�鶹������ҳ���

You could soon be seeing more trees, meadows and wetlands in the English countryside, and fewer sheep and cows.

The government has said that this is how the countryside will change after the Brexit transition period ends on 31 December.

This is because EU farm subsidies - where farmers got taxpayers' money based on the amount of land they farm - will be phased out and replaced.

Instead farmers will need to focus on cutting carbon emissions, create more space for wildlife and make improvements to animal welfare to be able to access funding.

Government ministers say it's the biggest change in farm policy for 50 years, but the changes will apply to England only.

The devolved administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are deciding on their own plans.

What was the system for farmers under EU rules?

When the European Union was set up, a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was introduced.

Initially, CAP guaranteed prices for farmers which led to more cereal crops being grown and more land being used to grow these crops.

The CAP was criticised because this led to the removal of hedgerows and with that, the loss of animal habitats.

Woodlands were cut down and wetlands drained to make more room for farming which made countryside areas look less attractive and reduced the amount of wildlife.

The EU later amended their policy to try to encourage farmers to put aside land and not grow any crops on it.

What will the EU rules be replaced with?

The UK government plan to replace this with a new system called the Environmental Land Management (ELM), which will pay farmers if they prevent floods, plant woods and help wildlife.

There are 3 tiers which farmers can apply for money. They are:

The government says it will also offer grants for other things that have an environmental impact - for instance to help farmers manage things like animals slurry more carefully, which is a major cause of water pollution.

Why have the government brought in a new system?

Ministers say the EU policy was morally wrong because it paid the biggest government subsidies to the richest farmers.

They say the new system will lead to a "renewed" agricultural sector producing healthy food for use at home and abroad, and to environmental improvements across the country.

The government says if farmers don't want to adjust to the new system they can retire and get a separate payment.

The plan is to help increase the UK's low levels of farm productivity, because experts say younger farmers are typically more willing to try new methods.

What do people think of the government's new plan?

While environmentalists and farmers have welcomed some aspects of the new system, they have also criticised the government for its lack of detail.

Agriculture and land use accounted for 12 per cent of the UK's total greenhouse gas emissions in 2017 - but although many aspects of the plan are aimed at protecting the environment, it does not set out specific targets for how much farmers in England will need to reduce carbon emissions by.

National Farmers' Union (NFU) president Minette Batters said that while farmers wanted their food production to be more "carbon neutral", with fewer inputs of pesticide and fertiliser and better animal health, they needed more support to be able to make the changes.

He said: "There's going to be real pain for lowland beef, upland beef, and sheep farmers. How much pain we don't know until we've seen the details we've been waiting four years for."

Craig Bennett from the Wildlife Trusts said that the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) "wreaked devastation on our wildlife whilst causing deep-seated issues in farming communities", and so the UK government needs to act quickly to try and reverses these affects.

He said: "We must not spend the next few years just talking; nature needs the help promised by this government and we cannot afford to waste any more time."