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By stewartb

Meanwhile in Wales …. From July 15: ‘NFU Cymru says improvements to SFS overshadowed by cliff edge transition’.
(https://www.nfu-cymru.org.uk/news-and-information/nfu-cymru-says-improvements-to-sfs-overshadowed-by-cliff-edge-transition/)

‘Welsh Government’s decision to slash the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) by 40% for 2026 overshadows much of the positive work undertaken to improve the new Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), says NFU Cymru.’

‘Welsh Government has confirmed its intention to reduce the BPS to 60% of current payment levels in 2026, having previously reassured farmers that there would be no ‘cliff edge’ in funding through the transition to new schemes. Last November, Welsh Government reiterated that it was still its intention to phase out the BPS during the transition period through an incremental reduction in value (20% per year) starting in 2026. NFU Cymru believes that reneging on this commitment in today’s announcement overshadows much of the positive work undertaken to improve the SFS following the highly controversial ‘Keep farmers farming’ consultation of late 2023 / early 2024. ‘ (my emphasis)

‘NFU Cymru President Aled Jones said: “This unwelcome decision by Welsh Government is extremely worrying for farmers in Wales who had previously been informed that those opting not to enter the new Sustainable Farming Scheme in 2026 would receive 80% of their BPS. Farming businesses have forward planned on this basis.

“This development is even more of a blow given significant guidance and technical detail is yet to be published which farmers need if they are to make informed decisions about whether to enter the scheme from 1 January 2026. With harvest well underway and next year’s cropping and livestock purchases already in motion, many farmers will not be able to pivot their business to join the new scheme from January. Farming families are also grappling with difficult conversations and decisions on how to restructure their businesses to address the changes being forced upon them by the introduction of the UK Government’s family farm tax from April 2026. With Welsh Government now slashing the first year of the tapered transition from the BPS, many will feel they are now stuck between a rock and a hard place.”