More support for upland farmers demanded in petition

A Cumbrian dairy farmer has launched a petition demanding better support from Defra for farmers in the uplands and nature-friendly agriculture.

James Robinson, an organic dairy farmer based at Strickley Farm, Kendal, is calling on Defra secretary Therese Coffey to give upland farmers across England better access to Higher Tier Stewardship schemes in the agricultural transition.

Mr Robinson is a fifth-generation farmer whose family farm has been in Countryside Stewardship schemes for more than 30 years.

See also: Defra figures spell looming disaster for the uplands

He is also vice-chairman of the England steering group at the Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN) and says far fewer farmers are being allowed to access Higher Tier agreements than previous years.

The NFFN says Defra has been rolling over many existing agreements to schemes such as Higher Level Stewardship, but has restricted access to new agreements, which have plunged by 80% in the past decade.

I need your help!

Upland/marginal farms are being closed out of Higher Tier schemes, there's an 80% drop in the number of agreements being approved

I've started a petition for farmers like me who are fed up with being left behind

Please sign & retweet!https://t.co/hlHwL3XlZy pic.twitter.com/f8S6lrVRZj

— James Robinson (@JRfromStrickley) September 13, 2023

“Many farmers I know who have applied to these schemes this year, with an appetite to do more for nature on their land, have been denied access, and there are loads more who haven’t even bothered applying because they were expecting to be rejected,” said Mr Thompson.

“Enough is enough. We need schemes that will actually support farmers, help finance a farming transition and reward ambitious, nature-friendly land management.”

The open letter demands Ms Coffey enables increased access to ambitious land management schemes such as the Higher Tier of Countryside Stewardship and Landscape Recovery to allow a minimum of 3,000 agreements to be created each year.

It also urges Defra to put in place more support for farmers so they can deliver the best outcomes for their land and provides a clear roadmap to show how farm policy and payments will change between now and 2030.

Hundreds of people have already signed the petition within a day of the open letter going live.

Defra response

Defra farming minister Mark Spencer hit back at the criticism when he was quizzed on the matter by reporters at the NFU’s Back British Farming Day event in Westminster on Wednesday (13 September).

He said: “We have increased the payments under Countryside Stewardship [for upland farmers]. We have looked again at the SFI and some of the standards in there to protect grasslands as well as arable areas.

“We’re genuinely listening to the farming sector and responding to their challenges.”