The NFU has welcomed a one year extension to the Hill Farm Allowance scheme announced during Secretary of State David Miliband’s speech at the Royal Show.
The extra 12 months will bridge the gap before the new Upland Reward Scheme is introduced and the NFU is hopeful it will secure a two-year extension to ease the strain on hill farmers already coping with delays to the upland scheme, administration problems and reform introduced by the SPS.
Mr Miliband said: “Farming has played a key role in shaping the upland landscape, which is internationally recognised for its biodiversity and as a highly valued part of our national heritage.
“In due course we want to move towards rewarding upland farmers for the environmental benefits they provide. We are currently considering the responses to the recent consultation on future upland rewards and will announce our response later this year. But to enable upland farmers to plan ahead I can confirm now the existing Hill Farm Allowance will continue in 2007.”
National spokesman for the NFU hill farming group Will Cockbain said: “I am pleased as a result of the work we have done with Defra it has acknowledged the need for a transitional period.
“But we strongly believe a two-year roll over is necessary to allow sufficient time to deal with technical problems and to allow the Entry Level Scheme to be fully evaluated so that adjustments can be made to fully reflect and reward what hill farming delivers to the unique upland landscape.”
The NFU is making hill farms a priority in its forthcoming Rural Development Programme.
NFU President Peter Kendall said: “There is a strong case for the support of farmers in the uplands – they are important areas for the landscape and the environmental benefits they bring as well as making a contribution to our food supply.
“The HFA needs to be focused on offering real opportunities for growth and helping farmers to respond to the choices available as a result of the SPS. We need an assurance future allowances will enable hill farmers to remain the centre-point of the upland economy and landscape.”
