Farming for the Future

Big changes lie ahead for the Forest of Bowland’s farmers as the Government prepares to redirect agricultural support payments towards support for restoring nature and the environment.

Britain finally left the European and are freely available to all. Included Union last year and with it the EU’s (amongst others) are clean air and water, controversial Common Agricultural carbon sequestration, biodiversity, flood Policy, or CAP. mitigation, countryside access, cultural The CAP distributed billions of pounds heritage and nature recovery. of publicly-funded support Coordinated by the payments to British farmers National Association of and while these payments (known as the Basic Payment Scheme) will continue for “ Farmers in the Forest of AONBs, the ‘Farming for the Nation’ programme involves 12 AONBs across a few more years, the UK Bowland AONB the country testing new Government has stated its intention to taper them are playing a ways of how farmers could be rewarded for down to zero over the leading role in managing the land in more next seven years. These payments will be replaced shaping the environmentally friendly ways. by an Environmental Land Management (ELM) system, which will reward farmers for taking a more environmentally sensitive approach. ELM is based on the concept of ‘public money framework for the Government’s new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme.” Bowland has joined forces with Nidderdale and North Pennines AONBs to test out how ELM can support high nature value farming, whilst also ensuring it remains resilient and profitable. This includes for public goods’. The testing the usefulness of definition of public goods is that these Land Management Plans as a way to benefits have no economic market, deliver and reward positive management.

It is hoped that Land Management Plans can act as a flexible management tool to help farmers make decisions on how their land can be managed in more environmentally sensitive ways in the future, but also recognises the requirements of the farm business and their local knowledge about what works on their farm.

More nature friendly farming might “For a while now, farm subsidies have include a shift to lower intensity promoted large land area ownership grazing, reducing carbon-intensive and less than favourable high nature inputs, woodland creation, farming methods, so removing field drains to with the Government’s create wetland areas for wading birds and natural flood management. “ A big part of the panel’s focus has been payments moving away from land payments and hopefully more towards Peter Blackwell, who farms at Bell Sykes Farm in Slaidburn, has been extensively involved in the initial round of consultations prior to the pilot schemes as a member of the Northern Hill Farming Panel – a group which was set up on making the public and the Government aware of how farmers and farming can manage the land and the environment in a positive and the environment, the test and trials I am helping with will show high nature value farming can not only produce food sustainably, but protect and enhance the environment as well with the correct guidance and funding” said Peter. to bring together farmers and other organisations to promote farming and the sustainable way” For more details on these far-reaching changes to farming and land environment along the northern upland management, contact the AONB on chain of the Pennines. 01200 448000 / bowland@lancashire.gov.uk

Further details on ELM tests and trials and the Government’s Agricultural Transition Plan can be found here: