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New Member
Liz Bowles , head of farming at the Soil Association, is warning that runaway maize is threatening South West farmers
In the South West we grow approximately 74,000 hectares of maize each year, more than double that of any other region in the UK.
Most is used for livestock feed but as anaerobic digesters become more common, maize is increasingly grown as a feedstock. The growth in maize production is becoming a serious problem for soils, often causing severe damage to the environment.
Maize production has increased from just 8,000 hectares in England in 1973 to around 183,000 hectares in 2014 with huge implications for our environment.
This is becoming a national scandal, especially when an increasing proportion of maize is being grown for anaerobic digestion (AD) which takes land out of the reach of livestock farmers, as the double subsidy received by AD means that farmers growing maize for this purpose can pay much higher land rentals than for any other usage.
Maize can be responsible for significant environmental damage to soils and affects water quality. It leaves soil exposed for much of the growing season, increasing surface run off, leaching nutrients from soils, and during heavy rain sending water cascading from compacted soils to pour pesticides into waterways and cause widespread flooding.
In the South West we feel the brunt of this crop's impact. In 2013 the South West was the most densely cultivated region for maize, while at the same time soils in the South West are more vulnerable to winter damage due to the amount and intensity of rainfall we receive.
The flooding of the levels is a case in point, and the disastrous effect this quantity of rainfall had on farmers forced many into dire straits. Researchers estimate that during the storms in the winter of 2013/14, every ten-hectare block of damaged land under maize stubble produced the equivalent of 15 Olympic swimming pools (375 million litres) of additional runoff.
It is time for our Government to take notice of the damaging nature of maize when not grown following best practice, and to adopt legislation to outlaw such practices so that maize is only grown following best practice. This means under-sowing maize crops, sowing early maturing varieties, not growing maize on the same field year in year out and not growing maize on unsuitable fields.
Our soils are in crisis and if we do not act soon we may cause permanent harm to our land. The boom in maize cultivation is fuelled by the popularity of its use as a so-called biofuel in anaerobic digesters. As this 'green' energy increases, the threat to our soil will grow.
Biogas produced from maize not only provides no net benefit to the environment, it actually increases environmental degradation and reduces the amount of land available to produce food. Recent research also concluded that 'using agricultural crops for biogas production is not environmentally sustainable, and policy should not encourage this practice'. We are already seeing the vast damage nationwide this crop is causing and without sufficient guidance in place, farmers will have no options in safeguarding their land from environmental damage. Many farmers are literally being paid to cause significant harm to the vital resources we rely on for survival.
Increased maize production drives up farmland rents, as investors rush to lease land for maize cultivation, and benefit from double subsidies. Maize growers are subsidised under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and AD plants using maize receive the Feed-in Tariff and the Renewable Heat Incentive subsidies. In 2015 the total amount that will be paid to farmers growing maize amounts to almost £33 million.
This puts further pressure on our struggling livestock farmers who need to rent pasture for their livestock. In addition, 'renewable' energy subsidies for maize used in AD plants are costing British energy consumers up to £50 million per year.
The Soil Association is calling for the removal of all subsidies available for AD digesters fuelled in whole or partly by maize. We hope that this will reverse the explosion in maize and prevent the UK following Germany's lead into a country where agriculture is set to growing energy, not food. The UK already imports 40 per cent of all food consumed and this is expected to increase. Giving up land which could be producing food threatens our food security and makes us vulnerable to volatile global markets.
It is very possible to grow maize to better standards that reduce the risks to soils and the environment, but we do not currently have a policy in place to encourage this. Some farmers are already using maize to their advantage, but not enough of them.
But we can reverse this trend. Changes to practices in growing maize more sustainably and reducing the impacts to soil and water include planting a winter cover crop or green cover after harvesting so soil is not left bare throughout the winter, and improves the structure and drainage of soil. Use of early maturing varieties means an earlier harvest, which allows time for the planting of winter cover and minimises compaction.
Increasingly farmers in the South West are being helped to develop better practice for maize growing as this will help them keep their soils healthy. However there is still a lot of late harvested maize grown here. Some 75 per cent of late harvested sites (in the South West) showed high or severe levels of soil degradation, leading to enhanced water runoff.
Clearer policy measures for maize growing are needed together with removal of double subsidies for AD feedstock crops, but until these are produced by the Government it is up to farmers to make decisions based on the productivity of their own land in order to maintain soil quality.
