From new strategies to trade deals, grant schemes and sector reforms, it would have been easy to miss every detail of what the government has been up to over the past three months. Poultry Business rounds up the biggest government stories affecting farming. By Michael Barker
It would be fair to say that, one year into the Labour Party’s tenure back running the country, there’s been something of a love-hate relationship between the government and farming sector. Welcome words around food security and protecting British standards in trade deals have been dented by high-profile rows over the family farming tax and the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), and every positively received announcement seems to be followed by another that draws a flood of criticism.
At any time, there are a multitude of issues filling up the inboxes of ministers and civil servants, but it’s hard to remember a time when there has been quite so much going on, so Poultry Business is here to bring you up to speed with the latest developments that you might have missed.
Funding hold
There will have been relief on Marsham Street when the June spending review saw Defra’s budget set to rise slightly to £7.4 billion by 2028/29, at a time when the government is scrutinising all areas for cuts. However, as IGD observed, thanks to inflation that budget will actually shrink in real terms by 2.3% over the period, making it a somewhat less rosy picture.
Onlookers noted that the £2.7bn a year allocated for farming and nature recovery – which includes a £100 million cut to farming and countryside programmes – could have been worse, though the NFU warned it means farmers would have to “do more with less”.
Despite that the farmers’ union gave an overall “cautious welcome” to the news, but once again hammered home its message that the family farm tax should be abandoned.
SFI breakthrough
One of the high-profile rows of recent months has centred on Environmental Land Management (ELM), and specifically the SFI. In March, Defra infuriated farmers when it announced the sudden closure of the SFI scheme to new applicants due to its funding limit being reached, with industry bodies united in their anger and a group of NFU members even going as far as to threaten legal action against the government.
In May, Defra reopened the scheme to those who had started their applications by March but had not yet submitted them, and secretary of state Steve Reed has since been talking publicly about the future of the initiative. In his speech at the Groundswell festival in July, Reed promised that he will provide more details of Defra’s reformed SFI offer later this summer, stressing that the government is working with farmers to shape the scheme, which will start accepting applications in the new year. “We need to return firmly to the principle of public money for public goods,” he said. “Our reformed SFI will maximise benefits for the environment, particularly around water quality and biodiversity, so we can clean up our polluted rivers, welcome wildlife back to farms, and strengthen the natural foundations that are vital to sustainable food production.”
Reed promised that SFI will be simplified and support farmers to take on packages of actions which, when done together, will achieve more for nature. “And I know we need to upgrade the IT system so it’s easier for farmers to submit applications,” he added. “That is part of my broader plan to rewire and reset Defra, to remove the bureaucracy and barriers that stand in the way of people getting the support they need.”
Wage pressure cranks up
Back on the farm, at a time of input cost pressure and tight margins, the announcement last October that National Minimum Wage, National Living Wage and employers’ National Insurance contributions were all going up in April 2025 was unwelcome for businesses to say the least. Now those increases have kicked in, many firms say they are feeling the pressure, and it’s expected to contribute to further inflation over the coming year. With ONS figures showing food price inflation having run steadily above overall inflation from May 2022 to May 2024 and higher food prices still cited as a major concern for households, there’s unlikely to be any relief for the foreseeable future.
Poultry dodges spotlight in US deal
The US has been the gift that keeps on giving when it comes to extraordinary headlines this year, but at least industry fears of poultry getting caught up in political manoeuvring have been allayed – for now. There were serious concerns within the UK farming industry that it would become a bargaining chip in Keir Starmer’s attempts to stay in President Trump’s good books, so it was something of a relief when only American beef and ethanol were handed greater access to the UK market. BPC chief executive Richard Griffiths called the decision “a clear signal that government backs our standards and the values that underpin them”, adding: “This is the right call made for the right reason. It is good to see government standing firm on British food standards. Excluding chicken from a UK-US trade deal demonstrates a commitment to the responsibility and transparency that defines British poultry meat production.”
