ELM Scheme

devonbeef

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Devon UK
What a load of fudgeing bollllocks.
We could have had a scheme to keep small family and mixed farms viable for the next few decades, instead with have this tosh.
well sod this nonsense, i m justing putting shed up to keep more stock, More hassle than its worth Elms Tie yourself in knots.Bad enough keeping red tractor happy
 

Spencer

Member
Location
North West
I was led to believe you could stack the options, so total of Ā£292 for arable? Throw in some enhanced overwintered stubble in CS for another Ā£200/ha and doesnā€™t look too bad to me.. You do need to stop ploughing maize ground on November and puddling wheat into a mire in December and sloshing slurry onto a foot of snow over frozen ground in February..,, but then we probably shouldnā€™t be doing that that anyway....
 

andybk

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Mendips Somerset
This sounds like a licence for agents / advisors etc to print money ,
"
  1. Complete a soil assessment for texture/drainage/slope/connectivity to a waterbody on 100% of the land in the first year, then record and keep observations then review every two years. In addition, a soil assessment on 20% of land must be completed every single year for soil structure/biological indicators/organic matter.
I thought Gove said "easy to understand can be completed in a few hours" , then go down pub for a pint . yea right !
 
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GeorgeK

Member
Location
Leicestershire
I would be very wary of the arable soils "Convert 50% of high and very high risk land to permanent grass to improve soil structure and soil organic matter levels, and protect against flooding erosion and runoff." You're basically signing a document admitting it shouldn't arable and I wouldn't expect to ever be able to return it to cropping even if you withdraw from the scheme.
 

serf

Member
Location
warwickshire
Heres some more , nothing like keeping it simple šŸ™„.....


SUSTAINABLE FARMING INCENTIVE (SFI): 2022 EARLY ROLLOUT
  • Available Spring 2022.
  • Open to all farmers eligible for BPS.
  • Two standards to choose from: Arable and Horticultural Soils Standard and Improved Grassland Soils Standard (payments of between Ā£26 and Ā£70 per hectare (estimated) and Moorland and Rough Grazing Standard (Payment rate to be confirmed).
  • Annual Health and Welfare Review. Funds a yearly vet visit (Ā£269-Ā£775).
  • More standards to be added as scheme progresses.

So far, we have been involved in the SFI Pilot, which has given us a good idea of what is to follow in further rollouts of SFI (see here). Now however, we have the first brief details of the 2022 early rollout SFI which will be available for everyone.

Compared with the pilot there will be fewer standards to choose from in the first year, with no learning and feedback requirements but also no accompanying ā€˜pilot paymentā€™. It will also be available to all farmers eligible for BPS.

Applying for the early rollout should appeal to a large number of farmers who want an income stream in addition to BPS. This will start mitigating the reducing BPS payments. The selection of standards, whilst limited, will be relevant to most land. Most of the activities will be familiar where other types of payments are being made under existing schemes.

More standards will be added as the scheme progresses towards the final version in 2024.

Standards

Arable and Horticultural Soils Standard and Improved Grassland Soils Standard
This standard aims to reward farmers for management practices that improve soil health by improving soil structure, soil organic matter, and soil biology. There will be three levels of ambition to choose from which decide on the actions required and the payment received. Whilst the payment rate is yet to be confirmed, the estimated rate is between Ā£26 and Ā£70 per hectare.

Moorland and Rough Grazing Standard
This standard involves assessing the variety of habitats and features on moorland ground. Payment will be made to identify pressures on these resources plus the risk of wildfires with maybe no actual actions required. Unlike other standards there will only be one level of ambition. There is currently no information on the payment rate, but DEFRA will announce further details by November.

Annual Health and Welfare Review
This is not a ā€˜standardā€™ as such but is the first glimpse of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway part of ELMs. This is essentially a fund for yearly visits from a vet, providing diagnostic testing and advice on improving livestock health and welfare. This will be available for all commercial cattle, pig and sheep. Depending on the type of livestock, payments will range from Ā£269-Ā£775 per annum.

