Considerable uncertainty remains about how the 7-year agricultural transition will affect English farming. As direct payments are withdrawn, there is a risk that farmers will resort to less environmentally sustainable methods to make up for lost income, leave the sector or go out of business entirely. We are concerned that Defra has not published a comprehensive assessment of the impacts of its policy, and the Secretary of State himself acknowledged to us that we know who will lose money but not how many will take up the new schemes. The Secretary of State also told us that land rents “might” adjust downwards, but has not adequately demonstrated this. The Department needs to make a detailed and comprehensive assessment of the economic and environmental impacts of removing direct payments. Defra should publish an impact assessment, covering plausible scenarios, detailing how the transition from direct payments to ELM will impact the viability of farm businesses, broken down by sector and by region. Defra should also detail the anticipated environmental impacts if the delivery and uptake of ELM falls short of its ambitions, for instance, if farmers decide that it makes more financial sense to intensify production than to enter into ELM.