Government shake-up could threaten landscape, Shropshire farmers warn

Farmers say this idyllic image of British agriculture could be under threat as they are forced to plough up more land due to a controversial new scheme set up to protect the environment.

Richard Yates, who keeps Manor Farm at Middleton Scriven, near Bridgnorth, has warned that farmers will have little choice but to work their land harder, at the expense of the environment, unless the Government looks again at the requirements of its new Countryside Stewardship Scheme.

For many years farmers have been offered financial incentives to take part in stewardship schemes, which see them compensated for activities such as preserving wildlife habitats and keeping grassy fields to preserve ecosystems.

But a government shake-up has seen major changes to the latest scheme, which was launched this month, and farmers say the requirements are now too stringent.

Mr Yates, who has been taking part in the schemes for the past 18 years, says that farmers now have so many hoops to jump through that they are not bothering to take part, putting the good work of the past couple of decades at risk.

"Most farmers work with an eye on tomorrow, they want what is best for the environment," he says.

"But farming along these lines comes at a cost. In many cases these new proposals require farmers to take hundreds of photographs, they are completely over the top and unnecessary, and many farmers will not bother applying.

"Many of these farmers will have been taking part in environmental stewardship for a number of years, and all that will be lost. The red tape is way over the top."

Paul Madeley, of Much Wenlock-based Madeleys chartered surveyors, said many landowners had their applications for funding turned down, leaving them with little choice but to make drastic changes to the way they operate.

Mr Madeley says mixed farming is what creates the habitat and landscapes that people know and love, but all this was now at risk. He warned that some farms, which operate in an environmentally-friendly manner, could even be put out of business.

"If these farms do not survive we run the risk that the landscape will change dramatically. I do not want to see this. I am passionate about retaining the traditional landscape which has evolved over generations through mixed farming."

Mr Madeley criticised government agency Natural England, which has drawn up the new scheme, and said it should have worked more closely with farmers to come up with a plan that worked for everyone.

He said one of the problems is that the new scheme seems to be geared too heavily towards large agri-businesses, meaning that it is difficult for small farmers to take advantage.

"They do not seem to be focusing on small farms – if you only have a small acreage and do not have a protected site or wild flower species, for example, it is difficult to reach the necessary threshold," he says.

"Protection of some historical assets and traditional farmed landscapes does not appear to be given as great an importance as under previous schemes. The lack of support for protecting such assets under the new stewardship scheme may result in some land being ploughed, which would be of great loss to the traditional farming landscape."

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) has also criticised the scheme, and has called for a major overhaul in time for next year. The organisation, which represents landowners, says that only 2,000 to 3,000 land managers had applied to take part in the new scheme, compared to more than 11,000 who had taken part in previous schemes which were due to expire this year.

CLA President Henry Robinson said: "Landowners and farmers want to protect and improve the environment, and we want the new Countryside Stewardship scheme to succeed.

"Up until this point around 70 per cent of English agricultural land has been covered by an environmental stewardship agreement. However the chaos of the new scheme's introduction and the complexity of its requirements have put land managers off participating next year."

Natural England said its targeted approach to the new scheme will mean funding goes to projects that will make the biggest possible difference to the environment.

A spokesman said: "We are pleased with the quality and volume of applications for the first year of this scheme, and Natural England will now be assessing these to offer agreements which will improve our water quality and the farmed environment for our bird and bees."

Mr Yates is not convinced. "We will see a reduction in the number of farmers providing a border around their fields, and many of the habitats which have been created for the birds and bees will be lost," he said.

"This will continue to happen until we have a system which is practical for and allows the farmer to work for the benefit of the environment.

"In the past, these schemes have bought considerable benefits to the environment, but that is now at risk."