Category: Policy & Business

A new service for farmers to help assess water resources has been launched.  The Environment Agency is offering a ‘screening service’ which will look at water resources in a local area and offer advice on how to make them more resilient.  Funding of £1.6m is available for the service.  Groups of two or more neighbouring farmers who currently abstract, or would like to abstract, water for irrigation or livestock husbandry can apply.  Applications from groups in water-stressed areas  will be prioritised.  The closing date for applications is midnight on 16th June.  For more details see – https://www.gov.uk/guidance/local-water-resources-options-screening-studies-how-to-apply

Our article last month (see https://abcbooks.co.uk/bps-claims-2024/) reported that there is no action required in order to receive the delinked BPS payment in England.  However, we also reminded CS and ES revenue agreement holders that a revenue claim would be required by 15th May.  And in so doing, it has become clear, claimants will have to visit and update their land use codes on Rural Payments as part of this process.  Following a number of queries on this the RPA has said;

‘We have received a number of questions recently as to how we will be using land use codes as part of our process for cross-checking agri-environmental scheme applications and claims. We can confirm that we will be cross-checking applications and claims against land-use codes, as we have done in previous years when the information supplied in BPS applications was used for this purpose.  Accordingly, before submitting an application or payment claim, customers should check that the land use codes recorded for their land parcels are correct and consistent with the actions/options they are applying for or claiming on. Failure to do this may lead to processing delays and hold up payments.’

It appears that it will only be necessary to check the Land Use codes on relevant parcels – i.e. ones that are in the CS/ES claim.  It does however seem a bit ‘ad hoc’ and although no one really wants to being making ‘BPS type’ alterations, with the work and cost involved, there is the issue of whether clients’ Land Use will become muddled, with some fields updated for one year and not others.

In addition, cross checking also applies to SFI applications, where Land Cover, Land Use and SFI options must all be compatible.  The 2024 Land Use codes can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rural-payments-land-use-codes-2024/land-use-codes-2024

Defra has published an Action Plan to stop the decline in water quality of the River Wye and support the ongoing local efforts to fully restore it in the long term.  The plan includes nine commitments;

• appoint a locally based ‘River Champion’ – this will be Anthea McIntyre, the former Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands and she will establish and lead a River Wye Taskforce. This body will develop a 5-10 year catchment plan, implement it, and deliver pilot projects
• provide up to £35 million for poultry manure combustors in the River Wye Special Area of Conservation (SAC) catchment – a one-off trial which will convert manures into nutrient-rich, more easily transportable ash
• amend, subject to consultation, the Environmental Permitting Regulations – to prohibit the export of manures to farms where this would result in excess application of nutrients for the needs of the soil and the crop
• help farmers retain more nutrients and soil in the field with funding for sustainable farming practices – new SFI offers from summer 2024 will support the establishment of crops using no-till techniques and the precision application of crop nutrients and plant protection products.  There will also be premium SFI payment rates for a range of high-impact actions, including £1,182 per hectare for 3-dimensional waterbody buffer strips between 6 and 24 metres wide
• pilot the use of on-farm micro anaerobic digesters – fund up to five on-farm micro anaerobic digestors (AD) for livestock farmers in the Wye catchment through Defra Farm Trials
• more than double grant approvals for slurry stores – including approving 100% of round 2 applications to the Slurry Infrastructure Grant (SIG) made by those in the Wye catchment and streamline Natural England’s approach to Planning consultations for grant-funded projects
• work with partners on two Landscape Recovery (LR) projects in the catchment – provide £1.5 million of development funding over the next two years to the Wyescapes and Wye Valley Ridge to River LR projects
• provide funding for two projects delivered with local partners in the next finacial year – the Restoring our Rivers and Arrow Valley Diversity Project.
• carry out cross-border research on mitigating phosphate pollution in the unique geography of the area

An Action Plan for the river was promised by the Government last August, within a package of measures aimed at improving water quality in England.  The River Wye catchment is a high-profile case where water quality is adversely affected by phosphates and sediment.  The presence of large numbers of poultry units in the area is a major contributory factor.  The package of measures set out in the Action Plan can also be seen as a ‘Pilot’ for approaches that may be adopted in other catchments if it is proved to be sucessful. 

The full policy paper can be found via https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/river-wye-action-plan/river-wye-action-plan.

