During the 20th Century, we lost 90% of lowland grasslands in England, mainly due to arable conversion and agricultural intensification.

We were starting to turn this around in recent years. Through the UK Government’s environmental land management offer, including the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and Countryside Stewardship, farmers received financial support to restore and manage these precious habitats.

Recent announcements on SFI, although positive in other areas, dropped a vital action that provided the finance farmers needed to recover our meadows. Without remedy, this could become a missed opportunity for farmers and nature recovery, and see grassland habitat recovery stall.