Property How to get to grips with
EFA planning this year • Consider changes in farm situation • Watch out for double-funding rules • Hedgerows are good place to start
G
reening rules remain largely unchanged for the 2019 scheme year –
but double-funding restrictions may catch out some growers when planning their Ecological Focus Area (EFA). Farmers are rightly starting to turn their minds to their 2019 Basic Payment Scheme claim fol- lowing the opening of applica- tion window on 13 March, says farm consultant George Badger of Strutt & Parker. “Not much has changed for the
2019 scheme year, but farmers should always consider whether there has been a change in their
own situation which means they will need to alter their approach from previous years,” he says. “Farmers with old Entry Level
Stewardship/Higher Level Stew- ardship agreements were able to use relevant options in their ELS/HLS agreements to count towards their greening obliga- tions without any changes to payments.
“But many of these agree- ments have come to an end, and
“
As always, online maps will need close checking
where farmers have subsequent- ly joined the Countryside Stew- ardship Scheme, they are affected by double-funding rules designed to avoid farmers being paid for carrying out the same activity on the same land parcel.”
Hedgerows It was the case that some CSS options could be claimed as EFA and payments would be adjusted accordingly to avoid double-fund- ing. But this has changed so you can no longer overlap CSS options with what is claimed as EFA. One exception is hedgerows
which can be used both as an EFA and a CSS option [BE3] as there is no overlap in manage- ment requirements. Farmers who extended a Higher Level Scheme (HLS) agreement beyond its ini- tial 10-years are also affected by double-funding restrictions. Hedges remain a good starting point for farmers as they start the process of calculating how best to meet their EFA obligation, says Mr Badger.
Hedges used as EFA must be located on, or within five metres of, arable land and of a continu- ous length of more than 20m. In terms of weighting, each side of the hedge is worth 5m2 per me- tre of hedge – so both sides of a 1,000m hedge equates to 1ha of EFA in total.
Online mapping
Hedges must be mapped on- line and the RPA should have pre-populated the information required. But this data will need close checking and an RLE1 form used if any changes are required. Another useful option is EFA
Farmers should calculate how best to meet requirements, says George Badger
field margins, which are a 1m strip of uncultivated land adja- cent to a bank, hedge, fence or road. It differs to a buffer strip in that it does not need to be next to a watercourse. Farmers who establish an un- cultivated strip next to a hedge should be able to claim 5m2
for
one side of the hedge and an ad- ditional 9m2
Significantly, the field margin strip can on the same area as the 2m cross-compliance protection zone – although there must be at least 1m of uncultivated land from the hedge edge throughout the year to be eligible.
This means if hedges are par- ticularly wide then it will be nec- essary to leave an extra metre to ensure the EFA margin extends at least 1m from the hedge’s edge. A 1.2m flail on a small tractor can help ensure this remains the case throughout the calendar year. “Most farms should find it fair- ly straightforward to meet their EFA obligations using a balance of hedges field margins and buff- ers strips, topping up any short- fall with a catch or cover crop,” says Mr Badger.
Bidwells celebrates 180th birthday with £50m turnover
Rural consultants Bidwell has announced record annual results with turnover at £50.25m for the year ending 31 December 2018 – a rise of 4.2% from 2017. The company said it was the first time in its 180-year history the firm has announced a turn- over figure higher than £50m. A
profit margin of 15% was main- tained in a period of economic un- certainty, it added.
Bidwells’ rural division pro- vides advice to a range of private landowners, rural land investors and farm businesses. Rural di- vision managing partner Giles Dobson said: “These figures are
hugely encouraging given the current economic uncertainties facing the UK.
“What is certain, however, is that UK landowners, rural busi- nesses and farmers are going to play a central part in meeting two of the country’s biggest challeng- es: boosting domestic food produc-
tion and reducing our housing shortage. Bidwells has been sup- porting its rural clients through- out our 180-year history and we are confident that with entrepre- neurial zeal and the right legis- lative support, the UK’s agricul- tural and rural property industry will continue to thrive.”
APRIL 2019 • ANGLIA FARMER 73 for the field margin.
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