Further to our article of 6th March (see https://abcbooks.co.uk/hedgerow-protection-2/), the new hedgerow legislation has been laid in both Houses of Parliament.  This includes the familiar requirements;

• a 2-metre buffer strip, measured from the centre of a hedgerow, where a green cover must be established and maintained.  Also, no cultivation or the application of pesticides or fertilisers should take place within this buffer strip
• a hedgerow cutting ban from 1st March to 31st August (inclusive).  

The Management of Hedgerows (England) Regulations 2024 are expected to be approved by Parliament within weeks.  They will come into force immediately, except for the buffer strip requirements; these will only apply immediately where there is a buffer strip in place already.  On land where there is currently no buffer strip, but which is not in crop production, the rules will apply from 1st July 2024.  Where land is currently in use for crop production, the rules will apply from the end of the first harvest that takes place after the legislation comes into force.  This allows time to establish a buffer strip where it is necessary to do that.  

The RPA will be responsible for enforcing the new rules, but this will be via an ‘advice-led’ approach and there will be a further consultation on the proposed enforcement regime.

After a brief pause, the RICS has re-started publication of its land price series.  This shows transaction data (i.e. actual sales) reported across Great Britain, and is compiled by the Royal Agricultural University.  The chart below shows the published data (in current prices).  This shows a sharp upwards trend in values over the past few years to the current average of £14,000 per acre (£34,500 per Ha).  Howwever, in real terms, values have been much more stable, being little different to those seen back in 2014 (albeit with some volatility in the interim).

The price shown in the RICS ‘weighted average’ figure.  This excludes transactions where the residential element is more than 50% of the sale price, or sales with some other reported distortion such as development value or the impact of a secure tenancy.  This still means the average price shown will include an element of houses and building value, so it is not a ‘bare land’ price.  

More information can be found at – https://www.rics.org/news-insights/market-surveys/rics-rau-rural-land-prices-market-survey .

A new Code of Practice has been launched for the tenanted farm sector in England.  It is designed to encourage good practice and enforce minimum standards expected of
landlords and tenants, and their professional advisers.  The Code has three underlying principles – clarity, communication and collaboration.  It is a voluntary code drawn up by the Farm Tenancy Forum – a body made up of representatives from across the tenanted farm sector.  A copy of the ‘Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Code of Practice for England’ can be found at – https://www.nfuonline.com/media/2znayotx/agricultural-landlord-and-tenant-code-of-practice-for-england.pdf .

A reminder that as from the 1st April 2024 farmers in England should only use urea fertiliser that has been treated with a urease inhibitor.  The new rule, which was delayed by one year due to the volatile fertiliser market in 2023, is part of a voluntary industry scheme designed to reduce ammonia emissions from agriculture.  Untreated solid urea/liquid UAN fertiliser can still be applied between 15th January to 31st March each year (when air temperatures are lower).  The new rules apply to any fertiliser that contains 1% or greater urea nitrogen.

Defra has provided more information on support for farmers who suffered uninsurable damage to their land due to flooding earlier this year caused by Storm Henk.  Readers will recall we wrote about the Government activating both the Flood Recovery Framework and the Farming Recovery Fund back in January (see https://abcbooks.co.uk/flood-relief/).   Since then Defra has consulted with stakeholders and developed eligibility criteria for the Farming Recovery Fund.  This analysis has identified fields that are eligible (using satellite imagery and river gauge level data).  The parcels must be in the counties listed below and be ‘contiguous’ to (previously within 150 metres of the midpoint) one of the rivers that had notably high river level gauge readings during 2nd and 12th January 2024: 

• Gloucestershire: River Severn, River Thames and River Avon 
• Leicestershire: Rothley Brook, River Wreake and River Soar  
• Lincolnshire: River Witham, River Brant, River Welland, River Ancholme 
• Nottinghamshire : River Trent, River Devon and River Soar 
• Somerset: River Brue, River Exe, River Parrott and River Tone 
• Warwickshire: River Avon and River Leam 
• West Northants: River Nene and River Great Ouse 
• Wiltshire: River Avon (Hants), River Avon (Bristol), River Kennet, River Thames, River Bourne and River Wylye 
• Worcestershire: River Severn, River Teme and River Avon 

We understand eligible farmers are being written to directly by Rural Payments Agency (RPA) outlining the support available to them and how they can make a claim, this is expected to be a simple form which needs checking and returning by 10th July.  The amount is £130 per hectare, with a minimum payment of £500 and a maximum of £25,000.  This is to return the land to the condition it was in before exceptional flooding due to Storm Henk.  The RPA will indicate how many hectares of land is eligible in its communication with farmers.