The length, compliance monitoring and flexibility of agreements are all still being decided upon with the payment rates being finetuned. It is worth noting that the payment rate for the Arable and Horticultural Soils Standard and Improved Grassland Soils Standard is different to similar standards under the pilot scheme suggesting it may require different actions or that DEFRA will be making an amendment to the pilot.
 

digger64

Member
It all seems such a pitiful amount of money for a lot of rules and record keeping etc. It is looking to me like the best way forward for many of us will be to come out of all the schemes and go for maximum production / output.
some of the capital grants for infrastructure look attractive to be fair
, I think a sub schemes on this type of thing would be more useful/beneficial to everyone (and the local economy/wider community) and achieve alot of their aims without the complication,prescriptive management and paperwork etc TBH
 

serf

Member
Location
warwickshire
some of the capital grants for infrastructure look attractive to be fair
, I think a sub schemes on this type of thing would be more useful/beneficial to everyone (and the local economy/wider community) and achieve alot of their aims without the complication,prescriptive management and paperwork etc TBH
Don't suppose they want to make it to simple else every one will be doing it ......
 

Walton2

Member
Buffer strip sizes have increased, hedge buffers to be 4m from center, water buffers 10m wide. That starts to take some serious area off an arable field.
10 feet(3m) around the outside of a 20 acre field is approximately 1 acre,that is 5% of the field area!
That fact particularly annoyed me when Cross Compliance first came along.
I detest the rubbish that occupies that area now.If they want to increase that percentage ,I think the time has come for me to ā€œtake back control ā€œ!!
 

farmerm

Member
Location
Shropshire
How certain are we that at the end of these schemes term, the land can be reinstated to real farming.
@ajcc may have a view with which to inform that discussion...
Taking short term payments for potentially permanent and land devaluing change is extreme folly, it doesn't need to happen, we should stand all make a stand on this point. We have surely learnt the lessons by now! Not a single farmer should sign up and no advisor should allow their client to sign up until that issue is addressed with a legally cast iron guarantee!!!
 

ajcc

Member
Livestock Farmer
How certain are we that at the end of these schemes term, the land can be reinstated to real farming.
@ajcc may have a view with which to inform that discussion...
I told them repeatedly in court.....ā€read my lips Natural England, I am not interested in your schemes, I have not enjoyed our relationship, I am a farmer.ā€

EIA Regulations 2006 Agriculture is the legislation they will use and tune to ā€œshaft agriculture.ā€
 

serf

Member
Location
warwickshire
SUSTAINABLE FARMING INCENTIVE (SFI) 2022 - UPDATE 6.7.2021
SFI 2022 open to those in existing Countryside Stewardship.

Environmental goods produced under an SFI can be sold in the open market.


DEFRA have confirmed that those providing public benefits under an SFI will be able to sell their environmental goods to both government sources and on the open market where companies look to offset their footprint. To this end DEFRA intend to develop and promote private markets for these services. Whilst light on details, it is good news for those concerned about being committed to one sector or the other and means there is more to consider than just the initial payment for completing environmental actions, making the SFI an increasingly attractive option.
There is now confirmation of the four options available to applicants applying for the SFI in 2022.
  • Arable and horticultural soils standard
  • Improved grassland soils standard
  • Moorland and rough grazing standard
  • Annual Health and Welfare Review
These standards will be open to those eligible for payments under BPS and applications open in spring 2022 via a digital service on GOV.UK. As previously indicated the scheme will be open to those who already have an agreement under an existing agri-environment scheme (such as Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship) as long as the standard they choose is compatible with the existing agreement and does not result in double payment for similar activities. Countryside Stewardship will still be open for applications in 2022 and 2023, with the last agreements starting in 2024. Final versions of this initial set of standards will be released by November 2021.

