Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support sustainable farming.

Environmentally-sustainable farming is fundamental to our approach to England’s agricultural system. We are introducing new schemes that reward farmers for sustainable farming practices. The first scheme, the Sustainable Farming Incentive, launched this year and pays farmers for managing their land sustainably, beyond regulatory requirements. Actions are grouped into simple packages known as standards, to make it easy for farmers to identify suitable actions. More standards will be introduced in the coming years.