By Roger Harrabin
The environment analyst of the British Broadcasting Corporation.
The image is from the same source.
Under the government's plans for farming, the brown fields of England's winter countryside could be transformed.
Farmers will be paid for sowing plants that bind the soil together as cold naked acres will be clothed in vegetation.
The aim is to keep the land unspoiled, instead of seeing it washed into rivers.
Critics say it is not ambitious enough to reverse the nature crisis.
The changes are part of a reform of the subsidies paid to farmers.
Farmers received taxpayers' cash based on the amount of land they owned, and the bigger the subsidy, under the EU's Common Agricultural Policy.
The EU scheme gave out some £1.8 billion in grants annually.
The government wants public money for public goods.
Payments will only be made for protecting species, planting trees and hedges, cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and protecting water courses and the soil.
The UK nations all have their own farm support plans, but ministers expect the scheme in England to entice 70% of farmers to smother 70% of land in wintertime with "cover crops" such as grasses, beans, brassicas and herbs.
These crops will not be planted for harvesting, they are for improving the soil.
It's part of a widespread realization that soils around the world have been neglected.
British farmers are protecting their soils through good practice. Previously they weren't rewarded with grants, but now they will be paid for the work they are doing.
The new scheme will be phased out to avoid a big bang. Landholders will be rewarded for reducing the amount of pesticides they use.
They will be encouraged to use low-impact methods such as integrated pest management, which uses pheromones to disrupt pest mating cycles, or mechanical control, such as trapping or weeding.
Grants will be offered to land owners who designate large areas of their properties to protect wildlife or capture CO2 emissions through vegetation in the future phases of the scheme.
In the first phase, the government is offering farmers a price of 22% for testing soil, 20% for producing a soil management plan and 70% for winter cover.
If they cover 98% of their soil, they will get £58 perhectare.
George Eustice is expected to say that he accepts that we need to be clear about policy outcomes.
To halt the decline in species abundance by the year 2030, to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, to plant up to 10,000 hectares of trees per year in England, to create more space for nature in the farmed landscape, and to ensure that we have a vibrant and profitable landscape are some of the
Farmers will be able to access a free annual vet's health and welfare visit.
Tom Bradshaw, vice president of farmers' union the NFU, said that more detail is needed for farm businesses to make informed decisions.
He said the scheme needs to acknowledge the costs farmers could incur during the grant transition.
He said that it was vital that the concerns in this area were addressed in order to attract participation in the scheme.
The image caption is.
Farmers will be encouraged to plant grass to protect their land.
The Wildlife Trust's spokeswoman told the BBC that it looked desperately unambitious at first glance. Farmers will be paid for doing the basics of good practice, rather than doing anything extra.
The chance to reverse our status as one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world is if the government can transform farming from being a leading cause of declines in UK wildlife to playing a central role in nature's recovery.
The group, along with the National Trust and the RSPB, is concerned that the government is not coming up with an ambitious scheme to boost nature-friendly farming.
Mark Tufnell, president of the Country Land and Business Association, said: "Today is a major milestone in the development of England's new agriculture policy."
Many farmers are very supportive of the direction of travel, but they are concerned about the transition from the old regime to the new.
Agriculture.
George Eustice was a person.
It's a topic of discussion.
