Warwickshire farmers call for more government support
A new Farming Recovery Fund aims to support farmers who suffered uninsurable damage to their land due to flooding earlier this year
Last updated 15th Apr 2024
More needs to be done to improve agricultural drainage rather than tackling the effects of flooding, according to a Warwickshire farmer.
Its following the government's announcement to support those who suffered uninsurable damage to their land due to flooding this winter.
The Farming Recovery Fund will allow farmers to access grants of £500 to £25,000 to return their land to the condition it was before.
Eligible farmers will be contacted directly by Rural Payments Agency (RPA) outlining the support available to them and how they can make a claim.
The fund will initially be open in those local authority areas where the Flood Recovery Framework has already been activated to help farms which have experienced the highest levels of flooding – including Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Warwickshire, West Northamptonshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire.
The further counties under review are Berkshire, Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Staffordshire, Yorkshire, Norfolk and Derbyshire.
Warwickshire chairman for the National Farmers Union, Mark Meadows, says the county hasn’t been badly affected by flooding.
He said: “We welcome the acknowledgement that there has been flooding damage to a lot of farms. Warwickshire has luckily not been as badly affected as other counties. We've probably seen more damage from the amount of persistent rain and water logging to fields which is not actually a cause of flooding but may be the symptom that the grounds done.
“I think in Warwickshire we'll see very few applications for this from farmers. The problem is we've been suffering with the water logging and the wet winter so long.
A lot of our land hasn't been affected by the river flooding, thankfully, but it's standing in so much standing water, and we won't be covered by these government grants for that cost. A lot of our drainage systems at the end of their life- these would help make the soil a lot more resilient to future rainfall and water logging events.”
Mark thinks the government should do to help farmers.
He continued: “The government should consider improving agricultural drainage. Adequate agricultural drainage improves water holding capacity of the soil, it improves the soil resilience, improves soil and root health. So, plants that we plant won't die, don't wither, they survive.
“We would then be able to plant crops later in the autumn or earlier in the spring which improves our cultural control benefits for many of the major pests and diseases that we're trying to control. Good agricultural drainage is a cornerstone of what we need to do in this country considering the recent heavy rainfall event.”
Farming Minster Mark Spencer said: “I know how difficult this winter has been for farmers, with extreme weather such as Storm Henk having a devastating impact on both cropping and grazing, as well as damaging property and equipment.
“The Farming Recovery Fund will support farmers who suffered uninsurable damage with grants of up to £25,000, and sits alongside broader support in our farming schemes to improve flood resilience.”
The last year has seen exceptionally heavy rainfall across the UK, with 2023 named by the Met Office as the 6th wettest year since its records began in 1836.