In November 2020, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) published ‘The Path to Sustainable Farming: An Agricultural Transition Plan 2021 to 2024’, which sets out the path for post-Brexit agricultural policy in England during that period.
During this session, Janet Hughes, Programme Director for the Future Farming and Countryside Programme at Defra, will give an overview of the agricultural transition plan. The main part of the session will then be led by Alice De Soer from Rural Response Ltd, a recognised industry expert having spoken at numerous conferences, and worked on the Agriculture Bill and post-Brexit farm support scheme policy. Alice will talk you through the existing farm support schemes (such as the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) – including 2021 applications and simplifications), the phasing out of direct payments, ‘delinking’ and lump sum payments, and this year’s Countryside Stewardship applications.