Big announcement tonight!

Sid

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
South Molton
You are well down the 'new' road that many will now be treading, in the future

HM Govt wants more like yourself now in 2021
We have seen the bloody government putting money into organic conversion and watching the market crash!

Organic needs, and will be one step ahead of the game.
Have seen this already partially with the discussions on net zero. Organic has answered many of the questions already on soils and carbon. Will everyone have to be "organic" no, but will have to think about land management (not necessarily livestock or crop protection) more organically IMHO.
 

miniconnect

Member
Location
Argyll
Full text of the announcement :

Agriculture Bill to boost environment and food production
Landmark legislation to boost productivity and reward environmental improvements in the farming sector for decades to come.
Published 16 January 2020
From:Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and The Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP

Gated field with sheep in front of hills dotted with trees and a bright blue sky

A future where farmers are properly supported to farm more innovatively and protect the environment is a step closer today following the introduction of the Agriculture Bill.
The landmark legislation introduced today will provide a boost to the industry after years of inefficient and overly bureaucratic policy dictated to farmers by the EU.
It sets out how farmers and land managers in England will in the future be rewarded with public money for “public goods” – such as better air and water quality, higher animal welfare standards, improved access to the countryside or measures to reduce flooding. This will contribute to the government’s commitment to reaching net zero emissions by 2050, while at the same time, helping to boost farmers’ productivity.
This will replace the current subsidy system of Direct Payments which pays farmers for the total amount of land farmed, skewing payments towards the largest landowners rather than those farmers delivering specific public benefits.
Instead, the new measures will provide a better future for agriculture in this country, maximising the potential of the land for food production and for delivering public goods.
The reforms set out in the Bill are supported by the manifesto commitment to maintain overall annual funding for farm support at current levels for the duration of this Parliament.
Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers said:

The new Bill champions British food by improving transparency and fairness in the supply chain from farm to fork and through investing in new technology and research to ensure our world-renowned food producers remain competitive and innovative.
Investing in the foundations of food production, such as clean air, soils and water, will safeguard our food security and the Bill will legally require any UK government to report regularly on food security to Parliament.
By collecting data from across the supply chain, the government will also help food producers strengthen their negotiating position at the farm gate and seek a fairer return.
In order to spend more on boosting productivity and environmental benefits, Direct Payments will be phased out over an agricultural transition period, which is due to start in 2021 and run for seven years.
Later in the agricultural transition, the government plans to ‘delink’ Direct Payments from the requirement to farm the land, a requirement that currently exists under EU law. This will give farmers greater flexibility to plan for their future as these payments will be able to be used by farmers to invest in their business, diversify their activities or help new people enter the sector.
For farmers new to environmental work or hoping to do more than they currently do under the future Environment Land Management (ELM) scheme, the transition period will also allow them time to understand how new schemes can work best for their farm.
The government has already announced that the funding available for Direct Payments for 2020 will be the same as for 2019, and the Direct Payments to Farmers (Legislative Continuity) Bill has been introduced to Parliament to enable us to make Direct Payments to farmers for the 2020 scheme year– giving much-welcomed certainty to our farmers and food producers.
For subsequent years we are committed to matching the current budget available to farmers in every year of this Parliament, providing certainty and stability in advance of transitioning to the new system in England and phasing out direct payments in favour of rewarding the provision of “public goods”.
"the government plans to ‘delink’ Direct Payments from the requirement to farm the land,"

Does this mean that those who are barely farming, like 6 cows on 200 acres will now be able to not keep any cows at all and claim as big a payment no as everyone else and say it's a nature reserve?!

Hopefully the Scottish gov don't follow suit....
 

Scribus

Member
Location
Central Atlantic
A brief read of the BBC spin sheet gives an overriding impression of a political desire to decouple UK agriculture from EU agriculture under the guise of being green, a term which is becoming ever more transparent as an excuse for all types of skullduggery -

Instead in post-Brexit Britain they will be rewarded for providing services for society like clean air, clean and plentiful water, flood protection and thriving wildlife.

Like that's never been thought of before!
 

teslacoils

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
Well, that was worth the wait......or not. No wonder it was a midnight special. Must have taken them ages to produce an A4 sheet of buzzwords to satisfy the Guardian and the BNP. No detail. Let's see how watered down it gets, and how long before the new "streamlined" less bureaucratic idea result in tendering for a new *groan* IT system.
 

Against_the_grain

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
S.E
Organic needs, and will be one step ahead of the game.
Have seen this already partially with the discussions on net zero. Organic has answered many of the questions already on soils and carbon. Will everyone have to be "organic" no, but will have to think about land management (not necessarily livestock or crop protection) more organically IMHO.

I cant understand how anyone thinks Organic farming will help Soil Heath and Structure? Instead of a single pass with a benign non selective herbicide lets cultivate the soil numerous times instead shall we!? See how the soil life/structure likes that..
 
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farmerm

Member
Location
Shropshire
A brief read of the BBC spin sheet gives an overriding impression of a political desire to decouple UK agriculture from EU agriculture under the guise of being green, a term which is becoming ever more transparent as an excuse for all types of skullduggery -

Instead in post-Brexit Britain they will be rewarded for providing services for society like clean air, clean and plentiful water, flood protection and thriving wildlife.

Like that's never been thought of before!

“Rewarded” With a certificate and a well done scented sticker after they have pulled our pants down...! :rolleyes:
 

Scribus

Member
Location
Central Atlantic
I cant understand how anyone who thinks Organic will help Soil Heath and Structure? Instead of a single pass with a benign non selective herbicide lets cultivate the soil numerous times instead shall we!? See how the soil life/structure likes that..
That is to assume that the government is more concerned about farming and food supply rather than appealing to mumsies in the commuter belts.
 

Sid

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
South Molton
I cant understand how anyone who thinks Organic will help Soil Heath and Structure? Instead of a single pass with a benign non selective herbicide lets cultivate the soil numerous times instead shall we!? See how the soil life/structure likes that..
And a chemical is ok? Antibiotic usage has been reduced why can't chemical use? We have to think smarter and be more innovative.
Why numerous times?
 

teslacoils

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
My biggest concern is they give dog walkers the right to roam (although most dog walkers already think they have that right)
“Public access to the countryside” sends shivers down my spine.

It's as if the public highway isn't enough that they have to let their pooch run over your land. About time these vegan nutjobs started liberating dogs from those folk without enough garden to exercise then in.
 

Scribus

Member
Location
Central Atlantic
My biggest concern is they give dog walkers the right to roam (although most dog walkers already think they have that right)
“Public access to the countryside” sends shivers down my spine.
I doubt that we will ever see a bill granting greater public access to Whitehall, but it might do more good than any other for the governance of Britain.
 
I reckon cover crop/catch crop/mustard/ clover in the arable rotation to act as a fallow and build OM
Ploughing once in a rotation
Scratching the top with discs will become the normal practice

how that will help our Grade 3 heavy wet plasticine clay I don’t know
Time will tell
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 80 42.1%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 67 35.3%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 15.8%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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