Farmers in the East could face funding gap amid subsidy changes
A new UK scheme is yet to be fully published but will see farmers receive less money than before
Last updated 16th Sep 2021
A lack of clarity and a reduction in support could result in some farms in the East going out of business, according to the National Farmers Union.
Under a new scheme, farmers will receive additional support if they are more environmentally sustainable, but this will still fall short of the amount they received under the old scheme.
John Newton from the NFU says: "It will have an impact on our members. The larger farms will probably be big enough to have economies of scale, while the medium ones could diversify.
"But the smaller, family owned farms are the ones I really fear for.
"Some of them will go out of business."
He also told us that he is deeply worried by the potential gap between the two schemes that could be exist.
"There will be a delay before the new scheme is put in place.
"So potentially there may be a funding gap of a number of years for our members."
He went on to say that he's unsurprised that only just over two thousand farmers took part in the new scheme's pilot.
"When they saw the complexity, the requirements and the guidance, which ran to several hundred pages, I think many decided they just weren't going to do it."
Mr Newton says he does have some sympathy with those who had to make the new scheme, due to complexity of it. But he went on to say "I hoped it would have been done quicker than this"
He concluded by saying that if farmers have "clarity and certainty" they can get round "a number of different obstacles". But "the clock is ticking and they need that certainty now"
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are yet to establish their detailed delivery plans or objectives for the new subsidy scheme.
The new scheme is scheduled to start in March 2022.