Keeping up with changes on Environmental Land Management can pay off say accountants

Farmers and landowners need to make sure they keep up with changes in payments around Environmental Land Management, as the Government has recently ramped up grants in this area.

That’s the advice from East of England accountants, Moore Thompson, which is encouraging more rural businesses to get up to speed on the latest changes.

“The Government are offering farmers who sign up the Sustainable Farming Incentive in England up to £1,000 as a management payment,” says Rob Blair, a Partner at Moore Thompson.

The new payment has been brought in to encourage farmers to sign up after an initial low take-up of this new initiative.

There has also been an increase in the budget for Countryside Stewardship (CS) with around 10 per cent more available for revenue agreements and 48 per cent more for capital payments.

It is all part of a wider trend with Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs encouraging farmers and landowners to move away from seeing themselves exclusively as food producers to being custodians of the land.

This includes taking on the responsibility of improving the biodiversity and all-round environmental quality of their land holdings for the public good.

“As we see the Basic Farm Payment scheme being wound down, it’s more important than ever for famers and landowners to keep abreast of what’s happening when it comes to schemes and payments for Environmental Land Management,” added Blair.