Hindsight
Member
- Location
- Lincolnshire
it was probably the 1% that lobbied hard for the scheme to be designed like this originally. They have got their contracts sorted now, they have got their way.
to everyone else.
Well no actually if my experience is anything to go by!. I have been to farms which have placed all there land into one or more of these 6 actions. But they have been small farms of 11 to 45 hectares. Not landed gentry estates. Just older retired farmers - tenants in two cases. Never dreamed of such action until the Guidelines were published last July and then amended to be even more favourable in August.
Most of the rest where around 20 - 30% of land has been entered into one of the options is where crops have failed and land is wet and have taken advantage of the SFI Lifeboat with every intention of reducing this by 50% from the Autumn when they will go back to cropping Or will drop Oilseed Rape and other Break Crops. Again very logical agronomic and financial reasons. It is this market price influence which Defra do not seem to acknowledge. Hey ho.