News

Recently, DEFRA sought feedback from a group of farmers, land managers and advisers in England to improve the presentation and accessibility of information related to farming legislation and regulation. The research group reported difficulty in finding relevant rules and understanding their implications due to the number of rules, their grouping, and complex wording. To address these issues, a single page called "Rules for Farmers and Land Managers" has been created on GOV.UK, which groups...

Members have been in contact to tell us that they are having trouble accessing RPA maps on an iPad. A recent update to the Rural Payments Service means that the maps now open in a new tab - this is to allow the user to continue to review and update information on the system while also using the maps. However, the default setting of the Safari browser on an iPad is to block pop-ups, preventing the new tab with the maps from opening. To changes this, iPad users should open Settings, scroll down...

The Government has confirmed the budget for the Contracts for Difference (CfD) renewable energy scheme Allocation Round 5 at £205 million. The CfD scheme provides financial support for renewable electricity generators. The support is allocated by auction, now annual starting with AR 5. More detail on the scheme may be found here and here....

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 16th March 2023 We see growing competition for the use of land with agriculture, itself likely to be on the Missing from the Budget Speech but buried in the accompanying papers, the Treasury has issued an important consultation and call for evidence on major taxation issues for farming, environmental matters and the management and use of rural land. Opening up important questions, the paper covers: the taxation...

The House of Commons Library, which, among other things, provides 'politically impartial analysis and statistics' to Members of Parliament and their staff, has published an overview of the changes to farm payments in the UK: CBP-9431.pdf (parliament.uk). This briefing includes extracts from policy announcements, enabling legislation and stakeholder views.

Following engagement from the CAAV and others, DEFRA has published updated guidance lifting the funding limits for Countryside Stewardship Capital Grant agreements. Previously, there was a cap of £20,000 for each of the 4 action groups. Published on 8th March, the new guidance states: There is no limit on either the maximum amount for any application or the amount you can apply for in each of the 4 groups (boundaries, trees and orchards, water quality air quality and natural flood...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 2nd March 2023 Eggs and then tomatoes have long been features of the rougher end of political debate but the new shortage of tomatoes might now make a sharper political point than the travails of the egg sector. In the shifting debates over food security, supplies have continued to reach shop shelves. The supply chain was seen to perform well in managing and adapting to the early days of the pandemic. However, rising food...

DEFRA has today published on its blog a run-through of the one-off grants available to farmers in 2023. The does not include capital grants under the Countryside Stewardship scheme. The post can be found here: Grants available in 2023 - Farming (blog.gov.uk). A wider look at payments available to farmers and land managers, including agri-environment schemes, can be found in this DEFRA brochure: Farming is Changing (blog.gov.uk)....

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 24th February 2023 With the Government now apparently stabilised after the events of 2022, decisions are coming steadily. Following January’s news on the English schemes for 2023 and 2024 with payment rates and the Environmental Improvement Plan, more news on productivity grants was given at the NFU AGM and then the long awaited policy development on biodiversity net gain was issued. We await much else including detail for...

The Foundation for Common Land have published on their website guidance - checked by the Rural Payments Agency - on Higher Level Stewardship agreement extensions on common land. The note is available here: https://foundationforcommonlan....

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 16th February 2023 Aid and regulation, stick and carrot, are Government’s main tools for achieving its statutory and demanding environmental targets, confirmed in December and affirmed by the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023. DEFRA January prospectus for the schemes offered in 2023 and 2024 shows us the aid and the carrot. We should not forget that role of regulations and the stick, becoming more potent as we near the...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 9th February 2023 While it seems conventional to criticise a lack of policy development, that cannot be said of the areas with which we work. The policies of the Agricultural Transition Plan were further fleshed out last month. The Environment Act, last week’s Environmental Improvement Plan and the current Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill all lay out major programmes of work. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has finally...

DEFRA has today (7th February) opened the application window for Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier agreements. The full guidance and more detail can be found online: Higher Tier grants 2023: Countryside Stewardship - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). For more background detail on government schemes for 2023 and 2024, see our website note of 26th January....

Landscape Recovery is DEFRA's scheme for radical, landscape scale and long-term nature restoration and creation. For more background detail, see our website note of 6th January 2022. Round 2 of the Scheme is to open in Spring 2023. In preparation, DEFRA are inviting those interested to join a series of webinars, where they will be providing information and seeking feedback from potential applicants. The webinars can be accessed at the following links: Thursday 23 February 8:00 – 9.30...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 26th January 2023 DEFRA has today set out in over a hundred pages its approach, schemes and options in England for this year and 2024. It offers six new SFI standards for 2023, each now with options, not in separate levels, and their payment rates, some now moved from Countryside Stewardship and developed. The picture is given for Countryside Stewardship, now enhanced to carry the load that had been intended for Local Nature...

DEFRA has reminded farmers to apply before the 31st January for the first round of the Slurry Infrastructure Grant. More information on eligibility and the funding available can be found in our website note of 23rd November 2023.

