The NFU has submitted its response to the England Tree Strategy consultation. The strategy will be published later this year and will set out the government’s forestry policy through to 2050.
The government has various ambitious tree planting targets, included the manifesto commitment to increase tree planting across the UK to 30,000ha of tree planting per year by 2025.
They have also announced a £640m Nature for Climate Fund, though little more details are available at this stage. Tree planting is seen by government as a major mechanism to address climate change and biodiversity loss, and farmers are acknowledged as crucial to delivering against the targets going forward.
The NFU are aware of the current barriers to engagement with tree planting on farm such as challenges around tenancies and forestry currently being a permanent land use change.
The NFU has responded to the consultation with the barriers in mind and hope Defra will address these, moving forward to allow better engagement among farmers with tree planting on farm, whether that be agroforestry or woodland creation.
NFU members can read our consultation response here.
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