Welsh Sustainable Farming Scheme AND Protests

[V8druid]

Squirrels rabbits deer and feral sheep will decimate most new planting unless monitored very carefully.

the 'wannabes' planting here on the hills are currently advertising jobs for deer/'pest control officers' ... to shoot them or anything else (including sheep) nibbling at the 10% of survivors

 

[V8druid]

Got to be looked after or as per your undertakings you'll be replanting and replanting and costing you for years otherwise.

and how the hell do they expect you to do that? 8ft chainlink, all round, to keep the bigger 'beasties' out and electrified for the rest ????? ..... 's a total farce

 

[V8druid]

View attachment 1163175

and the other hand was

 

[easy farming]

Seeing as it all has to be submitted electronically, you’ve been sold a pup.

middle finger them

Middle finger? I thought you were British? whats wrong with two?

 

[Robbo the Farmer]

I wanted to ask how soil samples taken in the last 2 years or last year are accounted for. If all my farm was sampled in 2023 when do I have to start the sampling cycle in this scheme

That’s something to put in the consultation? I’d contact your farm liaison officer who should get you an answer before 7 March 24. I happen to be testing this year under a grant and have not looked at this for any issues.

 

[Robbo the Farmer]

They told us that at Welshpool too. However, you are out of pocket changing to SFS as every UA incurs a cost to your business, whereas the BPS does not.
The SFS payment (so far unknown) would need to be higher than the current BPS in order to not be ‘out of pocket’, due to those extra costs incurred.

In the consultation I’ve said this, I’ve told them the payment for myself needs to be £5000 more than what I had in 2021 which was £15,000 on 100 acres.

 

[Robbo the Farmer]

Interesting meeting by Welsh Assembly Staff tonight , held locally and went through two talks to large groups of people.
Some had a go at them from the start others asked concerned questions in the Q&A session at the end of each talk.

Staff had worked in the RPA for years and in charge of Glastir and other environment schemes and payments sections for years so knew it inside out.

As explained nothing set in stone yet and time to get any questions in at the Consultation period that's now open, so things can and may get changed before starts.

Min. 10% Tree cover and Habitat cover explained and 17 points (if applicable) that's to be implemented and most doing them all now already?

New Maps and your farm existing tree cover calculations to be sent out in the summer?

Tenanted and Tenancy land seems issues they need addressing.

Entitlements etc phased out and easier for new entrants and youngsters to join as ALL VOLUNTARY and meeting certain criteria.

Seems ok but of course NO PAYMENT values published yet !






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No payment promise before contract don’t sign! What will be in the small print hidden costs needs a shout out from the cleverer farmers?

 

[Robbo the Farmer]

The biggest concern I have is the amount of data they want and what they want it for. When they were asked at the road show I went to the question was dodged. At the NFU meeting the same thing was asked and NFU reps didn't know either. 10% trees and 10% habitat is not the real issue it's the data. If WG want this much now how long will it be before they want your accounts, purchasing history, selling history, family history etc.

In construction the big companies are doing this, nothing is secret anymore! We can all see each other’s payments, the vegans can see all the Parish numbers, companies house your finances can be reviewed etc!

 

[Robbo the Farmer]

You still have to submit your carbon data to them … then who knows what they’ll do with it.
But do you trust them? Probably about as far as you could throw me. And I’m about 17.5 stone of loveliness

But surely knowing your carbon will help fight back the nuts vegans and prove your operation is carbon zero!

 

[Robbo the Farmer]

Squirrels rabbits deer and feral sheep will decimate most new planting unless monitored very carefully.

Good item to raiseCompensation needed to replace trees if they want it to work!

 

[Yale]

But surely knowing your carbon will help fight back the nuts vegans and prove your operation is carbon zero!

It’s your carbon and your data. Lesley Griffiths will steal it. (Data wise).
Don’t tell them Pike!

