Defra to embark on ‘summer of roadshows’ to promote ELM

Defra is to embark on a “summer of roadshows” at agricultural shows and events to encourage more farmers to engage in new Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes.

Trudy Harrison, Defra environment minister and Conservative MP for Copeland, revealed the plans during a Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee hearing on protected landscapes on Wednesday 3 May.

“We have got a summer of fun planned, visiting agricultural shows right across the country, talking to farmers,” said Ms Harrison. “It’s not just for the chat, it’s so that we continuously improve and enable farmers to join our programmes.”

See also: Analysis: What Defra’s ELM update means for farmers

Ministers in Defra would be going to the vast majority of the large agricultural shows this summer and attend farmer-to-farmer networks to talk to farmers about ELM, she added.

Opposition MPs have voiced concerns about the low numbers of farmers signing up to Defra’s new environmental schemes, especially the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI).

Ms Harrison said the SFI pilots were helping to shape the policy, but she agreed with many farmers that it was an “incredibly complex” situation.

The minister said it was “early days” for ELM, but insisted the government fully supported the project and would not be reducing the level of support for farmers in England – currently £2.4bn/year.

However, at least 70-80% of farmers in England would need to sign up to ELM to enable the government to meet its green goals.

Ms Harrison said the government would also be supporting domestic food production in equal measure.

“I would say it is an equal pairing of food security and environmental stewardship. I don’t think it is a case that one should trump the other,” she added.

“The two need to work in balance with each other. Innovation will also play a key part.”

Defra says 3,000 SFI applications have been submitted, of which just under 2,900 have started. More than 30,000 farmers have also signed up to Countryside Stewardship.