Farmers in the UK will be paid for implementing basic measures to protect and nurture their soils for the first time. The payments, ranging from £20 to £58 per hectare, will cover various types of soils, including arable soils for crop cultivation, grassland, moorland, and others. It is expected that nearly all farmers will be eligible to apply for these payments, which are set to reach £900 million per year by the end of 2024. Additional payments for further conservation measures are also anticipated in the future.
This initiative is part of the UK government's commitment to phase out old taxpayer subsidies based on the amount of land farmed under the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and replace them with payments for "public money for public goods." Soil protection was prioritized due to its carbon storage capabilities. Some of the measures farmers will be required to undertake include routine practices such as planting cover crops on bare soil during winter to preserve nutrients, as bare soils are prone to erosion and runoff. The Country Land and Business Association (CLA), representing 28,000 farmers and rural businesses, welcomes this approach and highlights that UK soil contains 10 billion metric tons of carbon.
However, some environmental groups, including the Wildlife Trusts, the RSPB, and the National Trust, have criticized the measures as insufficient and called for more nature-friendly farming practices that protect native wildlife and restore peatland. Under the previous CAP, farmers received between £2 billion and £3 billion per year. After Brexit, subsidies were initially maintained at £2.4 billion per year and are set to be reduced to £900 million by the end of the current parliamentary term. Payments based on the amount of land farmed will be phased out entirely by 2027. Farmers who previously qualified for the largest payments under the CAP scheme are expected to face cuts of 25% to their subsidy levels by next year, while smaller farmers will experience cuts of 5%.
Ultimately, farmers will be required to sign environmental land management contracts committing them to take measures to protect air, and water quality, and provide habitats for wildlife in exchange for payments that have yet to be established. In the meantime, the sustainable finance initiative, of which the soils scheme is the first part, will provide payments for basic environmental measures.
Farming groups have cautiously welcomed the new measures, with the Tenant Farmers Association stating that the offered payments are attractive when combined with other government incentives such as the stewardship scheme, which rewards farmers for meeting basic environmental conditions. However, concerns have been raised that current high food prices may discourage farmers from applying, as they may find it more financially beneficial to prioritize food production over soil protection.
