NFU to take action on upland sda farming concerns

FARMERS in SDAs (Severely Disadvantaged Areas), who will be affected by the newly announced CAP reform proposals, have raised their concerns at the NFU’s Annual Conference and AGM in Birmingham on Monday (16 February).

NFU members questioned Defra Secretary of State, Margaret Beckett, at the conference as to why thousands of SDA farmers could face a severe reduction in farm support, following the Government’s announcement of the introduction of the new CAP payments next year.

Farmers from NFU North West met informally after the Secretary of State’s speech to the Annual Conference to discuss the implications of the SDA/non-SDA region split to their businesses.

“The plight of SDA/non-SDA farmers is now NFU North West’s main priority”, said NFU North West regional livestock board chairman, Mr Thomas Binns.

“Many of the farmers in the Cumbrian uplands have farmed for many years in a disadvantaged location and have balanced the demands of production and the environment very well.

“They now ironically find their businesses the focus of ‘serious disadvantage’.

“The basis of how the new payment will be calculated on a flat-rate area basis is of great concern to many of these farmers who do not have large acreages available to them.

“The payments they will receive under the new regime will not reflect the level of support they have received in the past.

The situation will get worse over time as historic payments are phased out and a regional payment* which could be around £65 per hectare, is phased in.

“Although there could be many opportunities for farmers, the issues seem at the moment to outweigh the benefits of the new CAP payments. However we must remain positive.

“There is no one solution. It is a very complicated issue that the NFU will now begin to work on as a matter of priority.

We need to do a detailed analysis of the farming patterns in the hills of England and begin to put together a solution that will be practical and feasible not just for Defra but for farmers in the SDA areas and the non-SDA areas.”