The long awaited Agriculture Act 2020 was passed into law on 11 November 2020. Given other world events it didn’t get much news coverage outside of the interested parties. However, it is the most significant Act affecting farming in a generation and sets the tone and path for the future of land, farming subsidies and the concept of environmental stewardship for the next generation and probably beyond.
Surprising, then, (or perhaps not?), that there was very little detail in the Act. In fact, most of the Act is not yet in force and further regulations are required to fill in the detail. Defra did publish a transition plan to accompany the Act setting out further details on the direction of travel, but again lacking clarity of detail.
Two points which might be of particular interest to clients and agents alike are: (i) the intention to delink all subsidy payments from the land by 2024 and (ii) the capitalisation of the current basic payment entitlements.
If you would like further information on the Act, please click on the following link to the Mills & Reeve Webinar Agriculture Act 2020: What does it mean for you? where Nichola Ross discussed these points further and was joined by colleague Jessica Burt answering panel questions on aspects of the Act relating to food law and regulation.
To discuss further, please contact Gabrielle Wortley
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