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 19th January 2023 Twenty years ago this week the EU Commission, then a power in Britain, published the draft legislation for the Single Payment Scheme. It being immediately clear that access to land would be the key to securing entitlements and then give access to future payments, this draft froze the agricultural land sales market. That required work and ingenuity by the CAAV and lawyers to develop the arrangements for...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 12th January 2023 DEFRA’s policy and operational decisions are now coming in fits and starts, not yet catching up with what many are seeking. December saw the announcement that Countryside Stewardship, already with some 35,000 agreement holders, would be developed to meet the larger land use objectives and local priorities previously set for the Local Nature Recovery scheme, which was not going to be seen at all until...

The Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) covering the whole of England, Wales and Scotland has been amended to forbid the movement of game birds that have been caught up for 21 days. The Game Act 1831 permits the catching up of wild game birds during the open season for the purposes of breeding. The prohibition came into effect at midday on 9 January 2023. Birds may not be moved from the premises where they are caught for 21 days after the last bird was caught, unless a licence is first...

The CAAV hosted a successful breakfast meeting at the 2023 Oxford Farming Conference. Jeremy Moody, Secretary and Adviser, gave a presentation to attendees, with the title 'Focus on What You Can Control'. Jeremy Moody drew attention to what might matter to farm businesses – and what might be a distraction – as we move further into this new era of change, risk and uncertainty. The slides are available here: Jeremy Moody' Presentation 06/01/2023....

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 5th January 2023 While a commonplace point in much end of year commentary has been uncertainty over agricultural policy, this is an area of relative certainty. Area payments are being phased out in England, are to be removed in Wales and made much more conditional in Scotland with strong climate change objectives. Only Northern Ireland, with no Ministers, Executive or Assembly, is not taking a new policy forward though the...

The Green Gas Support Scheme provides tariff support for plants producing biomethane via anaerobic digestion which is injected into the gas grid. It opened for applications on 30 November 2021 and is funded by the Green Gas Levy. It replaces the Non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive which closed on 31 March 2021. Tariff support is available to cover the cost of new biomethane production equipment and the cost of operating it. Tariff support payments are made for 15 years....

The Scottish Government has announced grant support of up to £7,500 for installation of heat pumps in private houses. It is also offering similar levels of grant for households wishing to install other energy efficiency measures. The grants are increased by £1,500 for houses in rural areas. The previous obligation to take an interest-free loan alongside the grant has been removed. Private sector tenants are eligible for grants under some circumstances but landlords appear not to be. Further...

Royal Forestry Society (RFS) and the Royal Scottish Forestry Society (RSFS), in connection with Trainhugger UK and GreenTheUK, have announced a new grant scheme for RFS and RSFC Members. Grants are for this planting season and beyond, at a rate of 50p per tree. Full terms and conditions, and applications details, can be found here....

The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has announced 18 days of strikes in the next two months by its members at the RPA. The RPA has advised the CAAV and other that: “You may have seen dates for upcoming RPA strikes and we wanted to provide assurance on our level of service during this period. “We’ve been working hard over the summer and autumn to ensure that we get as many farmers paid when the payment window for BPS, CS and ES opens this week and we’ve made good progress....

The Welsh Government has announced that a housing order for all poultry and captive birds will come into effect on Friday 2nd December 2022. In addition, it will be mandatory to complete a biosecurity self-assessment. Three of the four nations of the UK now have mandatory housing orders in place, the exception being Scotland....

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 24th November 2022 Government in London is now beginning to take decisions again. Civil servants have briefed their fourth set of ministers since the end of June and markets have been calmed after the fallout from the September Financial Statement. The backlog is large, the time left to this government even more limited and many of our issues laid out more starkly than before. From DEFRA, we have the good news of the...

DEFRA will host a webinar on the Slurry Infrastructure Grant on Wednesday 7th December. Participants will be able to put questions to the policy leads during the session.

DAERA is asking EFS agreement holders who started their agreement on 1 January 2022 to ensure they complete a Claim Confirmation this December. Farmers who accepted a Tranche 5 agreement in 2022 and submitted a year 1 claim using the Single Application Service this year, must submit a Claim Confirmation online between 1 December 2022 and midnight 3 January 2023. Failure to submit a Claim Confirmation will mean you will not be paid and your EFS Tranche 5 agreement will be cancelled. Claim...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 17th November 2022 There is a dreary and repetitive pattern to some public discussion of environmental schemes, one that appears to fail to understand, ignore or hide the realities of policies but seems to make good copy. Too often, it defaults to see not only backsliding but betrayal, alleging that at each turn the Government is about to hold a bonfire of the environment. Looking back, lobby groups were raising this concern...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 10th November 2022 As COP26 slides into COP27 with COP28 doubtless to follow, the language of climate change and the high level commitments become ever more familiar but the scale of its impact, what might be required to mitigate it and what we might have to do to adapt to it have yet to impress themselves on the public mind. At one level, it is evident that the real heavy lifting has to be done by the major corporate...

A member has flagged with us a technical issue printing from the Magic Maps application. This is a known fault, which is being caused by a 'security issue with newer versions of Chrome and Edge.' Natural England are advising people to use the Firefox or Internet Explorer browsers. Updates on the operation of the Magic Map can be found on their 'Latest News' page.