Defra secretary Emma Reynolds has announced plans to make Animal Health and Welfare Pathway reviews mandatory.
She unveiled the plans at the NFU conference during a speech in which she also announced various new funding strands for agriculture, which she said would be ‘supercharged with £345 million in funding to boost everyday productivity alongside cutting-edge technologies to drive future growth’.
Defra has already launched a consultation on the pathway. Currently, the reviews are voluntary, with farmers able to apply for Defra funding for visits by vets, who will review disease risks and biosecurity, carry out required PRRS testing and discuss medicine use and improvements with producers.
The consultation, which applies to England only, notes that many farmers are already taking positive measures across these areas during the voluntary funded phase of the pathway, and they are realising the benefits.
“From the conception of the Pathway, we have talked about transition from a voluntary funded system to a mandatory one, which will protect the investments made in the voluntary phase and ensure that farms are working to the same minimum standards, such as an annual vet visit,” it says.
“Proposals have been designed to give farmers and vets the flexibility to take steps that are tailored for each individual farm, maximising the benefits of healthier, higher-welfare, and more productive animals at both a local and national level.”
It added that the proposals in the consultation have been designed to sit alongside the proposed SPS Agreement with the EU and ‘assume that the Animal Health Law would be applicable in Great Britain by virtue of the proposed SPS agreement’.
The vet visit under the Animal Health Law will require vet advice and discussion in the following areas:
- Animal health
- Biosecurity
- Disease incursions
The regularity of the visit under the Animal Health Law will be determined once the law is implemented.
Defra schemes
During her NFU conference speech, Mrs Reynolds made various set out details for various schemes.
She said the new Sustainable Farming Incentive offer will be ‘simpler, fairer, more stable, and shaped by farmers’, including 71 actions, down from 102, with agreements capped at £100,000 per year.
With around 97% of farms already below this level, the cap will help ensure funding is shared more fairly and reaches more small and medium sized farms, she said. Applications will open in June for small farms, defined as holdings of three to 50 hectares registered with the Rural Payments Agency (as of 1 January 2026), and those without a live Environmental Land Management (ELM) revenue agreement, .
A second application window will open to all farmers in September, with further details to follow.
The package also includes £70 million for the Farming Innovation Programme to move cutting-edge research into practical tools, allowing farmers to cultivate new crops that will help them to grow their businesses.
There will a further £50 million for the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund will help farmers invest in equipment to improve productivity and animal health and welfare and manage slurry, boosting efficiency and performance.
She said: “I am determined to give British farming the foundation it needs to grow. We want farm businesses that are productive, profitable, and resilient. We want to see more British food on more tables – here at home and around the world.
“And we want a countryside that is thriving – for wildlife, for communities, and for the families who have worked this land for generations.”