D-J Gent Agriculture Manager, Environment Agency
17 July 2024
EA responsibilities
• The EA’s principal focus is on water: too much (flooding) too little (water resources), too polluted (water quality)
• It also regulates industry, including the waste sector, and is responsible for air quality and other environmental controls
• Most of this touches agriculture in one way or another
Impact of a changing climate on farmers
Regulatory framework - agriculture
Water Quality
Environmental Land Management Schemes
Sustainable Farming Incentive
Payments to adopt sustainable farming practices and deliver environmental improvements alongside food production
Countryside Stewardship
Higher Tier
More complex and ambitious actions to maintain, restore and create habitats –e.g. river restoration & floodplain reconnection, peatland restoration
Landscape Recovery
Large scale (>500ha), long term (20+ years) and collaborative nature recovery projects that include a blend of public & private finance
Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) – 2024
• The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) gives farmers a choice of actions that reward and support sustainable food production while protecting and enhancing nature.
• From July (TBC), farmers and land managers will be able to access 102 actions
CSAM1 Assess soil, produce plan and test soil organic matter
WBD2 Manage ponds
WBD5 Manage intensive grassland to adjacent to a watercourse
WBD8 Manage grassland to reduce nutrient levels in groundwater
CIPM4 No use of insecticide on arable and permanent crops
CNUM1 Assess nutirent management and produce a review report
Countryside Stewardship – Higher Tier
Actions that require specialist advice to ensure they are appropriate or need to be tailored to the site to deliver the intended outcomes
New actions delivering environmental objectives include:
• Waterbodies
• Lowland peat
• Coastal habitats
• Species management
Landscape Recovery
• Landscape Recovery supports largescale, long-term management of land for the benefit of sustainable food production and the environment.
• Partnership working
• Private Finance
• 22 Round 1 projects
• 34 Round 2 projects
• The Agricultural Transition Plan and Environmental land Management Schemes
• Sustainable Farming Incentive
• Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier
• Landscape Recovery
Questions