Capital gains
The government is a big fan of grant schemes that boost profitability, food security and environmental protection, and in May Defra announced a £46.7m Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF), offering three types of grant – worth up to £25,000 each – to invest in day-to-day equipment to boost productivity, manage slurry, or improve animal health and welfare. In addition, a £5m Investor Partnerships programme was launched to blend government grant money with private investment to “bring cutting-edge technology to market, giving farmers and food producers faster and more widespread access to state-of-the-art innovations.” A month earlier, food security minister Daniel Zeichner had announced three other funds, worth a combined £45.6m, to support multiple projects across the R&D spectrum, from early-stage concepts to on-farm trials.
Strategic thinking
The long-awaited national food strategy was finally published in mid-July, under the unexpected name Good Food Cycle. Launching the strategy, Zeichner repeated the government’s catchphrase that “food security is national security”, and promised a “whole system change” that would help food producers grow and thrive, while supporting economic growth, health and opportunity.
Setting out to strengthen the food sector and support more affordable, healthy and balanced diets, as well as celebrating the UK’s national food heritage while underpinning environmental goals, the strategy outlined 10 priority outcomes. These come under four umbrella areas of ‘Healthier and more affordable food’, ‘Good growth’, ‘Sustainable and resilient supply’ and ‘Vibrant food cultures’.
Some of the most relevant points to poultry include a commitment to creating the conditions for the food sector to thrive and grow sustainably; investment in innovation and productivity; fairer supply chains; attracting talent and skills development; lower waste; environmentally sustainable food with high animal welfare standards; lower waste; upholding British standards and expanding export opportunities; and greater preparedness for supply chain shocks, disruption and impacts of chronic risks.
All laudable goals, and supermarkets and industry bodies have broadly welcomed the publication of the strategy, however critics point out that there is little in the way of a tangible path to how those objectives will be achieved. Defra essentially admitted as much itself, describing food system transformation as “a long-term project” that will take time to be delivered at scale. “Many of the policy areas and strategies that will be essential to delivery of the outcomes are still under development, and all will continue to evolve,” it said, though the promise of joined-up, cross-government strategic thinking will be welcomed.
Agri-tech set for big future
It’s been the season of strategy announcements, and there was good news for British farming with the inclusion of agri-tech and precision breeding within the Industrial Strategy. According to the NFU, which lobbied for agriculture’s inclusion, having agri-tech and precision-breeding technology as areas of focus within the growth sector plan means there “should be greater opportunities for farmers and growers to contribute to the government’s growth agenda, increasing their ability to create jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, boost productivity and drive investment in sustainable food, fibre and energy production.” The strategy highlights eight growth sectors, with agri-tech included within the Advanced Manufacturing category, and precision breeding coming under Digital & Technology.
Flood of criticism addressed
Water has been a hot topic this year – and not just because the UK experienced one of the driest springs on record. Most notably, Defra announced that Ofwat will be abolished and replaced by a new, single, powerful regulator whose brief will include cutting water pollution in England’s rivers, lakes and seas, as well as protecting families from large bill hikes and taking on a range of other responsibilities. Described as the biggest overhaul of the water sector since privatisation, the new regulator will also take on the water functions of the Environment Agency and Natural England, which will likely bring it into contact with the poultry industry. The development, described by Reed as addressing the country’s “broken” water sector, comes after a scathing Efra committee report in June that attacked the culture of water sector companies and called for major reform.
In other water news, there’s been a degree of tension between producers and the Environment Agency over abstraction, with farmers in eastern counties having restrictions placed on them at short notice. Following a meeting between the NFU and EA in July, producers in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire were able to resume abstraction, but the union has called for better collaboration going forward to ensure farmers have access to water in the face of ever more extreme weather conditions.
More farm inspections
It would have been easy to miss the news amidst all the other announcements in June, but it was revealed that the number of Environment Agency farm inspections will increase by around 50%. In a move the government said would offer more guidance to farmers, strengthen links with supply chains and farm networks, make better use of technology and take stronger action against serious or ongoing pollution, the number of inspections is set to reach a record 6,000 a year by 2029.