Category: Policy & Business

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Defra are launching the ‘Farming Innovations Pathways’ competition.  This is aimed at developing new and existing farm-focussed innovations to improve productivity, sustainability and address the challenges of delivering net zero emissions from UK agriculture.

The competition opens on the 1st March and will be delivered through the UKRI’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund; Transforming Food Production.  It will receive £12m of funding through Defra’s Future Farming and Countryside Programme.  Funding will be split two ways;

• Feasibility projects (£5m) – to evaluate the potential of ideas and innovations a the early stages.
• Industrial Research (£7m) – to develop and deliver transformative solutions to tackle problems that farmers are currently experiencing

Further information can be found via https://www.ukri.org/news/ukri-and-defra-to-launch-farming-innovation-pathways-competition/ 

The ban on residential evictions has been extended for a further 6 weeks.  This means the the ban on bailiff evictions, which was introduced at the start of the pandemic to support renters during the lockdown, will be in place until 31st March and will be kept under review following this date.  Exemptions  to this remain in place for exceptional circumstances, such as illegal occupation, anti social behaviour and rent arrears of more than six months.  In addition landlords are currently required to give 6 month’s notice to tenant’s (usually 2 months) before starting possession procedures (except under the exceptional circumstances outlined above) meaning a notice served now will give renters until August to find new accommodation.

Defra has released an analysis of the responses it received to its consultation on the new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme.   In total there were 1,672 responses, giving a wide variety of viewpoints on how the scheme should be developed and in some cases amended.  The full analysis document can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/environmental-land-management-policy-discussion-document#history.  Unsurprisngly, the biggest difference in responses was between farmers and stakeholders with an environmental and conservation focus.  The former being more concerned with ‘the importance of food production and ensuring the financial viability of farming in the UK’.

There were strong themes which came through in the responses including:

• Widespread support for the design principles – but respondents would like to see enhancements in; environmental outcomes, inclusivity & fairness, flexibility & options and minimal complexity and admin
• Scepticism as to whether the scheme as currently proposed will deliver the objectives – respondents said there was a lack of ambition and detail.  Areas which should be included within the principles or addressed by the objectives include; greater recognition of food production or of balancing environment and food production, ensuring sufficient financial support for participants and the inclusion of the principles of rewilding
• The key barrier to participating – poor previous experience and the complexity and bureaucracy seen with past schemes
• The main driver for participation – financial and easier application process.  There was evidence of a need for advice, particularly during the application process
• Support for monitoring through self assessment – particularly for using photos and Apps for location and date tagging
• Overwhelming support for testing and piloting the scheme – especially around payment & reward systems, outcomes and effectiveness, monitoring and ease of the application process.

Defra has also confirmed, in response to feedback, it is no longer using ‘tiers’ to describe the different parts of the scheme.  These will now be called ‘components’ and the full names will be used whenever possible;  Sustainable Farming Incentive, Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery.  Likewise it will refer to ELM as Environmental Land Management as much as possible.

Two new farming apprenticeships have been created by the AHDB.  The General Farm Worker and Livestock Unit Technician will be available at levels 2 and 3 respectively.  They join three other agricultural apprenticeship schemes already set up by the AHDB – Crop Technician, Stockperson and Packhouse Line Leader.  The General Farm Worker course, in particular, is a response to industry calls for trainees to have a wider set of skills.  The AHDB is looking to develop a sixth course at level 4 for Farm Managers.  For more details see – https://ahdb.org.uk/trailblazer-apprenticeships

We have updated our English Agricultural Policy Summary leaflet.  The latest version can be found under the ‘Bulletins’ tab at the top of the page, titled Agricultural Policy Summary February 2021.  We will continue to update this as and when new information becomes available.

The Countryside Stewardship (CS) scheme in England opened for applications on 9th February.  The scheme will continue to be available whilst ELM is being piloted.  Those that enter a CS agreement from 2021 onwards will be able to end their agreement without penalty, at agreed points, if they wish to go into ELM when it is available.

There have been a number of changes to CS to make it more attractive, these include making it easier to apply online, simplifying options to make them easier to understand and changing the focus of inspections.  Recognising the inspection regime was a reason why some did not want to apply, there will be more emphasis on the delivery of environmental outcomes, offering advice and allowing breaches to be put right or paying on smaller areas without additional penalties.  This new regime will only be possible for ‘domestic’ agreements i.e. agreements starting from 2021 onwards.

Capital Grants Offer

A new objective for CS from 2021 will be air quality, with the aim to reduce ammonia emissions from agriculture.  Under a new Capital Grants offer, existing options that improve air quality such as slurry store covers or planting tree shelter belts will be available as a stand-alone capital agreement, in priority areas, together with two new capital items – automatic floor scrapers and low emission flooring for livestock housing.  The new Capital Grants offer also expands on and replaces the Hedgerows and Boundaries Grant.  In total it offers 67 standalone capital items within 3 groups;

• Boundaries, Trees and Orchards (the previous Hedgerows and Boundaries Grant)
• Water Quality
• Air Quality

Some of the items require approval from a Catchment Sensitive Farming Officer (CSFO) and are only available in High Priority Areas for Water and Air Quality.  Capital agreements are for two years, the maximum grant is £60,000 but there are limits a of  £20,000 for each of the three option groups.

Woodland

Improvements are being made for 2021 onwards to woodland options which will see bracken control and stone wall funding being brought into Woodland Management.  In addition, Woodland Creation and Woodland Management Grants will be combined into one application.

Key Dates

Higher Tier – Open from 9th February 2021.  Application Pack request deadline 31st March.  Closes 30th April.

Mid Tier – Open from 9th February.  Paper Application Pack request deadline 28th May.  Online Application Pack deadline 30th June.  Closes 30th July.