Initially the the fund will be available to those in the areas outlined above which have experienced the highest levels of flooding, but Defra has said eligibility for the fund will remain under review to ensure it is supporting areas where farmland is most impacted, in particular the counties of Berkshire, Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Staffordshire, Yorkshire, Norfolk and Derbyshire.  Of course, the winter has been exceptionally wet with much ‘generalised’ flooding at various times in numerous locations. This grant is specifically for the flooding caused by Storm Henk from 2nd-12th January 2024 and there is no indication that any other rainfall events will be added.

Defra has opened a new scheme to help improve the water environment England.  The Water Restoration Fund is funded through environmental fines and penalties issued to water companies between April 2022 and October 2023.  It is focused on restoring and improving inland rivers, streams and their headwaters (including chalk streams), canals, lakes, ponds, wetlands (including freshwater and saltwater wetlands) and estuarine waters in the specified geographical areas where fines and penalties from water and sewerage companies have accrued.   The project must also be in an area in which sewage collection and treatment is provided by;

• Thames Water – £3,334,000 available
• Yorkshire Water – £1,600,750 available
• Anglian Water – £3,085,000 available
• United Utilities – £800,000 available
• South West Water – £2,150,000 available

Local groups and farm clusters are encouraged to work together to deliver projects at a catchment-level with integrated outcomes and which address multiple objectives where possible.  The Fund is a competitive grant scheme and is limited to the specified geographical areas and funds for each area shown above.  Applications will be assessed against the scheme objectives, value for money and each other.

There are two grants available, which can cover up to 100% of eligible costs.

• Development awards – short-term grants to build capability and help design and plan future projects.  Grant value from £75,000 to £250,000. The project length is 6 to 12 months and starts from July 2024.
• Delivery awards – medium to long-term grants to help carry out projects already planned.  The project should begin as soon as possible after receiving a grant funding agreement.  Grant value from £500,000 to £2 million.  The project length is 12 to 30 months starting from July 2024 and ending by 31st March 2027.

Applications for both grants are open from 9^th April until 11.59pm on Friday 7^th June 2024.  Further information is available via https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/water-restoration-fund-guidance-for-applicants/about-the-water-restoration-fund.

The Scottish Government has provided more details of the ‘conditionality’ that will apply to farm payments in 2025.  This is included in an update to its Agricultural Reform Route Map (see https://www.ruralpayments.org/topics/agricultural-reform-programme/arp-route-map/ for details).

There are three main elements for 2025;

• New Cross-compliance Rules:  new measures are to be introduced to protect peatland and wetland.  These will be included under GAEC6 – Maintenance of Soil Organic Matter (there was originally plans to have them as a new stand-alone GAEC8).  It will apply to peat soils of over 50cm depth and with a ‘near natural vegetative cover’ – i.e. unimproved land.  There will be prohibitions on fertiliser, pesticides, herbicides, cultivations and any drainage works
• Calving Index:  for those claiming the Scottish Suckled Beef Support Scheme (SSBSS) headage payment, there will be a new condition on calving index.  Payment will only be made on calves coming from cows with an interval of 410 days or less.  This will be on a cow-by-cow basis, and not on a herd-average.  First-calvers will be exempt from the rules.  The Scottish Government outlines that the calving interval threshold may reduce in future years, but it will not reduce by more than 10 days in any given year.
• Whole Farm Plan:  the requirements for this are gradually being phased-in.  For 2025, farmers will need to indicate on their Single Application Form that they have done at least two of the following five activities.
  • Carbon Audit – done within the previous five years prior to May 2025
  • Biodiversity Audit – done within the previous five years prior to May 2025
  • Soil Analysis – done within the previous five years prior to May 2025 
  • Animal Health and Welfare Plan – to be updated annually
  • Integrated Pest Management Plan – to be updated annually

The Scottish Government points out that there is currently funding for Carbon Audits and Soil analysis through the Preparing for Sustainable Farming programme.

Detailed guidance on the conditionality rules for 2025 and more information about the actions farmers and crofters will need to take in 2026, will be announced in summer 2024.