(like 10% trees ffs),Interested to hear if any of our brethren farming in Wales are part of this.
I had a Teams meeting this afternoon, as part of above. They’ve apparently had a dozen or so groups, each of 10-12 participants, to discuss (for 90 minutes) various aspects of the proposed Sustainable Farming Scheme.
The group I was in was to discuss eligibility requirements, the ability to meet all of the ‘universal actions’ (like 10% trees ffs), the sustainability and habitat assessments.
I was shocked that, in our group, there were only four that I would describe as ‘farmers’. All of the others were smallholders, several retired, and a couple more that had ‘professional’ careers to support their hobbies.
The four farmers all came across as healthily suspicious of RPW’s requirements and motives, with all suggesting that RPW may struggle to get most of the land area to participate in their scheme.
One of the smallholders (retired FWAG) even went so far as to suggest that ‘less than 5%’ of farmers would be able to assess what habitat they had, or what potential it had. I may have expressed displeasure at that comment.
What was most scary to me, was that if only one third of our panel were proper farmers, earning their livings from the job, and the same is presumably the case across the other panels, then RPW are getting some very skewed opinions on their scheme.
Come on @neilo ...we can sort that out if it's your only problem.
We'll simply get on the blower to one of the forest management companies, and 'rent' a few acres of bleak sodden monoculture sitka of them, to include in your managed area.
(curiously, part of the rental terms will be that they continue to do all active work, and market all output)
It's trees. innit guv?
Jobs a good'un!
Where there's a scheme there's a schemer
edit.....looking at subsequent posts, i'm not the only schemer!
