Habitat Wales Scheme was Glastir Advanced

[Y Fan Wen]

Had an email from Farming Connect this week inviting me to a webinar about the scheme on the 25th at 7.30. I've never done one of these but I have registered and will see what happens.

Habitat Wales Scheme

On the 21 July 2023, an interim agri-environment scheme was announced to maintain and increase the area of habitat land under management across Wal

businesswales.gov.wales

 

[neilo]

Just reading that link, it looks very limited in it’s scope. No mention of unsprayed roots, wild bird seed covers or woodland pasture (just the ones I have).
I was hoping they would at least have unsprayed roots in, then I’d not be planting Spring cereals at all next year. The only people that made anything out of that this year was the chemical supplier, fertiliser Co and combining contractor. In the absence of that option, I might just fallow a chunk instead.

 

[tepapa]

From what I gather this is a fill in scheme until any new subsidy/agri environmental scheme is introduced which could be 5years away.

There's no capital works just a mediocre set payment on habitat and woodland. Of about £58/ha and less for woodland

 

[Y Fan Wen]

From what I gather this is a fill in scheme until any new subsidy/agri environmental scheme is introduced which could be 5years away.

There's no capital works just a mediocre set payment on habitat and woodland. Of about £58/ha and less for woodland

Where did you find the payment levels?

 

[tepapa]

Where did you find the payment levels?

Payment levels aren't set yet, but it'll be about that

 

[neilo]

From what I gather this is a fill in scheme until any new subsidy/agri environmental scheme is introduced which could be 5years away.

There's no capital works just a mediocre set payment on habitat and woodland. Of about £58/ha and less for woodland

Supposedly just a ‘fill in’ scheme for one year, between the end of Glastir contracts this December, and the beginning of the SFS scheme in 2025 (maybe).

Capital Works can be claimed on other schemes, so they say.

 

[tepapa]

Supposedly just a ‘fill in’ scheme for one year, between the end of Glastir contracts this December, and the beginning of the SFS scheme in 2025 (maybe).

Capital Works can be claimed on other schemes, so they say.

Any new scheme won't be ready in one years time 🫣

 

[neilo]

Any new scheme won't be ready in one years time 🫣

Oh ye of little faith. Surely you don't doubt the competence of RPW?

 

[neilo]

Had an email from Farming Connect this week inviting me to a webinar about the scheme on the 25th at 7.30. I've never done one of these but I have registered and will see what happens.

Habitat Wales Scheme

On the 21 July 2023, an interim agri-environment scheme was announced to maintain and increase the area of habitat land under management across Wal

businesswales.gov.wales

I had a text invite to this at 10am today.
They must be short of replies and fishing round to make numbers up...

 

[tepapa]

I had a text invite to this at 10am today.
They must be short of replies and fishing round to make numbers up...

Same, but it might be a bit late for me to register now.

 

[neilo]

Same, but it might be a bit late for me to register now.

You can usually register up to the last minute and still get a link. Don't ask me how I know.

 

[Y Fan Wen]

Had an email from Farming Connect this week inviting me to a webinar about the scheme on the 25th at 7.30. I've never done one of these but I have registered and will see what happens.

Habitat Wales Scheme

On the 21 July 2023, an interim agri-environment scheme was announced to maintain and increase the area of habitat land under management across Wal

businesswales.gov.wales

Due no doubt to my ignorance I failed to get this to work. I wonder if there is a link to a recording of it?

 

[neilo]

Due no doubt to my ignorance I failed to get this to work. I wonder if there is a link to a recording of it?

There will be. I think they said it would be on the Farming Connect website as soon as they can get it up.

You didn't miss much tbh. Make sure you have a strong coffee first, so that you can stay awake.

Applications/'expressions of interest' can be done from Friday on the RPW portal. Open for 6 weeks, for 12 month contracts to start on Jan 1st. Mostly a scheme to try to stop anyone ploughing up/intensifying existing habitat, and limited scope for adding or changing much. Doesn't seem to be anything for continuing arable management options like unsprayed roots, undersown crops, wild bird seed strips, etc. No budget confirmed yet either.

 

[Al R]

There will be. I think they said it would be on the Farming Connect website as soon as they can get it up.

You didn't miss much tbh. Make sure you have a strong coffee first, so that you can stay awake.

Applications/'expressions of interest' can be done from Friday on the RPW portal. Open for 6 weeks, for 12 month contracts to start on Jan 1st. Mostly a scheme to try to stop anyone ploughing up/intensifying existing habitat, and limited scope for adding or changing much. Doesn't seem to be anything for continuing arable management options like unsprayed roots, undersown crops, wild bird seed strips, etc. No budget confirmed yet either.

Oh I would love to have that option!! There is 200 acre here which would love a sniff of roundup and DD cereals or veg after near 25 years in PP/habitat schemes, PH levels going way to high and P/K levels 4-5 with no obvious ways to reduce them.

 

[Al R]

Habitat Wales Scheme: outline [HTML] | GOV.WALES

On the 21 July 2023, an interim agri-environment scheme was announced to maintain and increase the area of habitat land under management across Wales.

www.gov.wales

 

[neilo]

Habitat Wales Scheme: outline [HTML] | GOV.WALES

On the 21 July 2023, an interim agri-environment scheme was announced to maintain and increase the area of habitat land under management across Wales.

www.gov.wales

View attachment 1139325

You can put pp into 'habitat management' (low/no N) for a year to get the £69/ha. No feeding on this land parcels though, even in extreme weather.

Need a lot of acres of it to be worth bothering though, and tapered after 200 ha.

 

[Pistonbroke]

Pretty sure they have no idea what's happening now. We had an email yesterday inviting us to go on a teams meeting with an Adas specialist to discuss how the new bps( or whatever it's called)
should be set out and how the Glastir schemes should be replaced. Leaving it all a bit last minute, aren't they.

 

[Sierra Lama]

I went to a NFU meeting last night about the scheme, all I will say is people need to be very careful about entering this 'one year scheme' as it states, land entered into this contract can be potentially commiting it to long term habitat of the land.

Thereby it's no longer classed as agricultural land.

The payments are so meagre in the first place that it really is not worth the hassle, paperwork, degradation to the land that entering it into will bring. The worry is, this seems to be a pre cursor to what's coming.

There needs to be some severe push back from our unions now. We in Wales have rolled with the punches and jumped through hoops long enough, if we are not careful itl be death by a thousand cuts. About time we started landing a few of our own shots back.

 

[SilliamWhale]

I went to a NFU meeting last night about the scheme, all I will say is people need to be very careful about entering this 'one year scheme' as it states, land entered into this contract can be potentially commiting it to long term habitat of the land.

Thereby it's no longer classed as agricultural land.

The payments are so meagre in the first place that it really is not worth the hassle, paperwork, degradation to the land that entering it into will bring. The worry is, this seems to be a pre cursor to what's coming.

There needs to be some severe push back from our unions now. We in Wales have rolled with the punches and jumped through hoops long enough, if we are not careful itl be death by a thousand cuts. About time we started landing a few of our own shots back.

I found way back when I was in Tor Gofal I was almost creating a habitat which from what was meant to be a voluntary tradable scheme (haymeadow). Once its habitat you are stuck. So it came out of habitat because I knew the payments wouldn't be the same and now its arable.

A shame but you can't afford to get boxed in

 

[bracken basher]

Due no doubt to my ignorance I failed to get this to work. I wonder if there is a link to a recording of it?