Energy & Environment

Preparing your fishery for the summer

Spring and summer can trigger a range of problems for fisheries, and it's important to understand how to prepare and protect them. It's vital that anglers and fishery managers recognise the risks posed by warmer weather; remain vigilant for signs ...

Updated: Fri Jul 08 2022

I-VMS update 5

It's really encouraging that so many vessels across our English inshore have installed their onboard I-VMS devices and received the grant funding to re-imburse their costs, but we realise there is still much work to do. We have now hit ...

Updated: Thu Jul 07 2022

Emma Howard Boyd speech on finance, resilience, net zero and nature

Today there has been widespread coverage of warnings by Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency and Interim Chair of the Green Finance Institute, of how widespread greenwashing is compromising efforts to prepare for climate impacts. Her comments have ...

Updated: Mon Jul 04 2022

15 years of technological advances since the 2007 floods

June and July 2007. The most severe and widespread inland flooding we have seen since 1947 with more than 55,000 properties flooded, mainly across Yorkshire, the Midlands, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. Many more lost essential services such as ...

Updated: Fri Jun 24 2022

The latest from the Fertiliser Taskforce

The Fertiliser Taskforce is made up of representatives from industry bodies and the UK's devolved administrations. The taskforce addresses the impact of global supply pressures on farming. It seeks to improve market confidence and help provide farmers with the information they need to make business decisions on fertiliser use. The second meeting of the Fertiliser Taskforce was chaired by Minister Churchill. In this post, I'll share a summary of the meeting.

Updated: Thu Jun 23 2022

Drop-in sessions on planning for demersal non quota fisheries

We are hosting a series of engagement sessions with fishers to kickstart conversations on development a Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) for demersal non quota stocks in the Channel. These events are just the start of our programme of engagement with ...

Updated: Fri Jun 17 2022

I-VMS - Focus on: data collection

We are supporting industry to meet the requirement to have an I-VMS device installed and operational before the introduction of the Statutory Instrument (SI), scheduled for late 2022. I-VMS will help us understand individual and fleet fishing patterns and ultimately ...

Updated: Fri Jun 10 2022

A fresh start for new entrants

It's hard to get started in farming, or any related land-based business. Newcomers to the industry (usually known as "new entrants") face all sorts of barriers. It's challenging for them to find land, secure finance and progress their businesses. When we published the Agricultural Transition Plan towards the end of 2020, we said that we would establish a support scheme for new entrants, and make the whole process easier. This blog post is an update on what we've learned so far by working collaboratively with people across the sector and the next steps.

Updated: Wed Jun 01 2022

Meeting with users of Studland Bay

Before Easter our Marine Conservation, South and Marine Planning teams met with recreational boat users in Studland Bay and held drop-in sessions and talks about the voluntary no anchor zone in the area. These talks were in aid of raising ...

Updated: Wed Jun 01 2022

Farming Investment Fund: a new grant

Before we launched Improving Farm Productivity in January, we made the manual available for people to look at on GOV.UK. Feedback suggested you found this helpful. So, ahead of its launch in June, we are making the manual for the next theme available today: Adding Value. In June, you can apply for a grant for buildings, machinery or equipment so that producers can add value to eligible agricultural products after they are harvested or reared.

Updated: Mon May 30 2022

6 months on: How the pilot is shaping the Sustainable Farming Incentive

In November, we started to offer agreements to farmers taking part in the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot.  In this post, we'll share an overview of the things we've learned over the past 6 months and how we're incorporating them into the design of the full scheme.

Updated: Fri May 27 2022

How we designed the Sustainable Farming Incentive Standards

As a farmer, I am only too aware of the financial pressures which force farmers to make short-term decisions to address an immediate need. This isn't always ideal for the environment and the sustainability of farming in the longer term. The marketplace is very good at driving the efficient production of high-quality grain, meat, milk and vegetables for today and tomorrow, but less so at rewarding high water quality, great soil or increasing the numbers of birds and insects over time. In this post, I'll explain how the Sustainable Farming Incentive will start to redress the balance and how it will reward farmers for delivering environmental benefits as well as efficient food production.

Updated: Fri May 27 2022

Right tree, right place, to support water and wildlife

Michael Rogers is Head of Conservation at Eden Rivers Trust. In this guest blog, Michael looks at how trees can benefit our watercourses, and shares experiences from the Croglin Valley in Cumbria to show the importance of planting the right tree in the right place.

Updated: Thu May 26 2022

Video Diary: Farmer Jess Brooks on the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot

The Brooks Family joined the pilot to help us improve the Sustainable Farming Incentive. For over a century, the family has worked on South Thorness Farm, which is found on the north-west coast of the Isle of Wight, within the Hamstead Heritage Coast Area Of Natural Beauty. Listen to how sisters Jess and Sarah, along with their parents Adrian and Joyce, run through the management of their farm and their decision to join the pilot.

Updated: Mon May 23 2022