New information about local nature recovery and landscape recovery

[DrWazzock]

££££
oh come on Jack, keep up!

The Goldsmith brothers are desperate to channel taxpayers money into their green investment funds. What better place for them to organise this than round the top table at DEFRA.
If this was happening between Putin and his cronies it would be roundly and rightly condemned. But strangely when it happens here, nobody seems to notice or be that bothered about it. It’s a heist at the highest level. Make no mistake about it.
Have a Google of the sort of green investment banking the Goldsmiths are involved in if you want to know more. They are desperate for taxpayers money to underpin those funds. Without taxpayer funding, most of these green schemes are about as seaworthy as a brick in a cardboard box.

 

[onesiedale]

would love to interview him about this statement as it is simply incoherent.

@Abi Kay

 

[topground]

The Goldsmith brothers are desperate to channel taxpayers money into their green investment funds. What better place for them to organise this than round the top table at DEFRA.
If this was happening between Putin and his cronies it would be roundly and rightly condemned. But strangely when it happens here, nobody seems to notice or be that bothered about it. It’s a heist at the highest level. Make no mistake about it.
Have a Google of the sort of green investment banking the Goldsmiths are involved in if you want to know more. They are desperate for taxpayers money to underpin those funds. Without taxpayer funding, most of these green schemes are about as seaworthy as a brick in a cardboard box.

@Janet Hughes Defra just in case you missed this post.
The Yes Minister line; ‘You may very well think that but I couldn’t possibly comment’ comes to mind.

 

[onesiedale]

@Janet Hughes Defra just in case you missed this post.
The Yes Minister line; ‘You may very well think that but I couldn’t possibly comment’ comes to mind.

sadly I think all of current politics is the Yes Minister series being played out in full.

 

[Dave645]

DEFRA are testing your recommendations as we speak with the option of choosing LNR options all the way down to the square metre if that is what you choose online on the interactive map.. Dont dispair just yet we just have to be patient sadly.. i lack patience too!!

I think they just like to over complicate things, the old ELS system was simple get the points get the money, simple have a few point spare in case something you did was wrong, no need for penities and even if you mess up bad your new average points total dictate the money you lose so one point under you lose 3.3% if 30 points is 100%

@Janet Hughes Defra
the other reason I like the old system ELS for the new system, is that one system can run all the scheme levels so one form, one mapping system, you as a farmer get list of options and you select what you want where. Some options are only available in areas selected by the schemes. The points per ha can all set dictate the money you receive so if you don’t hit exactly a target you still get close, and with a staggered base support where small farms are supported better than bigger as .I have suggested in other posts it can support the more needy better.
It also delivers support for existing environmental stuff the farms maybe already doing. Because points for existing stuff covers that simply.

Not 3 schemes with levels each with their own conditions and controls and rules and applications, no need for us to employ agents to fill out and create complex scheme applications, that may be refused.

It can also be deployed over time year one the farm audit and points calculation, with options to make up the points totals from field options DEFRA are encouraging to make up the short fall, year 2 the landscape recover map overlay come out farmers can select options for land in those areas, year 3 the last part of the scheme comes out where more permanent scheme options come out again on the maps. If you have an over subscription then you reduce everyone’s applications by the % of over subscription so 10% over sub you tell farmers 10% of the application they made has to be taken out of the application or funding level on items in their application drops by up to 10%
Then if some farmers drop land out and reduce the over application to only 5% then reductions in payments are only 5% the farmers that left their full application in gamble on the reduction in payments and DEFRA get a 5% increase of land in the scheme for no extra money.

The other option is DEFRA enforce reductions in everyone’s application area.

Next they get to set at what farm size got the full money based on BPS which was about £90/acre if that was a 60ha farm or smaller then the sliding scale came in so a farms area between 61-100ha get 90% then land on a farm in the 101-150 ha range only get 80% etc etc DEFRA have a budget they would work it out so if everyone entered the scheme at the base level only the money for this section of the scheme. If that’s 30% or 50% etc etc.
It would be simple maths take the first 400ha of every farm that applied in 2019 total that up in area, then group up farm sizes 2-60ha 61-100 all the way up to 400ha plus then apply the max money the scheme has to offer and adjust payments to fit. Note in England 75% of farms are under 100ha but, are only about 25% of the total area farmed so even if you gave every one full money for the first 100ha of their farm it’s likely only 30% of the farming budget so even if you do this region by region base on historic BPS area payments, it works out.
So a sliding scale where only those on smaller farms get the full old money I am sure it could work, and help support small farms without breaking the system, and big farms still get paid for the first area of their farms but then it’s stops.

remembers points come from existing farm environmental things like hedges woods etc, and management options like under the old ELS like enhanced hedgerows and enhanced ditch management, fallow etc etc and options DEFRA want, all earn points that the farm has to get 30 points per ha over the area that are putting into the scheme.

 

[Huno]

But why would you just use the old system that worked so well when you can "reinvent" the wheel and drag it out over 5yrs? I do wish that common sense approaches like this suggestion might be listened too but alas not thus far....

 

[Bramble]

@Janet Hughes Defra any chance of linking these ELMS/SFI payments to inflation RPI or CPI??

I’m sure your salary will be going up a bit every year. Our costs go up every year but a farmers subsidy (or call it a state salary) remains the same for the term of any agreement.

Would you sign an employment contract for say 5 years with no prospect of a pay increase???

 

[tepapa]

Would you sign an employment contract for say 5 years with no prospect of a pay increase???

Pay increase? DEFRA are reducing the payment on some options to reflect their interpretation of income forgone.
It's not even a payment to look after /manage the environment, it's to replace the income you lost not farming it to its potential.

