It's here - Sustainable Farming Scheme
"Nerth gwlad, ei gwybodaeth"
"The strength of a nation is its knowledge"
The announcement came just five days before the largest Welsh farming event of the year, the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show (RWAS), held in Builth Wells over a four day period. I only attended the show on the Thursday with work, however, had been keeping up to date with the shows promotion on the S4C broadcast channel over the previous three days. I was curious to see what the highlights and discussions would be following the Welsh Governments announcement and whether it would have an impact on the overall shows popularity. Thankfully the showcase of livestock, produce and rural community spirit came across brilliantly as always. Nevertheless, I did notice a very large political presence at this years show. More than usual? I'm not sure, but it was very obvious that these Welsh Senedd members and UK politicians were on a mission to get the Welsh rural voters on their side. Can you blame them? After all the fast approaching Senedd election in May 2026 will soon be here and they need to be seen to be ticking all the boxes of supporting the farming and environmental businesses right?
Would I have loved to have been a fly on the wall in the meeting rooms where these political conversations were taking place to hear exactly what promises were being made? Absolutely I would have. However, what was more important for me that week was to hear how the farmers, stakeholders and rural community individuals were feeling about the new SFS proposal.
From the small amount of conversations I had on Thursday, many were surprised by the fact they may be financially better off signing up for the new SFS compared to what they had previously been receiving from the BPS payments based on the ready reckoner calculations done by WG at the show. However, I am aware that my limited farming knowledge sits predominantly within the red meat sector therefore I am not informed enough to understand how this may impact the dairy and arable businesses within Wales just yet. But these are conversations I am interested to hear and observe especially with regard to how the twelve universal actions will impact their business management and workload.
What was familiar in these conversations however, was the concerns over some of the universal actions proposed. The main one in particular being the six hours of continuous professional development (CPD) needed to be completed by the business owner, director or partner. As I have previously said in my blog post Keeping Farmers Farming, back in February 2024, farmers do not always learn best whilst sitting at a computer screen, especially those, who like my own farming family, are the older generation who get easily confused as to how to use a computer let alone understand what is meant when you say to them they have to complete an e-learning module.
There is still an element of woodland and hedgerow management to be carried out as well as an importance to understand what is classed as a habitat area in order for the farming businesses to comply with the new scheme. Yet, the greatest concern for me, and my understanding of the 216 page proposal so far (of which I admit I haven't read it all yet, but it is printed and I have my highlighters at the ready to colour code where needed) is that the allocated budget which has been stated by WG towards the scheme has only been confirmed for the first year out of the five year transition scheme.
This is where my concern sits. I can only describe it as telling a farmer that this is going to be your salary for the first year of a new five year job role. However, we (WG) can't confirm if the salary for year two, three, four and five will be the same as year one, increase or, worst case scenario, decrease depending on what the allocated budget from WG will be for those remaining years but WG still expect you to do the same work as what you signed up for in year one please. Farming is not an industry in which you can change the settings on a production line like you can do in a factory one day in order to produce exactly the same product at a cheaper price, with improved environments or with different employees. The farming industry works with the seasons, and as we have all experienced in recent years, these growing seasons are changing. Our yearly weather patterns are changing. The global political scenes are constantly changing with regard to trade agreements and ongoing fighting. And don't get me started on the matter of if farmers don't sign up to the new SFS in 2026, that WG are just going to deduct their usual payments by now 40% compared to what they were initially told of 20% in the first year.
I'll admit I have never been a real risk taker, therefore for me, and our Welsh farming industry, I feel these are risks on both sides, whichever decision gets made, that really need to be thought through carefully and with the right advisers by your side. Farmers in Wales have encountered a number of big changes happening within their industry in recent years from the introduction of the Control of Agri Pollution (COAP) regulations in 2021, the Inheritance Tax changes announced in the budget of 2024 and now the finalised proposals for the Sustainable farming scheme (SFS) starting in 2026. Changes that need to be carefully considered. But, change isn't always bad when looked at with the right mindset. Change can bring new opportunities to those family members who have been promised the land in years to come who are young enough (and maybe confident enough) to take on the risks and challenges. Our consumers shopping patterns have altered dramatically from our grandparents and even parents days. They are the people we need by our side, understanding our lifestyles, our workloads and our commitments to looking after the land. How do we get them to understand and empathise with what we do?
On the day of the SFS announcement I had noticed a large increase in social media posts from farming unions, stakeholders and agricultural workers all announcing the achievements and concerns of what this means next? As a regional champion for the DPJ Foundation charity I was concerned for the fear this increased chaotic publicity may cause to the industry over the coming months. Therefore I created a reminder post for anyone who may be feeling overwhelmed by the news and what the announcement may mean for their businesses. A reminder of the support that is available if people wanted to talk to someone confidentially. It resulted in me feeling overwhelmed when I opened my phone up the following morning to see how many times the simple post had been shared and circulated within our farming community. Now more than ever is the time to talk to those who can help, advise and support our farming businesses at a time that is dealing with so much change. The strength and uniqueness of our individual farming businesses is our knowledge of the landscape we each farm and the communities and industries in which we support.
I'm sure the Welsh agricultural stakeholders will share their knowledge for these changes over the coming months to try and help those who need it, understand what impacts this new SFS may have to their businesses both practically and financially. And yes, I am sure we are going to see and hear a lot more promises from the politicians and influential leaders who have yet more boxes to tick.
Until next time.
Hx
*Disclaimer - these opinions are my own and not the views of my employer, neighbours or community.
REMINDER - If you need to talk in private
DPJ Foundation - 08005874262 or 07860048799
RABI - 08001884444
The Farming Community Network - 03000111999
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