Wales Launches Sustainable Farming Scheme to Promote Green Agriculture Post-Brexit
Wales has launched the Sustainable Farming Scheme as part of its post-Brexit agricultural policy shift, introducing a greener-focused payments framework aimed at improving environmental outcomes. The scheme requires farms to actively manage at least 10% of their land as habitat to qualify for entry, a condition many dairy farms have noted they do not meet. Applicants must apply by 15 May 2026, with those remaining on old subsidies facing a 40% cut to payments this year.
The new framework offers additional funding for more ambitious environmental work and encourages collaborative farming through optional layers designed to increase biodiversity and sustainability benefits. The government describes the scheme as a dynamic approach to fostering greener farming practices.
Officials have called the launch a landmark moment for Wales, with success to be measured by the levels of farmer sign-ups. NFU Cymru has described the changes largely in a positive light but emphasized the need for budgeting to reflect inflation. Despite the progress, protests and criticism from 2024 continue, as environmental groups caution that basic entry payments alone may be insufficient to meet biodiversity goals without participation in the upper, more demanding layers of the scheme.
Political reactions have been mixed; some parties argue the scheme underemphasizes food security, while others call for a gradual transition with multi-year funding certainty to support the agricultural community through the changes.
