Farmers wishing to produce to organic standards in England can now take advantage of new funding opportunities. Defra has announced the details of its new Countryside Stewardship Scheme, including the organic maintenance and conversion payments.
Within the new scheme, only the organic maintenance and conversion options are open to all. All the other elements of the scheme are competitive, with farmers competing against each-other for agreements.
Liz Bowles, Head of Farming at the Soil Association said:
“There has been no funding available for new entries into organic farming since autumn 2014. The Soil Association has been working with policy makers to ensure that improvements to organic payments are recognised. We are pleased that this work has paid off and the Countryside Stewardship Scheme now offers renewed support to organic farmers. The scheme replaces the Organic Entry Level Stewardship, and organic maintenance and conversion options have priority.
The funding opportunities of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme clearly recognise organic farming for its benefits to the environment, such as the reduction in use of pesticides and crop rotation. The conversion payments help make the transition into organic farming more economically viable and there are improved payments to support the environmental practices common to organic farms.
Farming organically not only attracts the organic funding payments, it also gives farmers the automatic entitlement to the ‘greening’ element within the Basic Payment Scheme. On arable land, being organic will be worth around £120 per ha.
There is no better time to enter conversion, with renewed support and expanding market opportunities. The Soil Association’s 2015 Organic Market Report shows the growth of the UK organic market, bucking the trend of the overall grocery sector and highlighting the demand for organic food. ”
The Soil Association has secured significant improvements to the new deal, working with other organic sector bodies:
·The payments available for organic farming are much improved on Defra’s original proposals.
·Confirmation that organic conversion payments will be made for the full 2 year duration of the conversion period, 3 years for permanent crops.
·Improved flexibility in the application process, meaning that farmers will be able to undertake phased conversion to organic production; for example converting one enterprise at a time.
