A new soil protections framework will be a major project and rely on data that is not yet available, suitable definition(s) of ‘sustainable soil management’, and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. We also recognise that it is also a difficult time for farmers during the transition away from the Basic Payments Scheme. We agree that offering incentives to change is initially a better way to engage farmers with this potentially quite disruptive and costly transition to improved soil management. We also strongly believe that focusing on incentives for the time being will build a better relationship between Defra and the agricultural community. The Government is right to suggest that we should get a full understanding of how well the ELM schemes work before acting. We also believe, however, that some kind of regulatory baseline will be needed, likely one that prevents soil degradation wherever possible, while Government incentives concentrate more on soil restoration. Shifting incentives in 52 Soil health this way will also only be possible once private sector initiatives are well established and other underlying supply chain issues are resolved. All this will take time.