Melton Messenger April 2020

48
Following on from my last wet weather
report … nothing has happened by late
February other than it is now wetter than
ever! Perhaps by the time you read this,
things might have improved, we can but
hope.
Other than dealing with
the weather, assuming
that the Agriculture Bill
passes through
parliament relatively
unaltered, farmers will
soon be tussling with
forthcoming changes to
agricultural support,
against the uncertainty
of a new trading
environment post-Brexit.
Rural Ramblings -View from the Farm
Julia Hawley helps husband Ian
and his family to run Hall Farm
in Brentingby where his family
have farmed since the 1880’s.
Here they manage a traditional
mixed farm with sheep, beef,
arable and dairy enterprises.
Currently support payments take two forms –
the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) and agrienvironment
schemes. Most farmers opt into
the former, which pays on an acreage basis
in return for compliance with a range of laws
and extra requirements. On most commercial
cropping arms, this includes an element of
‘greening’ such as maintaining hedgerows,
environmentally friendly cover crops or areas
of fallow. Fewer farmers are in the latter,
which pays for very specific elements of
capital and ongoing environmental work
tailored to each farm and applications have
historically been assessed on a ‘value for
money’ basis.
The Basic Payment will be phased out from
2021, with the largest reductions initially on
larger farms, but it will disappear from all
farms by 2027.
‘public payment for public goods’. As well as
options such as those currently available –
e.g. hay meadow management, pollen and
nectar mixes, beetle banks, protection of
historic landscapes – other ecosystem
services will be supported, such as flood
management and carbon sequestration.
Designing such a scheme is very complex
and widespread consultation with farmers
and other groups is taking place. Taking part
in such a scheme will probably be the only
way that farmers will gain any public sector
support.
The worrying part is that on many farms,
current profit equals or
is less than the current
Basic Payment – in
other words, the costs
of producing milk,
meat, vegetables, grain
and other produce are
more than the sales
revenue from them.
Taking part in any
environmental scheme
carries its own costs
and any ‘profit’ from the payment is unlikely
to support current farm viability.
This will be the biggest shake-up to our
industry for over 40 years when we joined the
Common Agricultural Policy. There is
potential for some productivity and efficiency
increases, partly with adoption of new
technology, but recent weather has shown
how our ability to produce food is, as ever, at
the mercy of the weather.
Will there be a much – needed realism that
the price of food has to rise if welfare and
environmental standards are to be
maintained? Or will consumers – via the
multiple retailers and big caterers – opt for
the easy option buying cheaper and possibly
food from where standards are not so
demanding?
A new scheme will be introduced –
supposedly from 2024 although that is
looking optimistic. The Environmental Land
Management (ELM) scheme will provide
Julia Hawley
@brentingbyfarm
www.brentingbymeadows.co.uk