Wildlife Offers – Open from 9th February. Paper Application Pack request deadline 28th May.  No Application Pack required for online applications.  Closes 30th July.

New Capital Grants Offer – Open from 9th February.  Closes 30th April.  6 weeks notice required for CSFO.

New Woodland Creation and Maintenance Grant – Open all year round for applications.

Woodland Tree Health – Open all year round for applications.

Woodland Management Plan – Open all year round for applications.

LAMMA will not now take place at all during 2021.  The annual machinery event which had already been rescheduled from its usual January date to 25th/26th May has been cancelled altogether in 2021 due to the ongoing uncertainties of the Covid-19 pandemic.  The organisers have said it will however, be back on 11th/12th January in 2022.

This year sees the start of the Basic Payment being phased out and we will also get further details of what will be available in the future.  Below is an outline of what is expected and when:

Basic Payment Scheme– A consultation on the Lump Sum exit scheme and Delinking of payments will be published in March.

Countryside Stewardship (CS) – Applications are expected to open shortly.  Whilst ELM is being piloted, the CS scheme will remain open to new applications and those that go into CS will not be penalised if ELM is ‘better’.  The RPA has stated ‘no-one in a CS agreement will be unfairly disadvantaged’ as the transition to ELM takes place.  Those who enter a CS agreement from 2021 onwards will be able to end their agreement, at agreed points, where they have secured a place in ELM.  A new objective for CS from 2021 will be air quality, with the aim to reduce ammonia emissions from agriculture to this end a new stand-alone Capital Grants offer is expected to be available in priority areas for options which tackle this.  Further details are expected in the new CS manual which will be out this month.

Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) – This is the first element of the ELM scheme. According to Defra it should be a ‘straight forward way for farmers to get paid to produce public goods on their land’.  Information on the first phase of the scheme and how farmers can get involved with the pilots will be available in March.  By June 2021 Defra will publish information on how the scheme will work, what farmers will get paid for and how much, with the aim of the first phase of the SFI being available to all by March 2022.

Local Nature Recover (LNR) – The second element of the ELM scheme.  This will pay for actions such as creating, managing or restoring habitats, natural flood and species management.  Defra aims to be piloting this element by the end of 2021.

Landscape Recovery (LR) – The third and final element of ELM.  These will be large-scale projects such as creation or restoration of forests, coastal habitats or peatland.  Many fewer will be offered, Defra aims to offer the first 10 between 2022 and 2024.

Farming in Protected Areas – Funding for improved public access and the environment in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the National Parks.  More information will be made available on this in the first half of 2021.

Animal Health and Welfare – More details here do not look likely until 2022, but Defra has said it would like this to ‘sit alongside its environmental schemes to help farmers to improve animal health and welfare’, so might this be part of the SFI?

Business Planning Advice – This will be offered through the Resilience Support Programme by May 2021.

Support for New Entrants – Currently being co-designed with farmers; updates will published throughout the year, but doesn’t look like anything will be available in 2021.

Farming Investment Fund – This is the ‘Son of the Countryside Productivity Scheme’ and the latest communication from Defra is that it will be open for small and large grants to support farm productivity by October 2021.

Slurry Improvement Scheme – This aims to reduce air and water pollution from slurry.  The scheme should be launched in 2022.  Progress reports are expected throughout 2021.

Innovation, Research and Development Scheme – Defra aims to launch the scheme in 2022.

The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture (TIAH) – A new professional body will be set up later in 2021 which will provide clear direction for all on skills, standards and career routes in the industry.

As further detail becomes available for each of the schemes we will endeavour to keep readers up-to-date.

Defra has published the 2019 Cross Compliance inspection results.  The usual categories remain at the top of the most failed list, but whilst the proportion related to SMR7 creeps down, others are moving up:

SMR 7 Cattle ID and Registration – 47.2% of those inspected failed (50.1% in 2018)

SMR 1 NVZs – 27.8% of those inspected failed (25.4% in 2018)

SMR 13 Animal Welfare – 24.9% of those inspected failed (17.5% in 2018)

SMR 8 Sheep and Goat ID – 21.6% of those inspected failed (21.3% in 2018)

For SMR  7, contrary to popular opinion that it is all about missing eartags, the failure to report and record movements and report the death of an animal are the areas most found to be non-compliant.  Rather worrying is the increase in failures for Animal Welfare.  The full report can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cross-compliance-2019-inspection-results/cross-compliance-2019-inspection-results

Defra has also published a useful list of the records required at a cross-compliance inspection, this can be found at Cross compliance inspections: information needed for an inspection – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

 

 

All of Wales is to become a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone.  The Welsh Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths, has announced that regulations will be introduced across the whole of Wales to protect the health and quality of watercourses from agricultural pollution.  The regulations will come into force on 1st April 2021 and, whilst no details have been published on what these will entail, the Written Statement says the ‘baseline standards’ established by these regulations are ‘not excessive’.  It continues to say they will establish standards of production in Wales ‘comparable’ to those which apply in the rest of the UK and Europe.  It also says the regulations will ensure the regulatory baseline is set at the appropriate level, in accordance with principles of the EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

The Minister said the industry had been given four years to ‘demonstrate a change in behaviour’ but it had not shown the ‘scale, rate and commitment to change needed’.  The introduction of the regulations will be supported by knowledge transfer programmes via Farming Connect and funding for capital grants.  The latter may be available through the Sustainable Production Grant which opens again for Expressions of Interest on 1st February to March 12th 2021.  The SPG provides a maximum grant of 40% towards capital investments in equipment and machinery which have been pre-identified to address nutrient management and improve water, soil and air quality by reducing on farm pollution.  Grants of between £12,000 and £50,000 are available.