What's New

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act received Royal Assent on the 26th of October. It would ordinarily take effect 2 months later, though most items will take much more work and will not commence for some time. The CAAV will brief members on the ongoing impacts of the Act.

Farming Connect Wales is offering fully funded workshops looking at improving herd and flock health, performance and productivity. These workshops are to support farmers in preparing for the coming Sustainable Farming Scheme and in working toward the net zero target. More detail is available online....

The RPA have informed use that they have identified an issue with the Rural Payments Service (RPS). In order to investigate the problem, they have taken the RPS offline. We will update members when more is known about restoring the service. Update: 2nd November, 3:45pm - The RPS is now back online.

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 26th October 2023 It is only October and we already have our second “named” storm. Storm Babet has repeatedly battered and saturated Angus, Aberdeenshire and neighbouring counties with still more rain falling after silage bales had been washed out to sea. Flooding has gone wider, whether Framlingham, Derby, Retford, parts of the Welsh border and now the central south coast. This is the present taste of the more volatile,...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 19th October 2023 For at least 30 years, the rural rumour mill over the future of APR periodically goes into overdrive. The chatter then reverberates as others pick it up and repeat the echoes, making the speculation appear real – all told, a masochistic part of rural debate. We seem to be on the edge of one such moment as people try to join up the few dots about future Labour tax policies in this area. Use of APR was on...

With Storm Babet passing through the UK, the RPA has published guidance for scheme holders affected by severe weather events. The guidance is available here: Extreme weather guidance for farmers and land managers - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Members will be aware of the recent requirement to submit an Expression of Interest ahead of applying for the Sustainable Farming Incentive in England. That requirement is to be lifted this week, and applications invited through the Rural Payments Service. Those farming on commons, however, should continue to express their interest with the Rural Payments Agency.

Natural England and DEFRA are carrying out user research in the Magic Map application. They are looking for feedback on the service from users and non-users alike. The short survey can be found here. Update: 18th October A common issue identified by users of the Magic Map is the printing of maps from the application. This is a known problem for the Chrome and Edge browsers (which has been on-running since at least August last year). Using Firefox or Internet Explorer may enable maps...

BASIS, the agricultural and environmental qualifying and training body, has developed a register for environmental advisers. With the growing focus on environmental delivery through Government schemes and private initiatives, the intention is to provide an industry platform for those who plan to offer farm environmental advice to businesses in the UK. More detail on the register can be found here: BASIS | Environmental Advisers Register (basis-reg.co.uk). In the future, entry to the register...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 12th October 2023 This week’s Labour Party Conference has brought its pro-development policies to the fore, driven by answering the housing shortage. Keir Starmer has crystallised the policy with his phrase about “bulldozing” an over-localised planning system. He has been supported in this by both Rachel Reeves, shadow chancellor, and Angela Rayner, deputy leader, carrying forward the work done by Lisa Nandy, her...

DEFRA have published a new website for collected information and guidance about the Sustainable Farming Scheme. The Farming for the Future site can be found here: Sustainable Farming Incentive - Farming for the future.

The RPA has published a webpage dedicated to listing periods when the Rural Payments Service (RPS) will be offline for updates and maintenance. The page is available here: Rural Payments service: check for maintenance and downtime - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Members who use the RPS frequently can sign up for email updates by clicking this button on the relevant webpage:...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 5th October 2023 HS2 has now been identified as the cuckoo in the nest with its ever-escalating costs and extending timescales, seen as an unmanageable project with its benefits now less than its vast and perhaps unquantifiable costs. It had grown to take a third of the Department for Transport’s capital budget, more money than either Highways England’s roads renewals programme or Network Rail’s capital programme. With...

DEFRA, with the English Organic Forum, is holding a webinar on SFI and organic on Friday 13th October at 12-1.15pm. Please see this Eventbrite link for registering.

Anglian Water's Farm Innovation Grant - which pays farmers in targeted catchments in that company's region to adopt practices that improve water quality - is to open for applications from 2nd October 2023 until Sunday 12th November. There is a maximum value of £7,500/holding available. For more information, see here: Anglian Water Farming Innovation Grant | Campaigns | News and insights | Ricardo....

DEFRA is hosting a Grants and Funding for Farmers webinar on 10th October at 14:05PM. This webinar for advisors provides an overview of the latest and upcoming grants available to farmers through the Farming Investment Fund, the Farming Innovation Programme and the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. The agenda will cover: An overview of the three schemes and information on the following grants in particular: Farming Investment Funds for Slurry Infrastructure and Improving Farm...

This note looks at a technical issue related to the Sustainable Farming Incentive. For context and general guidance on the scheme, see the SFI Handbook 2023. Several members have contacted us about issues applying the SFI Action IPM4 (No use of insecticide on arable crops and permanent crops) to a land parcel where they also intend to carry out a compatible part-parcel action (IPM2; AHL1; AHL4). IPM4 with a whole-parcel action. Those applying IPM4 to the parcel first will find that they are...

Harper Adams University Experience Day – 1st November 2023 As part of work to inform and encourage prospective recruits to the profession, Harper Adams is holding a day for 14 to 19 year olds to understand something of its land and property management courses and so professional work. Any member who knows someone who could be interested in this is asked to pass these details on so that they can book a place in good time. The Experience Day, free of charge, includes: Introductions...

The next round of Natural England's Nutrient Mitigation Scheme is to open at 10am on 2 October 2023. More information about the scheme, which is available to housing developers in the Tees Catchment Area, is available in a website note from July 2022. Credits for this round are priced at £2,300....

The Welsh Government has now announced the payment rates for the Habitat Wales Scheme: Habitat Wales Scheme: outline [HTML] | GOV.WALES. For more background on the scheme, see our website note of 31st August.

Homes England has published a Housing Information Hub, collecting up a series of guidance pages into one place. The Hub can be found here: Housing Information Hub - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

In his speech on 20th September setting out changes to net zero targets, the Prime Minister announced that grants made for the installation of heat pumps would be increased. The Secretary of State has issued a notice under Regulation 13 of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (England and Wales) Regulations 2022 that the grant will be increased from £5,000 for air source heat pumps and £6,000 for ground source heat pumps to £7,500 for both types of heat pump. The increase will become effective from 23rd...

The Government has broadened the eligibility criteria for the Animal Health and Welfare Review (for background, see our website note of 7th February). Farmers who have not receive BPS in the past - as well as those who have or expect to receive the Lump Sum Exit Scheme payment - are now also able to apply for funding for a vet visit and welfare report. More information on applying is available on GOV.UK: Guidance for farmers - Annual health and welfare review of livestock (defra.gov.uk)....