The roll out of the Farming Recovery Fund set up to provide farmers with much-needed funds following flooding will now be further delayed.
A decision on the funding is now not expected until the Chancellor delivers the Autumn Budget, which is due to take place on 30 October.
This is despite reassurances from a senior Defra official last week that a decision was imminent.
The Tenant Farmers Association (TFA), which had learnt about the delay, said the funds needed to be brought forward 'as a matter of urgency'.
It comes as the UK saw its wettest 18 months since records began, leaving thousands of acres of productive farmland under water.
The funding was first announced in January and industry bodies have worked with Defra to help develop the offer, which has included feeding in examples of the challenges faced by farmers.
As part of it, farmers can access grants of between £500 and £25,000 to cover recultivation costs.
But the TFA said the latest update would be a 'blow to farmers’ confidence', which is already at an all time low.
A tenant farmer in Northamptonshire, who had experienced flooding, said: “The money was promised back in May. Further delays will now severely impact farming businesses ability to operate in the future”.
TFA farm policy adviser, Lynette Steel, added: “We want to assure members that we will continue to press Defra to bring forward the fund as a matter of urgency”.
It comes after the NFU used the first Floods Resilience Taskforce meeting to warn that many farm businesses were still in "dire need of support".
While the meeting focused on longer-term flood strategy, the NFU said farmers urgently needed details of how the Farming Recovery Fund could help businesses recover from the impacts of the flooding over the past 12 months.
