30 years of environmental stewardship wasted

[tullah]

Instead of pushing output to make up for BPS loss and play into the governments hands like we have done for ever and a day we ought to cut back , produce less and then enjoy higher returns when food becomes very very short and expensive. Maddens me why us farmers always bust a gut to over supply/produce to keep prices low.

A wheat OPEC perhaps, but too many would break ranks.

 

[Jackov Altraids]

come off it, what did you expect from people in offices ?

nonsense if nature cant be allowed along side commercial farming then there's peoples attitude to blame nothing else. for instance look at all the machinery and vehicles money (needlessly often) spent on , a fraction of that will plant/ maintain a few trees in a corner or allow a boggy corner to be left,a pond to be dug, maize millet and sorghum grown and left for a small shoot whatever.

If your a proper farmer you should be a proper countryman .

Ive said enough now and Secret Army is on in a minute, thats far more interesting and see them people in occupied countries boy did have changes and unimaginable changes to cope with .

ciao .

I'm not sure why you are 'picking a fight' with the people who are trying to get the 'people in offices' to do better.

This farm would be about 70% natural or semi-natural habitat
Income from environmental schemes is £0

Could you please tell me those figures for your farm?

 

[Bury the Trash]

I'm not sure why you are 'picking a fight' with the people who are trying to get the 'people in offices' to do better.

This farm would be about 70% natural or semi-natural habitat
Income from environmental schemes is £0

Could you please tell me those figures for your farm?

I'm not picking a fight with anyone, simply commenting on the constant negative theme(s) .that wont ,actually ,achieve anything tangible
we get nothing from environmental schemes here either ,
i'm not good with figures but...
approx, 5% including the rented land that we farm is woodland (but lightly grazed also ) about 30% is low lying and watercourse floodable /high water table / very low input .
I plant 50 or so trees a year, that might sound high on a small farm, but rabbits and poor take some and the weather...and also the woodburner

 

[icanshootwell]

On a similar note, all my livestock will be going over the next 18 months due to all the problems with muck storage and spreading that are looming, so a farm that hasn’t seen a plough since the war will be mostly turned to arable, which it isn’t ideally suited to but is the least worst option. How can that be good for the environment ?

Don,t plough it.

 

[Hilly]

Actually 31 years since we entered 12% of our farm into the original Countrywide Stewardship scheme. That 12% remains out of production today but now in Mid Tier. It’s seen various name changes of the scheme over the years such as ELS, HLS, ESS, CS - I’ve lost count to be honest but it matters not. The point is that land hasn’t been used commercially for 31 years.

In 2023 when our current scheme ends it’s going to be ripped up and we will crop every square inch of it. The new ELMS scheme is just astonishingly poor and DEFRA must think we’re all stupid if they think it’ll be adopted on mass. Our only option is to farm everything and farm it hard to push output in the hope it’ll go towards the loss of BPS.

The new ELMS schemes have been designed to end farming in this country. Our government is actively shutting us down through the removal of income that subsidised food production. They know it’ll hurt 80% of farms and their plan is to import food. The pandemic has taught them nothing.

It’s a sad state of affairs when 31 years of environmental good is ended due to poor government thinking.

Even sadder that folk went along with the pish in the first place .

 

[unlacedgecko]

On a similar note, all my livestock will be going over the next 18 months due to all the problems with muck storage and spreading that are looming, so a farm that hasn’t seen a plough since the war will be mostly turned to arable, which it isn’t ideally suited to but is the least worst option. How can that be good for the environment ?

Just change your system and retain a different class of livestock.

 

[Hilly]

On a similar note, all my livestock will be going over the next 18 months due to all the problems with muck storage and spreading that are looming, so a farm that hasn’t seen a plough since the war will be mostly turned to arable, which it isn’t ideally suited to but is the least worst option. How can that be good for the environment ?

Probably bankrupt you going into arable

 

[Wombat]

Just change your system and retain a different class of livestock.

Suppose it depends what they like, I would rather go bankrupt than ever keep sheep so people do what they are comfortable with.

 

[unlacedgecko]

Suppose it depends what they like, I would rather go bankrupt than ever keep sheep so people do what they are comfortable with.

Growing cattle can be outwintered.

 

[Wombat]

Growing cattle can be outwintered.

Not here on our clays they end up turning it to passchendaele. Even this year which has been reasonably dry they have to come off in late Oct.

 

[Hilly]

Not here on our clays they end up turning it to passchendaele. Even this year which has been reasonably dry they have to come off in late

Not here on our clays they end up turning it to passchendaele. Even this year which has been reasonably dry they have to come off in late Oct.

Just summer someone else’s cattle ?

 

[Vader]

It says rather a lot when they terminate an interview when they aren't getting the replies they want.
That is the very information they should want to know.

That's the point though with most gov stuff. They have their agenda.
If you don't toe the line they don't want to talk to you.

 

[Wombat]

Just summer someone else’s cattle ?

It’s always an option but with our own straw and popping it back out as muck we are fairly low input anyway and our own sileage. At the moment we are fairly comfortable with it, the loss of subsidy will hurt a bit here but I can see why some will be switching to arable. I would have to drop 50k on drainage to do it to get some flat heavy grasses back to a decent arable. I will take about 6acres back though with a bit of drainage

 

[Hilly]

It’s always an option but with our own straw and popping it back out as muck we are fairly low input anyway and our own sileage. At the moment we are fairly comfortable with it, the loss of subsidy will hurt a bit here but I can see why some will be switching to arable. I would have to drop 50k on drainage to do it to get some flat heavy grasses back to a decent arable. I will take about 6acres back though with a bit of drainage

Summer cattle , sell straw . Job Done easy life .

 

[unlacedgecko]

Not here on our clays they end up turning it to passchendaele. Even this year which has been reasonably dry they have to come off in late Oct.

Move them more often.

 

[steveR]

I’ve done the very same interview and said exactly the same thing. The lady in the end said there wasn’t much point carrying on.

Poor love...

 

[willyorkshire]

Agree. I do find it funny when land owners say selling carbon credits is immoral, but have happily taken vast amounts of tax payer money for simply owning the land

If that's how you want to interpret cheap food at the point of delivery, fine. In fact most of the 'free' money has been reinvested in plant and machinery (at hugely inflated prices) as well as environmental projects, CS etc. If food production actually has to make money for farmers to stay in business, expect food price inflation, lack of food or probably both!

 

[tinsheet]

Move them more often.

Keep numbers down to suit the ground.
what did farmer's of 60-70 years ago do before we all put up sheds?

 

[unlacedgecko]

Keep numbers down to suit the ground.
what did farmer's of 60-70 years ago do before we all put up sheds?

Form an arrangement with an arable farmer with sand within 10miles and have him grow fodder beet for grazing.

Loads of options.

It does amuse me that some commentators are reacting to the loss of BPS with an angry "I'll crop every inch of this place".

Ok then, do it. You're not hurting anyone but yourself.

 

[ajcc]

I’ve done the very same interview and said exactly the same thing. The lady in the end said there wasn’t much point carrying on.

@Janet Hughes Defra “ hear what they want to hear and disregard the rest”
It is DEFRAs idea of a consultation or any EIA appeal, it’s become a staff culture.