Payment rates for soil standards

These will be confirmed in November 2021, the rate for the moorland and rough grazing standard is still under development.
Improved grassland soils (per hectare):
  • introductory: Ā£26
  • intermediate: Ā£44
  • advanced: Ā£70
Arable and horticultural soils (per hectare):
  • introductory: Ā£26
  • intermediate: Ā£41
  • advanced: Ā£60
Payments for Annual Health and Welfare Review

This will fund a yearly visit from a vet. It is expected to range from approximately Ā£269 to Ā£775, varying by species.
  • Available initially for all commercial cattle, pig and sheep keepers who are eligible for BPS.
  • This is a time limited offer for three years.
DEFRA have provided a list of standards currently under consideration which may become available as the scheme progresses.
  • agroforestry standard
  • hedgerows standard
  • arable and horticulture land standard
  • waterbody buffering standard.
  • improved grassland standard
  • low and no input grassland standard
  • farm woodland standard
  • dry stone walls standard
  • heritage standard
  • farmyard infrastructure standard
  • orchards and permanent crops standard
  • peat soils standard
Landscape Recovery

This will focus on the delivery of landscape and ecosystem recovery through long-term, land use change projects. Funding for these projects may be a combination of private and public sources with at least 10 projects to launch between 2022 and 2024.
  • Proposed to be available to applications from sites of between 500 to 5,000 hectares.
  • May be undertaken by collaborative groups of farmers and land managers, individuals, or organisations such as non-government organisations.
  • Open for applications in the autumn 2021.
The big news is that SFI claims can be combined with private sector funding, either directly for environmental activity or through carbon or biodiversity offsets. The aim will be to maximise ā€œecosystem servicesā€ - economically valuable benefits from the environment. With increased predictions of the Government developing a certification of soil carbon and the intention to develop and support private markets; this could dramatically increase rural income as ā€œNatural Capitalā€ is valued on an open market basis and becomes tradeable as we head towards 2050.



CARBON TRADING

Thank you for all your enquiries about our Carbon trading. You may be interested following the launch of the English Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) in our latest updates - see here.

Carbon credits available: 13,700, 8,500, 3,200 and 22,000
Wanted: 300,000 PIUs
 

Bryher @ Landworkers

Member
āœ“
Hello,

I have just listened to a podcast featuring a regenerative livestock farming couple, and they were discussing the changes from BPS to the ELM scheme. What are everyone's thoughts on the ELM scheme? Will it make farming fairer? Will it change things for new entrants? Does anyone have any ideas what activities will fit into each of the three tiers? On rented land will it be the land owner or the tenant who will be responsible for meeting the ELM guidelines?

If anyone would be willing to share their thoughts and opinions that would be great!

For anyone who would like support with the ag transition, this is a great free program:

Are you in receipt of Direct Payments? Would you like some help and support with the agricultural transition?

The 'Your Farming Future' programme is helping farmers and land managers prepare for the agricultural transition and build farm businesses that will work for you and future generations. The programme supports the integration of resilience into all aspects of farming systems, looking at agroecological land-management, shortening supply chains, and resilient financial practices.

This programme is being run by the Landworkersā€™ Alliance in collaboration with the Pasture Fed Livestock Association and Organic Research Centre. The following support is available for FREE to farmers:

  • FARMER TO FARMER WEBINARS - weekly webinars for farmers on topics covering all aspects of transitioning your farm to a more environmentally and financially resilient business.

  • 1 ON 1 ADVICE & PEER SUPPORT - through our farm advisory services, peer to peer support networks and farm tours

  • TRANSITION TOOL KIT - information, resources and sector specific films sharing case studies of different environmental land management practices and farming models
To be eligible you must have an SBI number and be in ENGLAND in the following sectors:

Medium to large scale horticulture (above 5 hectares)
SME dairy production
SME red meat production
Mixed farming systems


For more information and to sign up, go to:

https://landworkersalliance.org.uk/your-farming-future/
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.2%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 65 34.8%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.0%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% Iā€™ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

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

  • 1,289
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: ā€œRed Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in Aprilā€œ

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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