‘Nature will suffer as well as farmers’ – chancellor warned ahead of spending review

The Country Land and Business Association and several high-profile nature groups have joined forces following CLA’s poll of nearly 500 farmers, which has found that the majority would abandon nature-friendly practices and revert to intensive methods if government funding is cut.

The study comes ahead of the chancellor’s statement that will take place tomorrow, confirming all departmental finances for 2027-2030, including the farming budget.

On the eve of the spending review, a joint letter has been sent to farming minister Daniel Zeichner outlining the impact a reduced budget will have on nature.

Groups including the RSPB, National Trust, Soil Association and the Nature Friendly Farming Network have signed the letter, which outlines how the organisations are ‘deeply concerned about the rumoured cuts to the agricultural budget in the upcoming spending review’.

In the letter, they warn that any reduction in the budget will be ‘catastrophic’ to the government’s aims.

It reads: ‘Many of the environmental features present in the countryside and enjoyed by the public will be under threat and will disappear. This would be a poor legacy for this government.’

‘Nature will suffer as well as farmers’

CLA president Victoria Vyvyan said: “If funding for sustainable farming schemes is cut, government won’t just abandon nature – it will abandon its word.

“The Sustainable Farming Incentive is working – for farmers, for nature, for the public, and for the Treasury. It’s bringing back wildlife, cleaning up rivers, and restoring the health of our soil.

“Take that funding away, and farmers will be pushed back to intensive methods – forced to undo years of progress. Nature will suffer as well as farmers, and on the environment, it will go against everything government claims to agree with.”

The fresh CLA poll of 460 members has found:

• 88% say they will have to revert to intensive farming if funding is pulled for Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship schemes.

• 95% say they will reduce the amount of land managed for the environment.

• 98% say that Labour does not understand or respect rural communities.

• 99% don’t trust Labour to make decisions that benefit their business. 

• 76% say they are not in a position to fully fund the land management actions in their SFI/ CS agreements by themselves. 

‘Farming is already an uncertain enough business’

CLA vice president Joe Evans said: “The Sustainable Farming Incentive is a brilliant policy – it’s good for the farmer, the environment, the consumer, and the government. It is one of the most ambitious, forward-thinking agricultural schemes in the world, and we can see from the sheer variety of nature returning to our farmland that it is working.   

“If funding is withdrawn from the schemes, almost all our farmers will have no choice but to return to intensive farming – and it will become the latest betrayal from a government that promised it was here to help, not make things worse.”  

James Cameron, a farmer from East Kennett, said that since entering these schemes, his farm has become a “haven for nature”.  

“What was once arable land is now species-rich grassland. Red-listed birds, butterflies and bees have all returned in full force. What we’ve been able to build is magical. But now, all of that could vanish.” 

Mr Cameron explained that his farm’s entire financial model depends on the scheme. 

“If funding is cut, it will be disastrous. We can’t afford to fund all this work ourselves, and the private sector simply isn’t there yet. We may have no choice but to re-adopt intensive farming practices just to stay afloat.  

“Farming is already an uncertain enough business. We need a government that brings stability, not one that plays policy roulette and makes it impossible to operate at every turn,” he concluded. 

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