Direct payments to farmers in England will be cut by at least 5% in 2021, the UK government has confirmed.

Guidance published on Monday states that direct payments under £30,000 will receive a 5% cut next year. Larger payments will receive greater cuts, with payments over £150,000 set for a 25% reduction.

Transition period

It is part of a seven-year transition period where farmers in England will move away from direct payments and towards schemes which incentivise environmental and animal welfare measures.

“Reduction of payments will continue over the transition period. Percentages will increase during this time until the final payment is made for the 2027 scheme year,” guidance from Defra reads.

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) is pressing for the transition period to be delayed until 2022 and for direct payments to be retained at some level in England to help farmers manage income volatility.

At the NFU conference in Birmingham, Defra secretary George Eustice said that the UK government will use “sweeping intervention powers” to stabilise incomes in the event of market failure.

However, NFU president Minette Batters was not convinced: “We will be the only developed economy in the world that is taking that approach to agriculture if we are going to wait for a crisis to manage volatility. We are already living with volatility and we are going to expect much more of it.”