So is this going to persuade you to plant land with trees?

Will the new EWCO offer persuade you to plant significant areas of farmland with trees?

  • Yes

  • Maybe.....

  • Unlikely

  • I wouldn't trust any government tree planting scheme

  • Never


Results are only viewable after voting.

holwellcourtfarm

Member
Livestock Farmer
What's the jist of what he thinks?

(Can't open link)
He read out James Rebanks's vision of an upland future and agreed with it.

Naturally regenerating trees on the upper slopes. Wilder floodplain. Wildflower meadows grazing cattle and (many fewer) sheep. Farmers adapting to create income more from the landscape than from food production.
 

Ffermer Bach

Member
Livestock Farmer
He read out James Rebanks's vision of an upland future and agreed with it.

Naturally regenerating trees on the upper slopes. Wilder floodplain. Wildflower meadows grazing cattle and (many fewer) sheep. Farmers adapting to create income more from the landscape than from food production.
income from landscape, great if you live in the Lake District, how about for the farmers who farm in the South Wales Valleys?
 

GeorgeK

Member
Location
Leicestershire
Finally some sense - planting productive farm land with trees isn't the answer to net zero. Interesting how the BBC haven't put this story on the main news page or even pinned it on the "Science" page, it only appears on the 'latest' feed and will soon drop off the list and be forgotten... conveniently?

The charity analysed the net zero targets of four of the largest oil and gas producers: Shell, BP, Total Energies and ENI. The researchers found that their net zero plans alone could require an area of land twice the size of the UK.
"It's really worrying that only four companies could use so much of the remaining land available for the world," Ms Dabi explained.
"If all energy sectors follow the same plan, they would require 500 million hectares of land, which means worsening existing hunger issues in the global south."
 

jendan

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Northumberland
A summary of the new England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) from S&P

5 things to know about the England Woodland Creation Offer

The Forestry Commission has unveiled details of the new tree planting grant scheme – the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) – which aims to to encourage more farmers and land managers to plant trees.
The grant, backed by almost £16m of funding in its first year, is part of the government’s strategy to treble tree planting rates in England by the end of the current Parliament.
There are a number of differences from previous grant schemes which the government is hoping will make it more attractive to landowners.
Key points of the scheme are as follows:

1. The scheme will support small-scale and large-scale woodland creation
The England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) replaces the Woodland Carbon Fund, which was the main funding scheme for larger scale planting.
The minimum size of woodland under the Woodland Carbon Fund was 10 hectares, but under the EWCO there is a minimum woodland size of 1 hectare per application, with a minimum threshold of 0.1 hectare per block.
Funding will predominantly be focused on the creation of native broadleaf woodlands at a large scale, but Defra says it will also support well-designed majority conifer and mixed woodlands.
Applications can be made year round.

2. The payments are more generous than under the Woodland Carbon Fund
The scheme will pay up to £8,500/ha to cover up to 100% of the costs of planting and establishing a new woodland. Previously payments were capped at £6,800/ha for the majority of schemes, with only projects in priority areas attracting the higher level of funding.
Once the capital works are complete, annual maintenance payments of £200/ha are available for 10 years.

3. Top-up payments are on offer for the provision of public goods
Additional funding is available for woodland that provides public and wider environmental benefits. This is consistent with the government’s push towards ‘public money for public goods’, with woodland owners able to benefit from the ecosystem services that their woodlands provide.
Additional payments available are as follows:
• nature and species recovery – between £1,100/ha to £2,800/ha available where woodland creation will help woodland-dependent priority species to recover;
• tree planting near watercourses and rivers (riparian buffers) – £1,600/ha available where the creation of native broadleaved woodland along water courses will improve river habitats;
• reduced flood risk – £500/ha available where woodland creation can help reduce the risk of flooding;
• improved public access – £2,200/ha available where woodland creation will provide long-term permissive access to the public to enjoy
• close to settlements – £500/ha available where woodland creation will provide social and environmental benefits by being close to people;
• improved water quality – £400/ha available for woodlands that clean water by intercepting pollution and sediment before it reaches watercourses.

4. Landowners will also be able to sell the carbon credits
The EWCO has be designed to allow farmers to also access green finance opportunities.
Applicants will be supported to register their planting under the Woodland Carbon Code, to allow the future sale of woodland carbon credits to private buyers.

5. It is an interim grant scheme only
It is hoped that the ECWO will support the creation of more than 10,000 hectares of new woodland over its lifetime. However, Defra has already said that its intention is to roll it into the Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme after 2024.
Answering from a slightly different perspective,i think there will be uptake from these schemes. I currently rent in(on seasonal grazing licenses) about 400 acres from two different owners that adjoin my small farm. Mostly permanent pasture,some temporary.As soon as the payments for planting and maintenance,plus any other payments mentioned are greater than decreasing BPS,current stewardship,and my rent combined,i can see a huge amount of this 400 acres going to be planted with trees.The owners will take the most money every time.
 

holwellcourtfarm

Member
Livestock Farmer
Answering from a slightly different perspective,i think there will be uptake from these schemes. I currently rent in(on seasonal grazing licenses) about 400 acres from two different owners that adjoin my small farm. Mostly permanent pasture,some temporary.As soon as the payments for planting and maintenance,plus any other payments mentioned are greater than decreasing BPS,current stewardship,and my rent combined,i can see a huge amount of this 400 acres going to be planted with trees.The owners will take the most money every time.
I can see your reasoning so long as they have no intention of selling any land in the near future. If that is a prospect then planting with trees will devalue all but that land with the lowest value to begin with. That is, of course, unless the ending of BPS causes farmland values to fall drastically anyway but that is unlikely in a country where land is seen as an investment asset rather than a production one.
 

DRC

Member
I’ve just spent all day trying to sort out a blocked drain caused by myself allowing a corner to self set with trees during a 10 year HLS agreement . Despite having drainage maps, this one wasn’t mapped and if unresolved would knacker a 16 acre field .
If anyone considers trees, just don’t expect to get it back in production very easily when they want us to grow food again .
 

Henarar

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Somerset
I’ve just spent all day trying to sort out a blocked drain caused by myself allowing a corner to self set with trees during a 10 year HLS agreement . Despite having drainage maps, this one wasn’t mapped and if unresolved would knacker a 16 acre field .
If anyone considers trees, just don’t expect to get it back in production very easily when they want us to grow food again .
They will give a payment for that
 

Henarar

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Somerset
So in 50 or 100 years time when they realise that land should be growing food, how do you sort out all the drains full of tree roots.
New ones I spose and they will probably give a grant for it.
Having said that old drainage that is blocked is worse than no drainage at all so I spose in putting new in you would want to pull the old out
 

egbert

Member
Livestock Farmer
Answering from a slightly different perspective,i think there will be uptake from these schemes. I currently rent in(on seasonal grazing licenses) about 400 acres from two different owners that adjoin my small farm. Mostly permanent pasture,some temporary.As soon as the payments for planting and maintenance,plus any other payments mentioned are greater than decreasing BPS,current stewardship,and my rent combined,i can see a huge amount of this 400 acres going to be planted with trees.The owners will take the most money every time.
If your LLs are thinking clearly....
getting your livestock out to do summat else will take a phone call (or 3 maybe)
Getting the kand doing anything else once it's in trees? that's a different thing.

It shouldn't just be about the £££ this year.
Not that i trust a lot of blowins and LLs to think such things through
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.7%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 64 34.6%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.2%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 6 3.2%

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

  • 1,287
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

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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