ELM payments ‘not generous enough’, says Ben Goldsmith

Environmental campaigner and former Defra non-executive director Ben Goldsmith has said payments under the Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme are “not generous enough”.

Mr Goldsmith, who was speaking exclusively to Farmers Weekly at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, said the move to a public money for public goods approach was the right one, but the agricultural budget needed to be higher if it was to deliver for nature.

See more: Farmers’ livelihoods put at risk by unspent budget, says Farron

His comments came after Jonty Brunyee, an organic, pasture-fed farmer from the Cotswolds, told a Countryside Alliance event at the conference that he would be “bankrupt in three years”.

Mr Brunyee has already diversified extensively, opening a farm shop, livery and a market garden, but does not believe this will cushion his business from the loss of direct support, which makes up 70% of his £25,000 annual profit.

“ELM and the Sustainable Farming Incentive [SFI] is not going to fill that gap,” he said.

“I know it wasn’t designed to do so, but it was meant to help. Every acre of my farm is in Countryside Stewardship and I think I can get £2,000 SFI, but I’m going to have to spend £1,000 to get it. So I’m going to be about £16,000 worse off. We are bankrupt.”

Mr Brunyee was sharing the panel with Defra secretary Therese Coffey, but she did not address his comments.