05/09/24 Claims of nature friendly farming budget cuts, commercialising rewilding, hedge cutting

Farming Today

The Government plans to cut the budget for nature friendly farming in England by £100m, according to a report in the Guardian. It claims that civil service sources say the cut is needed to help fill a £22 billion treasury shortfall. The reduced spending could affect the new Sustainable Farming Incentive which replaces the old EU system, paying farmers for environmental benefits produced on their land. Nature and farming groups have reacted with consternation. We ask how significant would a cut of £100m be.

All this week we are looking at how land use is changing, as public and private investment is brought in to fund environmental schemes. With increasing green finance opportunities, more and more companies are stepping in to broker deals between farmers and investors. Natergall's business model is to deliver ecological restoration on its own land and that of others, and to commercialise the results.

It's that time of the year when tractors are out along countryside roads, cutting back the hedges. Hedge specialists are calling for farmers to cut their hedges less frequently to benefit wildlife.

Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.