RU OK with acronyms?
Now everybody's watched LoD (Line of Duty) and can do acronyms, the new agreements being offered to farmers by DEFRA or the EA (Environment Agency) to apply for support will be a PoC (Piece of Cake).
Having retired from farming, I'm out of touch with things now, and was confused by an item in the farming press about a "new five year mirror agreement." I know solar panels and wind farms are common now – but mirrors? Apparently if a farmer's already in the CSS (Countryside Stewardship Agreement) or ELM (Environmental Land Management) then the RPA (Rural Payment Agency) says he can extend his eligibility for another five years. "Mirror" it, in fact. Who knew?
But if he's in an HTA (Higher Tier Agreement), options such as "woodland or organic conversion" have been removed and won't be eligible. So a whole new set of application forms will drop into his emails. At, least I think that's what it means.
I found this boring and scary. You'll understand why I'm relieved, but sad, not to be farming any more. Let's just have playgrounds and import all our food – it would be easier!
Rosemary Allen is a retired livestock farmer living near Ellesmere
