Second Report - Environmental Land Management and the agricultural transition

Considerable uncertainty remains about how the 7-year agricultural transition will affect English farming. As direct payments are withdrawn, there is a risk that farmers will resort to less environmentally sustainable methods to make up for lost income, leave the sector … Read more Considerable uncertainty remains about how the 7-year agricultural transition will affect English farming. As direct payments are withdrawn, there is a risk that farmers will resort to less environmentally sustainable methods to make up for lost income, leave the sector or go out of business entirely. We are concerned that Defra has not published a comprehensive assessment of the impacts of its policy, and the Secretary of State himself acknowledged to us that we know who will lose money but not how many will take up the new schemes. The Secretary of State also told us that land rents “might” adjust downwards, but has not adequately demonstrated this. The Department needs to make a detailed and comprehensive assessment of the economic and environmental impacts of removing direct payments. Defra should publish an impact assessment, covering plausible scenarios, detailing how the transition from direct payments to ELM will impact the viability of farm businesses, broken down by sector and by region. Defra should also detail the anticipated environmental impacts if the delivery and uptake of ELM falls short of its ambitions, for instance, if farmers decide that it makes more financial sense to intensify production than to enter into ELM. Show less

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We are concerned that Defra is already in the process of delivering its multi-billion pound ELM programme, representing the biggest change to farming policy in decades and a central delivery mechanism for the Government’s environmental goals, without having published any … Read more We are concerned that Defra is already in the process of delivering its multi-billion pound ELM programme, representing the biggest change to farming policy in decades and a central delivery mechanism for the Government’s environmental goals, without having published any measurable objectives. We understand that the process of developing objectives is underway, but we are already nearly a year into the agricultural transition and Defra has not explained in detail how it will show that the money being taken away from farm payments is being spent effectively. This should happen as soon as possible, and definitely before the Sustainable Farming Incentive opens for applications in 2022, representing the start of the ELM schemes proper. Before the SFI application window opens in 2022, Defra should publish precise, measurable objectives for ELM and explain how it intends to track progress towards achieving these goals. Defra should provide detail on how these objectives will contribute to the Government’s wider environmental ambitions, and will be integrated with other policies and delivery mechanisms including Local Nature Recovery Strategies. It should also set out the role Natural England will play in evaluating schemes and ensuring that they are joined up with other policies. Show less

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It is important that the Sustainable Farming Incentive does not repeat the failures of previous agri-environment schemes like Entry Level Stewardship, which achieved high uptake but failed to drive significant environmental delivery. It must also not create perverse incentives or … Read more It is important that the Sustainable Farming Incentive does not repeat the failures of previous agri-environment schemes like Entry Level Stewardship, which achieved high uptake but failed to drive significant environmental delivery. It must also not create perverse incentives or fail to reward existing good practice. The SFI should form part of a process, supporting farmers to deliver more and more for the environment over time. Defra should set out in its response to this Report how the Sustainable Farming Incentive will reward existing good practice at the same time as encouraging farmers to undertake new environmental activities. It should also explain how the SFI will support improved environmental delivery over time. Show less

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A degree of simplicity may be necessary in order to achieve high SFI uptake, and we acknowledge that an approach based on specific actions and parcels of land will work for many farmers. However, Defra should not miss opportunities to … Read more A degree of simplicity may be necessary in order to achieve high SFI uptake, and we acknowledge that an approach based on specific actions and parcels of land will work for many farmers. However, Defra should not miss opportunities to also support a more ambitious whole-farm approach to delivering public goods. This could also help farmers produce food both more sustainably and more competitively, by making the best use of their land and reducing costs. Alongside the parcel-based actions within the SFI, Defra should set out a plan to support public goods delivery at the whole-farm level, including using the pilot phase of SFI to evaluate the merits of including a whole-farm standard in the scheme. Show less

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The scale of environmental, social and economic change facing English farming cannot be understated. This includes the global challenge of climate change and the need to operate in new trading conditions, but it also includes the Government’s decision to fundamentally change the basis of agricultural policy. The agricultural transition must …

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Defra has put insufficient emphasis and care into managing the process of transition itself, and there is a risk that this will be a haphazard process leading to unintended consequences. Ministers’ absolute determination to press ahead with the timescale for phasing out direct payments and introducing ELM, even when confronted …

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The Committee commends Defra’s commitment to co-designing the agricultural transition, and appreciates the challenges involved. However, there appears to be a disconnect in the co-design process between listening to stakeholders and being seen Environmental Land Management and the agricultural transition 41 to act on this feedback. The benefits of effective …

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We are pleased that Defra’s engagement has improved over the last year, but delays in communication due to delays in policy development have already impacted farmers’ ability to plan for the significant changes ahead. Defra itself cannot directly reach every farmer, but it is essential that every farmer and land …

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The Government has been clear that the success of ELM is critical to meeting its environmental ambitions, but this will require huge uptake of the scheme and the funding to ensure that. If farmers are to enter into multi-year agreements to deliver public goods, they deserve a clear guarantee that …

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A substantial proportion of farmed land in England is tenanted, and common land accounts for a significant percentage of land delivering important public goods such as biodiversity and public access. It is important that the particular needs of 42 Environmental Land Management and the agricultural transition tenants and commoners are …

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Upland livestock farmers have often been among the most dependent on direct payments, but there is also evidence that existing agri-environment schemes have reduced income stability for upland livestock farmers in less favoured areas. Those farming the uplands, and tenanted and common land, will face particular challenges during the agricultural …

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It is important that ELM supports the delivery of a full range of public goods. Biodiversity and net zero are crucial objectives, but Defra should not lose sight of the invaluable role that farmers and land managers can also play in supporting public access to the countryside, and maintaining heritage …

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We share the concerns of many that the existing approach to calculating payments based on “income foregone” will be unattractive to farmers and ineffective for the environment. Payments for environmental actions need to fairly and fully represent Environmental Land Management and the agricultural transition 43 the management costs associated with …

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We acknowledge that Defra has announced higher payment rates for the SFI in 2022, but farmers still lack the full details on payment rates across ELM that would enable them to start planning now. We also welcome Defra publishing new information on its payment principles, but the Department itself has …

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High quality advice, which is appropriate to the individual farm and takes into account the specific local conditions, is essential if farmers are to be productive and deliver environmental benefits. We acknowledge Defra’s intention that the Sustainable Farming Incentive should not require expert advice, but this should not mean that …

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Evidence suggests that some farmers currently do not pay for environmental advice because it is not deemed commercially relevant to them. As the focus of farm payments moves to public goods, it is important that these farmers are supported to access the advice that they will need to ensure they …

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ELM must be accessible and avoid the bureaucratic barriers to entry and punitive regulations which plagued previous agri-environment schemes. We welcome Defra’s commitment to improving their approach to regulation and enforcement, but emphasise the importance of delivering on these promises to build confidence and promote the uptake of ELM, lifting …

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Past experience has shown the potential for failures in digital delivery to do real damage to farmers’ trust in Government. We recognise that Defra has decided to initially use a simplified version of existing systems rather than attempting to build something from scratch. However, the Government’s plans for ELM are …

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We note that we are nearing the end of the first year of a seven-year agricultural transition, and Defra does not yet appear to have made key decisions about which bodies will be responsible for delivering the biggest change to farm support in decades. It is only fair to farmers, …

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