Farmer lost out by minutes in race for wildlife funding

Richard Peace, a farmer near Nuneaton in Warwickshire, was hoping to assist barn owls on his land by leaving crops unharvested near their woodland habitat. However, when he attempted to apply for a government wildlife funding scheme to support his efforts, he discovered the application window had closed just minutes before he could submit his entry.

The £310 million funding, intended for environmental initiatives, was allocated within hours, leaving thousands of farmers like Richard out of luck. The National Farmers Union had warned of the potential demand, but no one could have anticipated the urgency. Richard believes a first-come, first-served approach is unfair, especially for smaller family farms that might lack the resources to monitor the application process.

The farming minister acknowledged these concerns and pledged to explore alternative methods for allocating the funding, hoping to ensure more farmers can participate in future schemes.