Welsh government reveals SFS ‘preparatory phase’ details

Welsh rural affairs secretary Huw Irranca-Davies insists he’s “getting on with the day job” amid turmoil and cabinet resignations at the heart of Welsh government.

The Senedd member for Ogmore announced plans to launch five schemes in 2025 as part of a “preparatory phase” for farmers in Wales as they transition to the new Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) in 2026.

The plans were published by the Welsh government on Wednesday 17 July, the week before the Royal Welsh Show and just 24 hours after four cabinet ministers announced their resignations due to concerns about first minister Vaughan Gething’s leadership.

See also: Welsh farmers demand ‘major overhaul’ of SFS plans

The simultaneous announcement resulted in Mr Gething resigning.

Speaking to Farmers Weekly, Mr Irranca-Davies said: “I’m hoping to get on with my day job. We’ve got a busy period at the moment, including the design of the Sustainable Farming Scheme, but also things like carbon budgets.

“We have a new UK government in place that we need to engage with on a range of things. So, for me and for other colleagues, the focus is very much on continuing on the day job and making sure we deliver a programme for government in the interests of the people of Wales.”

The Welsh government has introduced a new timeframe for the SFS, set to begin in 2026, to allow more engagement with farmers and rural communities.

Ahead of the SFS, several support schemes for farmers and landowners will be implemented in 2025 as part of a “preparatory phase” to provide advice and aid in preparation for the new scheme.

The five schemes announced for 2025 are:

• Habitat Wales scheme (HWS): Available for all eligible farmers to apply in 2025
• Extension of existing HWS commons agreements: Agreements can be extended through 2025
• Organic support payment: This payment will be maintained for 2025
• Extension of Farming Connect: Support for knowledge transfer and innovation will continue through 2026
• New integrated natural resources scheme: Supports farmer-focused partnerships delivering nature-based solutions at various scales, aiding the transition to SFS collaborative actions
• A data confirmation exercise will be launched to collect accurate information on habitat and tree cover across farms. Participation will be encouraged for farmers applying for the HWS 2025.

Mr Irranca-Davies said he was continuing to work on a ministerial roundtable, which he is overseeing, with key industry stakeholders, including representatives from NFU Cymru and the Farmers’ Union of Wales, to define the SFS details.

This follows a backlash from industry earlier this year over proposed elements of the scheme, particularly plans for mandatory 10% tree cover on all farms in Wales.

The ministerial roundtable has already met three times and it will next convene at next week’s Royal Welsh Show.

“The focus of the group is to work on the granular detail to design together a scheme which works for all farmers,” said Mr Irranca-Davies.

“It’s progressing well and there’s a great deal of positivity around it… and a heck of a lot of work being done as well by a sub-group made up of officials from the various organisations, burning the midnight oil to get the detail right.”  

Tree cover latest

Asked if there were plans to scrap plans for 10% tree cover, the minister said: “I’m not going to pre-empt that or any other elements of the work that the ministerial roundtable and carbon sequestration evidence review panel are doing.

“They will bring forward proposals on a way forward. But as I did say originally that [10% tree cover] was one of the areas that I described as one of the ‘knotty issues’ that we need to resolve.

“So, we are working at pace specifically on that issue to find a way forward.”

The Welsh government will continue to work to “provide certainty about future support as soon as possible”, he added.