Credit : WDP
In the South West we grow approximately 74,000 hectares of maize each year, more than double that of any other region in the UK.
Most is used for livestock feed but as anaerobic digesters become more common, maize is increasingly grown as a feedstock. The growth in maize production is becoming a serious problem for soils, often causing severe damage to the environment.
Maize production has increased from just 8,000 hectares in England in 1973 to around 183,000 hectares in 2014 with huge implications for our environment.
This is becoming a national scandal, especially when an increasing proportion of maize is being grown for anaerobic digestion (AD) which takes land out of the reach of livestock farmers, as the double subsidy received by AD means that farmers growing maize for this purpose can pay much higher land rentals than for any other usage.
Maize can be responsible for significant environmental damage to soils and affects water quality. It leaves soil exposed for much of the growing season, increasing surface run off, leaching nutrients from soils, and during heavy rain sending water cascading from compacted soils to pour pesticides into waterways and cause widespread flooding.
In the South West we feel the brunt of this crop's impact. In 2013 the South West was the most densely cultivated region for maize, while at the same time soils in the South West are more vulnerable to winter damage due to the amount and intensity of rainfall we receive.
The flooding of the levels is a case in point, and the disastrous effect this quantity of rainfall had on farmers forced many into dire straits. Researchers estimate that during the storms in the winter of 2013/14, every ten-hectare block of damaged land under maize stubble produced the equivalent of 15 Olympic swimming pools (375 million litres) of additional runoff.
It is time for our Government to take notice of the damaging nature of maize when not grown following best practice, and to adopt legislation to outlaw such practices so that maize is only grown following best practice. This means under-sowing maize crops, sowing early maturing varieties, not growing maize on the same field year in year out and not growing maize on unsuitable fields.
Our soils are in crisis and if we do not act soon we may cause permanent harm to our land. The boom in maize cultivation is fuelled by the popularity of its use as a so-called biofuel in anaerobic digesters. As this 'green' energy increases, the threat to our soil will grow.
Biogas produced from maize not only provides no net benefit to the environment, it actually increases environmental degradation and reduces the amount of land available to produce food. Recent research also concluded that 'using agricultural crops for biogas production is not environmentally sustainable, and policy should not encourage this practice'. We are already seeing the vast damage nationwide this crop is causing and without sufficient guidance in place, farmers will have no options in safeguarding their land from environmental damage. Many farmers are literally being paid to cause significant harm to the vital resources we rely on for survival.
Increased maize production drives up farmland rents, as investors rush to lease land for maize cultivation, and benefit from double subsidies. Maize growers are subsidised under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and AD plants using maize receive the Feed-in Tariff and the Renewable Heat Incentive subsidies. In 2015 the total amount that will be paid to farmers growing maize amounts to almost £33 million.
This puts further pressure on our struggling livestock farmers who need to rent pasture for their livestock. In addition, 'renewable' energy subsidies for maize used in AD plants are costing British energy consumers up to £50 million per year.
The Soil Association is calling for the removal of all subsidies available for AD digesters fuelled in whole or partly by maize. We hope that this will reverse the explosion in maize and prevent the UK following Germany's lead into a country where agriculture is set to growing energy, not food. The UK already imports 40 per cent of all food consumed and this is expected to increase. Giving up land which could be producing food threatens our food security and makes us vulnerable to volatile global markets.
It is very possible to grow maize to better standards that reduce the risks to soils and the environment, but we do not currently have a policy in place to encourage this. Some farmers are already using maize to their advantage, but not enough of them.
But we can reverse this trend. Changes to practices in growing maize more sustainably and reducing the impacts to soil and water include planting a winter cover crop or green cover after harvesting so soil is not left bare throughout the winter, and improves the structure and drainage of soil. Use of early maturing varieties means an earlier harvest, which allows time for the planting of winter cover and minimises compaction.
Increasingly farmers in the South West are being helped to develop better practice for maize growing as this will help them keep their soils healthy. However there is still a lot of late harvested maize grown here. Some 75 per cent of late harvested sites (in the South West) showed high or severe levels of soil degradation, leading to enhanced water runoff.
Clearer policy measures for maize growing are needed together with removal of double subsidies for AD feedstock crops, but until these are produced by the Government it is up to farmers to make decisions based on the productivity of their own land in order to maintain soil quality.
Credit : WDP