Ian Rickman, president of the Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW), said there was “a lot of dust still to settle” as farmers got to grips with what the new, greener scheme meant for their businesses.
“We’re proud of the changes we have helped secure,” he added, which include “workable payment rates” and the scrapping of a controversial 10% tree cover rule for farms.
But he described a faster transition process, that will see farms lose 40% of their subsidy if they choose not to join the SFS immediately, as “a particularly bitter pill”.
RSPB Cymru will use an event on the showground at the Royal Welsh to highlight demands for Wales’ environment sector, including the need for “a clear plan detailing how the SFS will contribute to meeting Wales’s 2030 biodiversity targets”.
The charity said the National Audit Office “has identified the lack of such a plan for the equivalent English scheme as a significant flaw resulting in the poor use of public money”.
Further long-term funding was also needed to invest in nature-friendly farming, it added, with analysis carried out on behalf of wildlife groups putting the figure at £594m a year – approximately twice the existing rural budget.