero-rate threshold' for IHT. In response, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Lord Livermore said while he understood the 'strength of feeling', he did 'not accept' the premise of her question. 'I fully respect the commitment that has gone into the survey that she spoke of but do not necessarily accept its conclusions,' he said, adding the Government's commitment to tenant farmers 'remained steadfast' and it was investing '£5 billion into farming over two years'. He added the Government took the issue of mental health 'extremely seriously' and was working hard to recruit an 'additional 8, 500 mental health workers'.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Net zero forest to be planted on swathes of farmland
A new net zero forest will be planted on swathes of farmland from the Cotswolds to the Mendips. The Western Forest will include 20 million trees on farmland and in cities including Bristol and Swindon by 2050 to help balance out greenhouse gas emissions to hit the Government's net zero goals. Nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of the land for new trees will be agricultural and farmers and landowners will be paid to plant trees from taxpayer funds, with other funding from private investment and cash from housing developers. The Government has fallen behind on ambitious and legally binding targets to increase tree cover across England from 14.5 per cent to 16.5 per cent by 2050. The £7.5 million scheme to create 2,500 hectares of new woodland between Gloucester and Salisbury, the first new national forest in 30 years, will pay farmers significant sums to plant new trees. But there are concerns that the push for new woodland will displace food production and less productive agriculture, such as tenanted sheep farming. Commenting on the announcement of the new national forest, George Dunn of the Tenant Farmers Association, said: 'This is a Government which appears to be keen to look at removing land from agriculture, rather than doing what it said it would do in making food security, national security. 'We have seen very little from this Government about how it intends to build the resilience, the capacity and the profitability of the sector.' A recent policy document from the environment department suggested some 10 per cent of farmland would need to be taken out of food production to meet net zero and nature targets. Defra said the scheme would not allow woodland to be created on the most productive agricultural land, and would encourage farmers to integrate forestry into their food production. 'This is about resource, funding and expertise coming directly to landowners, partners and communities, planting millions of trees in the right places,' said Alex Stone, the chief executive of Forest of Avon, England's Community Forests. 'Together, we will enhance landscapes for all to enjoy, improving the lives of our 2.5 million residents and visitors to the region.' The Western Forest, the first of three pledged by the Labour Government before the election, will not be a single continuous woodland, but will increase coverage of trees in five priority areas. These include land between Chippenham and Warminster and between Bristol and Gloucester. Under the existing England Woodland Creation Offer, farmers could receive almost £23,000 per hectare of new tree planting. That compares to £20 per hectare for fields in the most basic green farming payments scheme, which was paused by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs last week. It comes after the Government announced the release of wild beavers in England and a comprehensive ban on neonicotinoid pesticides used on sugar beet crops. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
New forest to be planted to help hit Government's net zero goals
A new forest will be planted on swathes of farmland from the Cotswolds to the Mendips to help hit the Government's net zero goals. The Western Forest will include 20 million trees on farmland and in cities including Bristol and Swindon by 2050 to try and balance out greenhouse gas emissions. Nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of the land for new trees will be agricultural and farmers and landowners will be paid to plant trees from taxpayer funds, with other funding from private investment and cash from housing developers. The Government has fallen behind on ambitious and legally binding targets to increase tree cover across England from 14.5 per cent to 16.5 per cent by 2050. The £7.5 million scheme to create 2,500 hectares of new woodland between Gloucester and Salisbury, the first new national forest in 30 years, will pay farmers significant sums to plant new trees. However, there are concerns that the push for new woodland will displace food production and less productive agriculture, such as tenanted sheep farming. 'We will enhance landscapes for all to enjoy' Commenting on the announcement of the new national forest, George Dunn of the Tenant Farmers Association, said: 'This is a Government which appears to be keen to look at removing land from agriculture, rather than doing what it said it would do in making food security, national security. 'We have seen very little from this Government about how it intends to build the resilience, the capacity and the profitability of the sector.' A recent policy document from the environment department suggested some 10 per cent of farmland would need to be taken out of food production to meet net zero and nature targets. Defra said the scheme would not allow woodland to be created on the most productive agricultural land and would encourage farmers to integrate forestry into their food production. 'This is about resource, funding and expertise coming directly to landowners, partners and communities, planting millions of trees in the right places,' said Alex Stone, the chief executive of Forest of Avon, England's Community Forests. 'Together, we will enhance landscapes for all to enjoy, improving the lives of our 2.5 million residents and visitors to the region.' The Western Forest, the first of three pledged by the Labour Government before the election, will not be a single continuous woodland but will increase coverage of trees in five priority areas. These include land between Chippenham and Warminster and between Bristol and Gloucester. Under the existing England Woodland Creation Offer, farmers could receive almost £23,000 per hectare of new tree planting. That compares to £20 per hectare for fields in the most basic green farming payments scheme, which was paused by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs last week. It comes after the Government announced the release of wild beavers in England and a comprehensive ban on neonicotinoid pesticides used on sugar beet crops.
