Can farmers finally move forward, asks Dorset NFU chair Tim Gelfs, or are they still being asked to carry the cost of past mistakes?
Image: Laura Hitchcock
Over the past few weeks, there have been some more positive announcements from the government – so is it time to grasp the nettle and move forward? Are we fully engaged with government to get the right outcomes that work for the majority? I know that the increases in the IHT levels in particular will come as welcome news to many. Some are still firmly caught with the forestalling policy, which leaves some families unfairly exposed – this has to be highlighted to our MPs at every opportunity. However, we should also focus on the announcements that affect the day-to-day running and profitability of our farming businesses: the Batters Review (see p.14) the Farming Road Map, the Welfare Bill and, of course, the long-awaited new look SFI. These will all be critical to our businesses.
I know that farmers have been engaged every step of the way, particularly with the SFI debacle. It was always quite clear that, without spending caps, this scheme was always going to run out of money. I believe we can put the blame for it firmly at the door of both political parties: mistakes were bound to happen with a new scheme, but some shocking decisions compounded the already-existing problems, leading to that dreaded day last March. On a positive note, the new SFI already has a framework that the farming community supports, based on a principle of public money for environmental outcomes and paid-for work that delivers a genuine net gain for the environment. But it is critical that this aligns with Dorset Council’s vision for Landscape and Nature Recovery. Farmers will be responsible for much of this work on the ground, so we must be involved in shaping its direction locally.
Time for action
My initial question is: why should we be paying for the mistakes of successive governments and their agencies? They ran out of money through bad management. The eleventh-hour lifeline for farmers coming out of schemes with no place to go was, of course, very welcome. It prevented a cliff edge. But if that funding has simply been pulled from an already-cut budget, it solves one immediate problem while storing up another. What confidence can we have in meeting future goals and aspirations if the overall pot continues to shrink?
We need a transparent budget, in which we know where the money is going. This has to be an imperative first step for trust … which, let’s face it, is hanging on by its fingernails!
Despite what you might think of the government of the day, in Emma Reynolds we now have a Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who appears prepared to listen and to act. It seems as though she is someone who actually wants the job, rather than another candidiate looking at it as an awkward stepping stone to something better.
She has said she has been in listening mode since taking up the position – but now it is time for action. It is time for accountability, time to lay out a pathway that gives farmers confidence … and it’s definitely a time for stability.
There will be lots of debate and many announcements over the coming months, with plenty of talk of partnerships. Let’s hope that by the autumn we will have a scheme we can engage with, that pays for the environmental outcomes while safeguarding the country’s food security.
