Welsh farmers are being urged to engage with the latest proposals of the Sustainable Farming Scheme, stating it's the most important change to agricultural policy in decades.
The Welsh government has launched the final consultation on the future of its Sustainable Farming Scheme, the mechanism through which farmers will receive support from 2025 onwards.
Farmers have been repeatedly consulted with on several versions of the scheme since 2018, with it now at the most critical stage of its development.
Changes in response to farmer feedback include making the scheme accessible to all from 2025, phasing the introduction of the Collaborative and Optional actions and ensuring actions are 'proportionate and appropriate' to farming.
While the consultation does not include payment rates, it proposes to provide a Universal Baseline Payment to farmers for carrying out the Universal Actions, which can be delivered by farms.
A Stability Payment is intended to support the move from BPS to the scheme, by providing continuity of income.
BPS is proposed to be phased out by 2029, with proposed changes to BPS rules and an annual reduction of the payment rate
While farm bodies have been successful lobbying for certain crucial changes since its inception, including the provision of a baseline payment, a number of barriers and questions around certain details remain.
The minimum 10% tree cover scheme rule remains a part of the proposals, despite farmers stating that this stipulation would prove a barrier to entry for many businesses.
Speaking in response to the announcement, the Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW) said that any future payment scheme based on environmental and public goods outcomes must also protect family farms.
"To fail to do so would most likely lead to serious damage to Wales’ family farms and the role they play in Wales’ economy, society, culture and landscape," said FUW President Ian Rickman.
“These policy priorities continue to underpin our key asks in relation to the Sustainable Farming Scheme - this scheme must be practical for all farmers in Wales and deliver on our economic, environmental and social sustainability.
“We will be thoroughly dissecting the consultation document and will consult with members in detail on the proposals."
NFU Cymru has frequently highlighted the need to ensure that support must be targeted at active farmers - "the people and businesses taking the risks associated with food production".
"We now need to carefully consider the proposals to ensure that they work for all farmers, including tenants and commoners," said union president Aled Jones.
"This is the biggest shift in agricultural policy for a generation or more and we encourage all farmers to get involved.”
