High Court judgment on Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan
The High Court has rejected claims that the government's Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan is unlawful,
Updated: Mon Sep 18 2023
Further increase in English Hen Harrier numbers recorded in 2023
By John Holmes, Strategy Director, Natural England. The Hen Harrier, an iconic bird of upland landscapes, is one of our rarest birds of prey. Driven to extinction in mainland Britain in the 19th century, since recolonising England in the 1960s ...
Updated: Sat Sep 16 2023
Accelerated SFI payments and plans to boost British produce announced at Back British Farming Day
Yesterday was Back British Farming Day, where the government announced a package of measures to help people "buy British" and provide farmers with the cashflow they need to invest in their businesses - which have been widely among farming trade press, including Farmers Weekly and Farmers Guardian.
Updated: Thu Sep 14 2023
Into the deep: How Cefas science of the deep-sea is exploring uncharted waters
The deep-sea covers more than 60% of the Earth's surface. Deep-sea ecosystems are amongst the least well understood owing to the combined challenges of remoteness, vastness, and the difficulties of exploring its depths. The 'deep-sea' is a catch-all term that ...
Updated: Wed Sep 13 2023
'Nature can sit alongside agriculture': a Landscape Recovery project spotlight
The North Norfolk: Wilder, Wetter, Better for Nature project is part of the first round of Landscape Recovery. Alongside sustainable food production, the project aims to create new habitats for nature, restore rivers and boost biodiversity on the Holkham Estate. We visited the team to see how the project will work in practice.
Updated: Tue Sep 12 2023
Apply now for a calf housing grant
You can now apply for a grant to support better calf housing. In this post, Gwyn Jones provides a recap of the grant and explains how to apply. He also shares how the grant was developed with farmers, vets and other experts through co-design.
Updated: Tue Sep 12 2023
Weir making a real difference to water quality on the River Cole
The Environment Agency enables partnerships to come together and improve the local environment to benefit wildlife and communities. Catchment Coordinator for the EA, Adam Noon, tells us more about removing Ackers Weir on the River Cole in East Birmingham.
Updated: Tue Sep 12 2023
Wendling Beck Environment Project - building financial and environmental resilience for farmers.
By Andy Slaney, Green Finance Specialist, Environment Agency The Wendling Beck Environment Project is a habitat creation, nature restoration and regenerative farming project, spanning almost 2,000 acres near Dereham in Norfolk, UK. The project is leading the way in transforming ...
Updated: Fri Sep 01 2023
False claims about storm overflows
There has been media coverage claiming sewage discharges, also known as storm overflows, should be stopped for the bank holiday weekend.
Updated: Thu Aug 24 2023
Coverage on funding for the Canal and River Trust
There have been a number of reports in the media about funding for the Canal and River Trust. The Canal and River Trust (C&RT) is a charity established in 2012 to manage 2,000 miles of inland waterways by capitalising on ...
Updated: Wed Aug 23 2023
Small R&D Partnership Projects competition now open
I'm pleased to say that the Small R&D Partnership Projects competition is now open. Through this competition, we want to enable UK-based businesses to collaboratively develop solutions which improve productivity, sustainability, resilience in farming and realise our net zero ambitions.
Updated: Tue Aug 15 2023
Water Minister meets farmers in drought affected Norfolk
In this blog we look at Minister Pow's visit to Norfolk and the work being done by the government to boost water security in the region and England as a whole.
Updated: Mon Aug 14 2023
The Sustainable Farming Incentive offer in 2023: guidance update
We've made some minor changes to the SFI Handbook for the 2023 offer and provided voluntary guidance on how you could do the SFI actions in response to feedback from farmers. In this post, we'll share an overview and links.
Updated: Thu Aug 10 2023
Further innovation grants coming soon
This month, we will open another round of the Small R&D Partnership Projects competition and, in September, another round of the Feasibility Studies competition will follow. In this post, I'll give you a brief overview of the competitions. I'll also include links to guidance, share details of upcoming webinars and include dates to note.
Updated: Wed Aug 02 2023
Navigation Officers doing their bit for climate change on the Medway
Shaun Gage, Navigation Officer, explains how his team are managing the River Medway Navigation sustainably by cutting carbon, restoring nature, and ensuring the river is a great place to visit for local communities. The summer months are some of the ...
Updated: Wed Aug 02 2023
Coverage of single-use carrier bag statistics
Today we are looking at coverage of new figures showing that sales of single-use plastic carrier bags continue to fall.
Updated: Tue Aug 01 2023
Coverage on storm overflows and protected sites
Defra's response to coverage of Greenpeace Unearthed findings about storm overflows and protected sites.
Updated: Tue Aug 01 2023
Introducing Animal Health and Welfare Infrastructure grants
In this post, we share the next steps of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. Through the first round of the Animal Health and Welfare Equipment and Technology grant, over £19 million will be awarded to more than 3,000 pig, cattle, poultry and sheep farmers. A new Animal Health and Welfare Infrastructure grant is also on the way: the Calf Housing for Health and Welfare grant.
Updated: Thu Jul 27 2023
Landowners warned not to be victims at the hands of waste criminals
By Sharon Owen, Senior Environmental Crime Officer My role as a Senior Environmental Crime Officer is to prevent, disrupt and stop criminal operations. I have been fighting crime for the last 41 years. In that time, I have seen first-hand ...
Updated: Thu Jul 27 2023
Coverage of update to extended producer responsibility scheme
There has been coverage in the Financial Times, the Telegraph, The Times and i News following our announcement providing further details on the extended producer responsibility for packaging scheme. The announcement confirmed that, following extensive engagement with industry, and in ...
Updated: Wed Jul 26 2023
What we have achieved at agricultural shows this summer
Agricultural shows are the highlight of farming calendars across the country. Since May, Defra ministers have travelled to 16 different shows in every nation and region of the UK , speaking to farmers and land managers about our new farming ...
Updated: Wed Jul 26 2023
Animal Health and Welfare Equipment and Technology grants: help shape the next round
In March, we took another step forward on the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway by launching the first round of the Animal Health and Welfare Equipment and Technology Grant. In this post, we'd like to invite you to help us shape the next round.
Updated: Mon Jul 24 2023
Coverage on new protected status for Single Malt Welsh Whisky
Today we are looking at coverage of our announcement that Single Malt Welsh Whisky has received protected status.
Updated: Mon Jul 24 2023
EA at Plastics Future 2023 - sharing creative approaches to end plastic pollution
To celebrate Plastic Free July, Victoria Prowse and Helen Powers from the East Midlands Regulated Industry team write about their recent talk at the Plastics Future 2023 conference at Plymouth University.
Updated: Mon Jul 24 2023
Watch: Trialling farmer-led land management plans at Aqualate Mere, Staffordshire
In this film, farmers from the Aqualate Mere catchment share their experiences of taking part in Tests and Trials. This test created a land management plan and worked to set priorities for the catchment, incorporating biodiversity, water quality and carbon sequestration.
Updated: Mon Jul 24 2023