Bristol food producers have had hopes of lifeline-funding dashed after the UK national government abruptly closed subsidy applications.
The disappointment follows elation born of farms under five hectares finally, in July 2024, being deemed eligible for the Sustainable Farming Incentive – a UK government payment system for those farming in an ecologically positive way – after years of campaigning by union the Landworkers Alliance and others.
Historically, it has only been farming operations over five hectares that are eligible for government support. Small-scale farmers, more likely to be based on ecologically-sound practices and which provide healthy, sustainable fresh produce to local communities, have not typically received any financial support.
So when the government suddenly closed the subsidy scheme without warning on March 10, small growing operations like Sims Hill Shared Harvest found they had wasted valuable time on the onerous application process.
Growers said it was a “huge blow” to discover they would have to continue the struggle to operate in an unstable economic climate without support.
Sims Hill, based in Frenchay, grows produce for local communities under a seasonal and sustainable ‘community supported agriculture’ farming model.
“The team had been working on this application for months,”
said Bekki Pugh, a Connecting with Nature coordinator for the AWP Bristol mental health recovery service and voluntary board member of the Frenchay community farm which provides seasonal, organic veg boxes to households citywide.
“I’m sure loads of other Bristol community farms will be affected as well – really small ones that need the financial support.
“We’re also struggling with retention of people signing up to the shared harvest scheme. People that are getting our veg boxes are investing in their local community and food, and standing up for local farms like Sims Hill, as it definitely now doesn’t feel safe to rely on government incentives and funding applications.”
As well as serving the city with organic veg boxes and running regular volunteer days, Sims Hill also provides land access and delivers horticultural sessions to people affected by the asylum process in order to share knowledge, reduce isolation, promote leadership and enhance environmental awareness
The growers have expressed frustration at the time and energy wasted.
“Our farm, Sims Hill Shared Harvest, is under five hectares and we were aware of how transformative finally being eligible for government support would be when we found out we could apply in 2025,” said Jo Poulton, one of the farm’s growers who has started a campaign to secure a universal basic income for farmers.
“We had registered an account and had several calls and email interactions with DEFRA and were ready to submit the application.
“Finding out we can no longer apply has been devastating as we were already building the financial support into our yearly budget. We would have got over £1000 which, with our profit margins, is a huge chunk that could have covered our whole seed order for the year.
“We’re also a very small team and this process has wasted time that we could have used for crucial work on the farm at an important time of year.
“We are not the only ones – there will be hundreds if not thousands of small farms in a similar uncertain situation.”
Jo Poulton, a grower at Sims Hill, is founder of the Basic Income for Farmers campaign which has gained traction since its launch last summer
The Sims Hill Spring Fling and fundraiser planned for March 29 could not be more timely. Activities will include “joyful community stuff like farm tours, welly throwing and raffles,” Bekki said, with ample opportunity to find out more about the farm’s operations and sign up for membership.
Jo said the service they provide relies on local community backers.
“Farmers require financial stability in order to support a stable food system,” she said.
“Despite this knock we will continue to grow veg for our local community and in light of all this we urge everyone to support their local food producers. Without the predicted financial boost from the SFI payments it’s more important than ever.
“You can be an active member of your local food landscape and share the risk with farmers and vegetable growers who farm with nature at the heart and provide delicious produce at the end of each week.”
All images: Sims Hill Shared Harvest
Teaser photo credit: Sims Hill Shared Harvest Facebook page