 

[Ffermer Bach]

The tree planting and habitat requirements can be tweaked. Give a higher payment if you have them,but don't make them compulsory. What has boiled the most p!ss is the universal crap. It's plain insulting to force some of the most able stock men in the country to have to do personal development courses, to have some student vet come out four times a year to tell you what condition to have your stock in. I'm far from perfect and there's always room for improvement but there's more knowledge and experience in my morning sh!t than some of these " experts " have of my stock and my farm. If people want the chance to do the benchmarking etc and there's funding for it,go for it but don't make it a condition of being able to claim. The only winners I can see are anybody who works for farm connect and I'd love to know who's pressuring everything to be done through them. It's only money creamed off the rest of us.

I was talking to someone from Farming Connect, and I could see how his body language changed when I said I thought the Welsh Assembly should be abolished.

 

[neilo]

That’s something to put in the consultation? I’d contact your farm liaison officer who should get you an answer before 7 March 24. I happen to be testing this year under a grant and have not looked at this for any issues.

They told us (at Welshpool) that previous soil sample results could be used.
However, they haven't fully decided what needs to be tested for yet and it looks like soil OM on top of the usual Mag, P, K & pH will be the minimum (there might be more yet?), so you will need to have OM in your previous samples to qualify.

 

[neilo]

Good item to raiseCompensation needed to replace trees if they want it to work!

There is a 10yr maintenance grant available already (£470/ha in yr1iirc) and there will supposedly be a maintenance payment in the SFS.

 

[Robbo the Farmer]

It’s your carbon and your data. Lesley Griffiths will steal it. (Data wise).
Don’t tell them Pike!

So if your farm assured the organisation your accredited to hasn’t shared it? I know a dairy farmer I buy my fodder off, Tesco demanding carbon data, and where will that data go - to government to say how great Tesco are at saving the planet!

 

[Yale]

There is a 10yr maintenance grant available already (£470/ha in yr1iirc) and there will supposedly be a maintenance payment in the SFS.

Think about it, it’s like selling the family silver and replacing it with plastic.

Take the money and devalue the land, spend the money……then what?

 

[Yale]

So if your farm assured the organisation your accredited to hasn’t shared it? I know a dairy farmer I buy my fodder off, Tesco demanding carbon data, and where will that data go - to government to say how great Tesco are at saving the planet!

This is why our stock all go through live auction. If other farmers want to be the bitches of the corporates it’s their choice.

I‘ve never filled in a carbon document.

 

[neilo]

Think about it, it’s like selling the family silver and replacing it with plastic.

Take the money and devalue the land, spend the money……then what?

That depends on the ground planted, and on whether you actually might like having trees about perhaps?

I agree that it is ridiculous insisting that productive land on every farm is planted with trees, but for some areas on some farms, trees might well be an appropriate land use.

If they want more trees then WAG shouldn’t try to force them onto every holding, but encourage their planting on areas of farmers’ choosing, whilst somehow preventing that productive land being bought up by greenwashing companies. I’m not sure how you stop them though, if planting is to be incentivised enough to attract farmers to do more.

 

[Pistonbroke]

Anyone remember the EID grant? £1,000,000 for farms to get equipment @£500 each. They were proud of the fact that 1000 farms received the grant. Hang on, 1000x500 is £500,000. "Where's the other £500,000 gone?" I asked one one of the knobs. "Admin costs "
The admin costs of all these schemes comes out of the same pot as does the farm connect costs. They seem proud of the fact that the bps has stayed at the same for years,have they not heard of inflation? Don't tell me WAG wages have stayed constant

 

[br jones]

nah trees .... thousands of the bloody things .. there's some serious underhand goings on around here ATM trying to oust multi generational farmers off their land, so the landed knob heads can re-establish their estates for either trees, or grouse moors .. I'm not a farmer, but have plenty of friends who are and what is happening is a bloody travesty ... yer can't eat trees or heather

round here in monmouthshire,the nrw are clearing areas of softwood ,then fencing vast areas 8ft tall acres of it and calling it natural regen?
but then they plant trees on it ? sizele oak and a birch of some sort ,i presume they have sold the tree planting for carbon credits ?