Closure of farming scheme 'is blow to all our efforts'

TYRRELLS crisps guru William Chase says a Government block on new bids for farming scheme funds is a blow to “our collective” environmental efforts.

- By Steph Spyro

The farmer, who now creates apple cider vinegar from a 300-acre family estate, said he would have to go from 20 employees to 12 because of the move.

Ministers have stopped new applications to the sustainable farming incentive without giving any notice, despite an online statement that food growers would get a six-week warning.

The post-Brexit scheme, launched in 2022, pays farmers and land managers to take up practices that improve productivity and protect the environment.

Loss

William had spent three years getting his regenerative farm ready for the programme, and had been set to finish the application around the same time that the submissions were ended.

He said: "I happened to put it in on Tuesday night, the same night they closed. It's a huge loss.

"The SFI was set up to protect the soil and allow farmers to rebuild soils to produce organic healthy foods."

William went on: "We need two years' cover cropping to achieve this and now the scheme to achieve this is blocked. It's an environmental killer.