 

[Huno]

Pay increase? DEFRA are reducing the payment on some options to reflect their interpretation of income forgone.
It's not even a payment to look after /manage the environment, it's to replace the income you lost not farming it to its potential.

Oh no they are not!! Phil Clarke at Farmers Weekly keeps publishing the fact everyone in CS has had a 30% pay rise even if i did tell him that Eustice and Prentis are lying ☆☆☆☆'s
Gotta love fake news and propaganda!!
Oh well...

 

[Huno]

Very good to see that Baroness Kate Rock is being asked to review how ELM's can integrate tenant farmers. She need to hear from tenants asap. At present tenants will struggle to join LNR or LR and landlords will take most of SFI as rent... lobby or write to her..

 

[DRC]

Interesting piece about Elms on country file , which I rarely watch .
one farmer who had been in the pilot wasn’t going to continue and said he’d be better off farming every inch to its limits . The chap that said £40/ ha was enough for a clover cover crop, then admitted he’d sold his sheep and now works for the soil association . So it obviously doesn’t pay enough to farm it

 

[Huno]

Interesting piece about Elms on country file , which I rarely watch .
one farmer who had been in the pilot wasn’t going to continue and said he’d be better off farming every inch to its limits . The chap that said £40/ ha was enough for a clover cover crop, then admitted he’d sold his sheep and now works for the soil association . So it obviously doesn’t pay enough to farm it

 

[Huno]

Victoria Prentis just replied to the ELM's debate in Westminster hall. At least the UK is self sufficient in swede at 3p per swede to the farmer and she quoted 1930's self sufficency for food figures! Time for a re shuffle and a govt that is listening and paying please @janethughes defra

 

[Janet Hughes Defra]

@Janet Hughes Defra any chance of linking these ELMS/SFI payments to inflation RPI or CPI??

I’m sure your salary will be going up a bit every year. Our costs go up every year but a farmers subsidy (or call it a state salary) remains the same for the term of any agreement.

Would you sign an employment contract for say 5 years with no prospect of a pay increase???

We've said we'll keep payment rates under review, we haven't decided on how frequently we'll do that in the new schemes, yet - we will take feedback like this into consideration when we advise ministers on this issue

 

[Bramble]

We've said we'll keep payment rates under review, we haven't decided on how frequently we'll do that in the new schemes, yet - we will take feedback like this into consideration when we advise ministers on this issue

Thank you - it was a big reason that I didnt sign up for a second 5 year period of the old ELS

 

[gloria1]

I wonder if Lord Benyon, a parliamentary under secretary of state and rural affairs, at DEFRA, will be one of those chosen for nature recovery as a part of his 14000 acre estate. Why start with a very few applicants receiving a considerable part of the funds,surely it should be spread far and wide across all farms.What a bad message.

 

[Huno]

My favourite quote by Neil Parish when refering to DEFRA about having too many staff and nobody making a decision made me laugh but sooo true " one boy's a boy, two boy's is half a boy and three boy's is no boy's at all!! Classic...

 

[J 1177]

The Goldsmith brothers are desperate to channel taxpayers money into their green investment funds. What better place for them to organise this than round the top table at DEFRA.
If this was happening between Putin and his cronies it would be roundly and rightly condemned. But strangely when it happens here, nobody seems to notice or be that bothered about it. It’s a heist at the highest level. Make no mistake about it.
Have a Google of the sort of green investment banking the Goldsmiths are involved in if you want to know more. They are desperate for taxpayers money to underpin those funds. Without taxpayer funding, most of these green schemes are about as seaworthy as a brick in a cardboard box.

It stinks to high heaven, the post office scandle mk2

 

[BrianV]

We've said we'll keep payment rates under review, we haven't decided on how frequently we'll do that in the new schemes, yet - we will take feedback like this into consideration when we advise ministers on this issue

It would seem to me that this whole scheme is designed to grease the palms of the old & recently new landed gentry by old Etonians in the hope of a prosperous future for a lucky few.
This is being enabled by easily misguided civil service minions thinking they are saving the world where in truth they are simply taking support from smaller farms & redistributing that money in future to the idle rich.
Need a new boating trout lake then no problem we can call it a reservoir & a half million bung is on it's way to ease your pain.
We are constantly being told the average age of farmers is nearing their pension age but tell me where is the help & support for the smaller farms where younger farmers should start out, there seems little help or sympathy coming from Defra, it would seem they simply want ever bigger estates & conglomerates doing little whilst food import levels rise ever more.
Our subsidy system has always favoured the large estates in England thanks to vested interests including the NFU & it might have been hoped that in leaving the EU this would change but I guess those with the most money will always feather their own nests!

Carry on Janet why change the habits of a lifetime!!

 

[yellow belly]

It would seem to me that this whole scheme is designed to grease the palms of the old & recently new landed gentry by old Etonians in the hope of a prosperous future for a lucky few.
This is being enabled by easily misguided civil service minions thinking they are saving the world where in truth they are simply taking support from smaller farms & redistributing that money in future to the idle rich.
Need a new boating trout lake then no problem we can call it a reservoir & a half million bung is on it's way to ease your pain.
We are constantly being told the average age of farmers is nearing their pension age but tell me where is the help & support for the smaller farms where younger farmers should start out, there seems little help or sympathy coming from Defra, it would seem they simply want ever bigger estates & conglomerates doing little whilst food import levels rise ever more.
Our subsidy system has always favoured the large estates in England thanks to vested interests including the NFU & it might have been hoped that in leaving the EU this would change but I guess those with the most money will always feather their own nests!

Carry on Janet why change the habits of a lifetime!!

Over the last 80 years estates have sold off land to farmers often because they could not farm it and make a profit despite the deficiency payment system and eu cap
Plenty of farmers run bigger farms than their grand farmers
The subs helped farmers grow their business