Farmers have received payments totalling £57.5 million from the
Farming Recovery Fund so far, the government confirmed today (27
November). Around 13,000 farmers were impacted by
severe wet weather, including Storms Henk and Babet, between
October and March last year, with more than 12,700 recovery
payments ranging from £2,895 - £25,000 now being made.
These are one off recovery payments which will support land
recovery activities such as soil remediation, recultivation and
the removal of any debris caused by flooding.
The vast majority (95%) of eligible farm businesses have now
received their payments after the funding was confirmed two weeks
ago on 13 November. Outstanding payments will continue to
be made.
Farming Minister said:
“In two weeks we have paid over £57 million to farms affected by
devastating flooding – £10 million more than the previous
Government.
“However, we are going further by investing £5 billion for the
farming budget over two years – with the largest ever directed at
sustainable food production in our country's history.
“This demonstrates this Government's steadfast commitment to
farmers.”
The government also recently confirmed that £50 million
would be distributed to internal drainage boards (IDBs), the
public bodies responsible for managing water levels for
agricultural and environmental needs in a particular
area.
The farming budget is £5 billion over the next two years, the
largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and
nature's recovery, with ELM schemes remaining at the centre of
the offer for farmers and nature. The Sustainable Farming
Incentive, Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier and Landscape
Recovery are all continuing.
Alongside the £60 million Farming Recovery Fund, the government
has also committed £208 million up to 2025-26 for the
government's biosecurity facilities at Weybridge to protect the
nation from disease outbreaks that can threaten the farming
industry and food security.
Notes to editors
- The Environment Agency and Met Office data has been used to
identify which farm businesses will receive the recovery payment.
- This data on river flooding and exceptional rainfall allows
us to pinpoint affected land and make payments directly to
eligible farms. By focusing on those with the most significant
impacts, this approach ensures the payment contributes to
uninsured costs resulting from the extreme wet weather.
- The recovery payments are focused on exceptional wet weather
impacts in this period and therefore those who are most likely to
have had the most significant impacts.
- Eligibility covers areas of the most extensive river flooding
from the two largest storms in the period plus the areas where
extreme rainfall occurred over the six months.
- Farmers received a letter from the RPA with details of the
area of land considered to be eligible for the recovery payment
by combining 2 sources of information:
Flooding from rivers
Data from the Environment Agency was used to track high river
levels during Storm Babet (19–25 October 2023) and Storm Henk
(2–12 January 2024. Satellite imagery was used to confirm the
land where the river flooding impacts were most severe.
2.
Exceptional rainfall
Rainfall data from the Met Office identified local authority
areas in England where at least half of the area experienced
exceptional rainfall (more than 70% above the 30-year average
rainfall) from October 2023 to March 2024.
Eligible land parcels were then identified in these areas and
payment made for a set proportion of total eligible farm area to
take account of uncertainties in the precise extent of localised
rainfall impacts across the country.
Farmers whose land is engineered as a flood storage area are not
eligible for recovery payments.
How the payment is calculated
An amount of land in eligible areas identified that were affected
by high river levels and flooding (from satellite data based on
river gauge readings)
An amount of land in eligible areas identified with extreme
rainfall (excluding land already counted for
flooding)
Add the amounts of land calculated in step 1 and step 2
together
Apply the payment band based on the total eligible
hectares.
If, for example, the amount of land parcels affected totals
between 1 and 25 hectares of eligible land, farmers will receive
a one-off payment of £2,895. The more land affected, the higher
the payment, according to the table below.
Payment bands
1.00 – 25.00 ha £2,895
25.01 – 50.00 ha £4,875
50.01 – 75.00 ha £8,125
75.01 – 100.00 ha £11,375
100.01 – 125.00 ha £14,625
125.01 – 150.00 ha £17,875
150.01 – 175.00 ha £21,125
175.01 ha and above £25,000
The recovery payments will only be made to farmers in England as
an exceptional, one-off contribution towards the uninsured costs
incurred from returning their land to its pre-flooding condition.
