Government faces calls to expand farming flood support fund to Shropshire

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) announced that applications for its Farming Recovery Fund opened today.

The fund has been designed to support farmers who suffered uninsurable damage to their land due to flooding this winter.

Under the scheme, eligible farmers can access grants of between £500 and £25,000 to return their land to the condition it was in before exceptional flooding due to Storm Henk.

But, the fund has been allocated to farmers in a number of counties – not including Shropshire.

DEFRA said that the counties selected – Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Warwickshire, West Northamptonshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire – had experienced 'the highest levels of flooding', and were chosen after an eligibility criteria was drawn up.

The department added that eligibility for the fund will remain under review "to ensure it is supporting areas where farmland is most impacted".

It said further counties under review are Berkshire, Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Staffordshire, Yorkshire, Norfolk and Derbyshire.

Members of the National Farmers Union (NFU), have welcomed the development of the fund, but have also called for it to be kept open for other affected areas like Shropshire.

Robert Newbery, NFU regional director, said: “We know Shropshire farmers are under pressure personally and financially and we are doing all we can to make the case to Government on their behalf.

“The NFU has impressed on Defra the need for the fund to be kept open for other areas badly affected, like Shropshire and our other Midlands counties, who are either under review or not included in the announcement.

“Ministers have been in listening mode on this and have acted on what is a terrible situation for our family farms and we are working with our officeholders and grassroots members to do all we can to make the case.

“Farmers will want to see further action and commitments on domestic food production and that includes support at times of extreme weather events and plans in place to alleviate the problem in the first place.”

NFU Shropshire chair Graham Price, who farms near Ludlow, said he and members across the county would continue to press their MPs.

He said: “We will get on with our job of producing food for people’s tables but we are dealing with relentless rainfall and very difficult conditions across all of our farming sectors.

“I have a meeting with our South Shropshire MP tonight and farmland flooding and current difficulties for our farms will be at the top of the agenda.

“There are multiple priorities and challenges and the NFU’s recently launched manifesto, as we gear up for a General Election, shows that food security must be a priority, with our farm businesses supported to invest and grow for the benefit of everyone.

“That includes support at times when we are facing extreme weather on the back of spiralling costs and other serious business challenges, we are resilient but that only goes so far and it is exceptionally tough for us all at the moment.

“We need to see practical and progressive policies coming from all political parties which are investing in a future where Shropshire food and farming can thrive.”