Farming – Opinion
As the new year heralded new farming initiatives, our farm advisor Yog Watkins reflects on their potential.
Positive environmental and farming benefits are the aim of DEFRA’s new Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes. But as concerns about the detail of them has been raised by various organisations, our land team is keeping an eye on the roll out of the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery opportunities.
The first scheme will focus on support for on-farm sustainable farming activities, the second on making room for nature alongside local food production, while the latter is for landowners and managers who can make deep-seated changes to land use across 500-5,000ha. This third scheme will concentrate on biodiversity, water quality and net zero targets.
The Government expects the Landscape Recovery pilot projects to eventually create at least 20,000ha of wilder habitats, rewetted peat and woodland.
With the first application round opening soon, here at Westcountry Rivers Trust, we are pleased to see that of the two Landscape Recovery focus themes, one specifically relates to restoring England’s streams and rivers and improving their water quality, biodiversity and adaptation to climate change.
But apprehensions about the schemes have been raised by MPs on the cross-party Public Accounts Committee whose report criticised their lack of detail; tenant farmers who are worried about their involvement potential; and the National Farmers’ Union which has questioned how these schemes might impact on domestic food production.
Our Farm Advisor Iorwerth (Yog) Watkins, who has worked with the region’s farmers for more than 13 years.
He said: “When the Landscape Recovery scheme was announced, almost immediately the reaction from some related to how rewilding might impact on the ability to produce homegrown food.
“But Landscape Recovery projects, targeted at areas with limited agricultural value, will have little impact upon food production, yet offer a lifeline for climate resilience and nature recovery.
“In my work, I come across many farms who are seeing the benefits of making space for nature and taking a holistic approach to landscape management.
“Where any one element of an ecosystem is prioritised over another you will create imbalance.
“This leads to additional costs and who bears these costs is often overlooked, sometimes within the farm, but more often by wider society through impacts upon air quality, water quality, habitat loss, species loss etc.
“Targeting agricultural production towards the more productive ground can improve efficiencies and both increase yield and profit.
“This does not mean over exploitation of the productive areas, but their efficient management and treating these as a resource for future generations.
“If big business is allowed to take-over farms and use this opportunity as a cash generator we will have a problem, but the objective of this scheme is to make space for nature alongside farming, not at the expense of it.”
Oxford Farming Conference
Speaking at the online conference earlier this year, Environment Secretary George Eustice told attendees that Landscape Recovery wouldn’t “be right for every farm business or every farm holder, and indeed they probably won’t be right for most farm businesses” but to reach the woodland creation targets in England – around 10,000 hectares of trees per year – and deliver the objective of securing 300,000 hectares of land where habitat is restored, there “is inevitably going to be some degree of land use change”.
This is a big shake-up for the farming industry in England. It’s understandable with such changes, and when specific detail seems to be lacking, it will cause concern.
In six years’ when the agricultural transition process ends, Defra expects the government’s £2.4bn annual farm funding pot in England to be split equally across the three schemes, allowing some money to also be invested in improving farm productivity.
For the near future, our farm advisors will be working across the region to ensure those we work with are supported in any opportunities these schemes might provide.
UK Agriculture Partnership farming Forum
On 27 January, Mr Eustace announced a forum to assist farmers through the changes facing agriculture.
The UK Agriculture Partnership will bring together UK academics, farmers, farming bodies and environmental groups to reflect diversity of opinion in the farming sector. They will discuss issues such as lessening the environmental impacts of agriculture, how technology and science can support ambitions, and soil health.
Their first meeting focused on water quality.
To contact our farm advisors, please call 01579 372140 or email [email protected] and include the area you are based.
More information can be found via the links below.
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5802/cmselect/cmpubacc/639/summary.html
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-partnership-launched-to-tackle-agricultural-challenges
https://www.ofc.org.uk/conference/2022