Rural Professional Update

Could Summer 2024 be the right time for Welsh farmers to give their businesses a health check?

Changes to agricultural support, combined with pressures on profitability from rising input costs and wet weather conditions have placed several unknowns on the outcomes for both livestock and arable farmers in 2024, suggesting that it’s more important than ever for them to plan and adapt for the future.

Sadly, despite the ongoing grumbles of the proposed Sustainable Farming scheme it is inevitably apparent that this will provide the transition away from the current Basic Payment Scheme that commenced in 2015 and become the new source of agricultural funding throughout Wales.

The transitional period from 2025 to 2029 will allow farmers to navigate away from the current scheme, with incentives placed upon entering the scheme in its first year with Welsh Government stating that farmers will not receive any less subsidy in 2025 than they received in 2024 due to a ‘stability payment’,

The scheme proposes 17 Universal Actions including benchmarking and good animal welfare, with applicants only needing to complete Universal Actions that are applicable to their farm.

Further to the Universal Actions, additional Optional and Collaborative Actions which will provide further funding will be introduced between 2025 and 2029. However, what these Actions relate to or include are currently unknown.

At present, Welsh farmers are still considerably left in the dark even after the Welsh Government’s Roadshows and the closing of the consultation period one month ago. They will have to wait until the summer of 2024 to receive confirmation details in respect of items including payment rates and The Habitat Baseline Review (indicating how your holding stacks up to the two most talked about topics – 10% Habitat and 10% tree cover).

We wait in anticipation that Welsh Government has paid attention to the thoughts of its farmers, and that by summer 2024 a robust funding scheme is offered providing a sympathetic approach not only to the environmental benefits of Wales, but also to food production, farm diversification and succession.

Perhaps not for everyone, and during the transitional period the current Basic Payment Scheme will continue to run albeit with a linear taper to Basic Payment Scheme entitlement values, with the first reduction applied in 2025 and the final Basic Payment Scheme claim being available in 2028.

The summer of 2024 could be the right time to give your farming business a health check!

For our clients, whether old or new we have been on hand to provide support and expert advice to our agricultural communities since 1862 so if you require assistance in respect of the Basic Payment Scheme or the Sustainable Farming Scheme please contact a member of our Rural Team.

https://www.morrismarshall.co.uk/rural-department/