Defra Farming podcast Defra

Defra Animal Health and Welfare lead Martin Jenkins talks to North West dairy farmer Karen Halton and vet James Russell about the support that is available from government to help livestock farmers drive down disease and improve animal health and welfare on their farms.

Guidance for farmers and apply now - Guidance for farmers - Annual health and welfare review of livestock (defra.gov.uk)

AHDB material for vets - What is the Annual Health and Welfare Review? | AHDB

In episode 14 of the Defra Farming podcast, Michael Sturla talks to Robin and Christopher Milton, a father and son team farming beef and sheep on the Exmoor uplands, who have recently signed up to SFI.

Robin and Christopher share how they found the SFI application process and the SFI actions they have signed up to that suit their farming system, including clover and herbal leys, hedgerows, nutrient management, integrated pest management and vet visits.

Find out more about how to apply for SFI https://farming.campaign.gov.uk

Read more on the latest SFI announcement from Defra https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/2024/01/04/environmental-land-management-in-2024-details-of-actions-and-payments

In episode 13 of the Defra Farming Podcast, Defra Productivity and Innovation Lead Andrew Powley spoke to Richard Wordsworth, NFU Senior Adviser (Support Schemes), and North Yorkshire beef and sheep farmer Richard Findlay.

The group's in-depth conversation covers everything you need to know as a farmer to access business support through the government's Farming Resilience Fund.
Find out more on GOV.UK about how to get free business advice for your farm through the Defra Farming Resilience Fund.

You can read Andrew's blog posts on the Resilience Fund on the Defra farming blog and you can also subscribe to the Defra Farming blog to stay up to date on all the latest news on government funding for farming in England.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) pays farmers for actions that support food production, farm productivity and resilience, whilst protecting and enhancing the environment.

In 2023, the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) will be bigger and more flexible with 23 pick and mix actions for farmers to choose from, including on soil health, moorland, hedgerows, integrated pest management, farmland wildlife, buffer strips, and low input grassland.

For episode 12 of the Defra Farming Podcast, we brought together Claire Robinson, Senior Countryside Adviser at the National Farmers Union, and Defra Sustainable Farming Incentive lead Jonathan Marsden to talk about what farmers can do to get ready to apply for SFI in 2023.

If you are a farmer or land manager and you'd like to apply for SFI this year, please fill out this online form.
Find out more about how to get ready for SFI.

In episode 11 of the Defra Farming podcast, Defra payments lead Lisa Warne talks to father and son John and Charlie Renner, who farm on the border of the  Northumberland National Park between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Alnwick.

Lisa gave an update about what's happening next in the growth and rollout of our environmental land management schemes. John and Charlie talked about how the new farming payments will fit in with the management of their farm and had plenty of questions about the new grants and actions from the farmer's point of view.

For more information on how the Renners farm, see the LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) website.

There’s something for everyone in Defra's schemes and grants. We’ve made them much more straightforward, flexible and workable, so if you haven’t yet looked, now is the time. Find out what you can get paid for on the Defra Farming blog.

In episode 10 of the Future Farming podcast, to celebrate National Young Farmers' Week 2022, Matt McGuire welcomes 3 up-and-coming young people in farming to the podcast. Charlie Beaty, Ed Dungait and Charlotte Garbutt discuss how to get started in farming, the importance of education and the range of roles in agriculture. They also discuss the benefits new talent can bring to the sector.
#YoungFarmersWeek 

Charlotte @ThisIsGarbs works in agronomy and sales for an agri-chemical company and is YFC Agri Chair @LincsYFC.

Charlie @MeridenFarm is a mixed beef-sheep and arable farmer from Warwickshire and WFYFC County Chair. 

Ed is an arable farmer from Northumberland and Chair of the National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs.

Subscribe to the Defra Future Farming blog