The Welsh Government has today announced measures, including legislation, to help farmers manage the impacts of this summer's drought, wildfires and other pressures on the sector.
- Advance payments for farm businesses rise from 70% to 80%, easing cash-flow pressure caused by the exceptionally difficult conditions farmers have faced this year.
- Farmers get more time to manage slurry safely, as legislation will be introduced to extend the open period for spreading to to 15 November 2026, responding directly to the impacts of this summer's drought.
- Minister says giving farmers extra time to spread safely and reduce levels is ‘now the more responsible environmental choice’
Wales's farmers have faced exceptionally difficult conditions this year. To support the sector at this time, the Welsh Government has increased the advance payment rate available under the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) Universal Layer and Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) from 70% to 80% of each farm's estimated eligible claim value. Eligible farm businesses will receive more of their expected payment sooner, helping ease cash-flow pressures caused by the challenging conditions faced, including the drought.
Farmers and Natural Resources Wales have reported that the dry weather significantly reduced grass growth throughout the summer, disrupting normal cutting and grazing patterns and leaving many farms unable to spread slurry as they normally would.
This has led to concerns that slurry storage levels are higher than normal heading into the autumn.
In response to this, the Welsh Government will bring forward legislation amending the closed period for spreading slurry and manure, during which farmers are restricted from applying it to land, for all soil and land types, with spreading permitted up to 15 November 2026.
The change gives farmers more time to reduce storage levels responsibly and reduce the risk of slurry stores failing in Winter.
With storage levels running higher this year, giving farmers extra time to spread safely and reduce those levels is now the more responsible environmental choice, helping to prevent the greater risk of pollution from stores overtopping or failing.
The change, which applies for this spreading period only, includes safeguards to protect water quality, including a limit on the volume of slurry that can be spread at any one time and a minimum gap between applications.
Poultry manure is excluded from the change, as it can be safely managed through alternative storage methods.
Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability, Llyr Gruffydd said:
"I've heard directly from farmers and growers about the impacts of this summer's drought, and the wider challenges facing the sector, and they've told me they need three things from their government: certainty, flexibility and support.
"I've listened, and we're taking action.
“We are making changes to the closed period for slurry and manure spreading to give farmers more flexibility to manage storage safely and responsibly as we head into autumn.
"Not only have we delivered on our commitment to pay an advance payment for SFS in October, but we have also gone further to help with cash flow. We will increase advance payments under SFS and BPS from 70% to 80%, so farm businesses get more of their expected payment sooner.
"This builds on the certainty we've already given farmers through our billion-pound multi-year funding deal, and shows farmers that as new challenges emerge, we will continue to respond in a way that is agile, practical and on their side.
