As many of you will be aware, agri-environment schemes in the UK are key to helping farmers deliver for wildlife. With the recent reform of Europe’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), new or reviewed schemes are on the cusp of being launched, with guidance already available for the new scheme in Scotland.
In England, Defra have developed an entirely new scheme to replace Environmental Stewardship (ES), and in a fit of slightly confusing nostalgia, have gone back to the future and decided to call it Countryside Stewardship (CS). Those with longer memories than ten years will know this was the name of the predecessor to ES. And in many ways the new scheme attempts to combine the best bits of ES with the 1991-2004 version of Countryside Stewardship (which I’ll call ‘CSS’ to differentiate it from the new ‘CS’).
To replace the Entry and Higher Level Stewardship (ELS and HLS), CS will have a higher-tier and middle-tier. In addition to these, there will be a small Hedgerows and Boundaries Capital Grants Scheme. The higher-tier will look and feel much like HLS, but will be slightly simpler in its design. The middle-tier though will be quite different, with steps taken to iron out some of the design flaws that hindered the effectiveness of ELS as a scheme.
Image 1: Certain species and habitats, such as Lapwing (above) and other breeding waders in lowland wet grassland, will continue to be a focus of the higher-tier.
So where ELS allowed total free choice and offered the same £30 per ha payment rate for all, regardless of the options chosen, the CS middle-tier will be targeted, with payments made per option. Applications will also be competitive and made in a single annual window of July to September. These will then be ‘scored’ against each other, with those applicants that selected the options identified as a priority for their holding likely to fare best.
The aim of this change is to ensure that those who deliver the most for the environment get priority for what is a reduced budget, with a shift to ‘pounds per option’ rather than per hectare helping to rebalance the scheme toward the options that will be most effective, such as wild bird seed and pollen and nectar mixes. The ultimate ambition is that a better targeted, competitive scheme will lead to the right management in the right place, providing better outcomes for the environment and better value for money.
Image 2: Countryside Stewardship is designed to favour options, such as wild bird seed mix, which deliver more benefit for wildlife.
But although some of the changes are significant, this should be seen more as an evolution, rather than a revolution in scheme design. Although there has been much talk of ‘white space’, and many farmers, especially those in ELS, not being eligible, this is misplaced. All farmers will be able to apply for CS, and everywhere will be a priority for something. For example, the new Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Package will be available throughout lowland England. The basis for competition will therefore not be where you are, but what you are willing to do.
These changes though are necessary. Although there are many examples of ELS agreements that really deliver, in general terms these are the exception rather than the norm. With the State of Nature report revealing ongoing declines across a broad array of wildlife, there is now a general recognition that ELS spread the jam too thinly, and that more focused, targeted and higher quality interventions are now needed. We’re hoping the farmers will embrace CS to deliver these.
Image 2: More targeted and quality interventions under Countryside Stewardship will help declining species like the Yellowhammer.
Many farmers will undoubtedly say, “with 5% greening, I can’t do anymore”. As many will come to see though, in the land of CAP greening, 5% doesn’t actually mean 5%. Through a series of labyrinthine weightings, coefficients and nitrogen fixing crops, many farmers will be able to deliver their greening requirements with a minimum of land take. We’d obviously encourage farmers to not go for the bare minimum, and as part of the Campaign for the Farmed Environment (CFE), we’re asking farmers to enhance their Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs) through voluntary action. A key part of this message is asking farmer coming out of ELS to retain what they’ve already got.
But it’s inescapable that retention isn’t enough. If you’re a farmer with a recently expired ELS agreement, or your agreement expires this year, or maybe you’ve never had one but want to do something for wildlife, we’d urge you to have a crack at Countryside Stewardship.
If you do, there is more information available on Defra’s website, with more guidance expected imminently. There may also be support available from the RSPB to help you, or perhaps one of our partner organisations such as The Wildlife Trusts, FWAG and GWCT.
By Tom Lancaster, RSPB Agriculture Policy Officer
Image 1: Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com), Image 2: Nikki Williamson, Image 3: Tom Marshall (rspb-images.com)