New management options added to Environmental Stewardship
Farmers were today given more opportunities to be rewarded for the environmental management of their land with the launch of four new Environmental Stewardship (ES) options.
The new options are:-
Entry Level, Organic Entry Level and Higher Level Stewardship -
* Maintenance of weatherproof traditional farm buildings - maintaining and protecting these valuable local landscape and historic features.
* Mixed stocking (extended to Less Favoured Areas (LFAs)) - maintaining effective grazing of LFA grassland to provide breeding and feeding habitats for farmland birds.
Higher Level Stewardship -
* Cattle grazing supplement - promoting grazing by cattle to benefit plants, invertebrates and farmland birds.
* Native breeds at risk grazing supplement - promoting more wide-spread use of native breeds to graze difficult terrain to achieve conservation objectives.
Speaking at the Royal Show, Sustainable Farming Minister Lord Rooker
said:
"I am delighted with the success of Environmental Stewardship so far. With over 20,000 agreements, covering 3 million hectares, already in place, this means that over 30% of eligible agricultural land in England is now under some form of funded environmental management under the new scheme. These new options will provide opportunities for many other land managers to qualify for Environmental Stewardship agreements.
"In particular, the option for maintenance of weatherproof traditional farm buildings and the extension of the mixed stocking option to the Less Favoured Areas (LFAs) should provide an extra boost to uptake of the scheme in the English uplands. This is also the first time that we have provided a payment for native breeds at risk and it demonstrates the Government's desire to conserve the genetic heritage of our traditional breeds.
"I am sure that these new options will not only encourage greater participation in Environmental Stewardship but also add significantly to the protection and enhancement of the English countryside."
Natural England Chief Executive designate Helen Phillips said:
"A high proportion of farmers have some kind of traditional farm building on their land and this new option should help farmers qualify for the scheme and thereby help meet the cost of conserving these important features of the rural landscape for future generations.
"The new supplements in Higher Level Stewardship will assist the maintenance of cattle grazing in the uplands and on grazing marshes.
Grazing with cattle is essential to improve the ecological condition of grassland and improve the habitat for breeding birds. In certain areas it is also necessary to use native breeds at risk such as the Belted Galloway or Longhorn cattle as they have been specially adapted over time to graze high value habitats."
Existing ELS and OELS agreement holders will not be able to amend their agreements to include these new options, although it may be possible to introduce greater flexibility on amendments to Entry Level agreements under the new Rural Development Programme which applies from 2007. Existing HLS agreement holders will be able to add the new options where appropriate, with effect from the first anniversary of their agreement start date.
