New environmental payments for uplands farmers

A new payment for hill farmers working in the uplands was launched on February 9. Uplands Entry Level Stewardship (Uplands ELS) succeeds the Hill Farm Allowance and is designed to support and reward farmers in protecting some of England’s most iconic upland landscapes including Dartmoor, Exmoor and Bodmin Moor.

Uplands ELS is a Defra scheme administered by Natural England and was drawn up after consultation with the NFU, CLA and other partners.

Through the scheme, hill farmers will be rewarded for looking after local wildlife and watercourses, and for maintaining traditional features of the landscape such as dry stone walls and barns. Uplands ELS provides higher value payments to farmers in the uplands (£62/ha compared to £30/ha for standard ELS) in recognition of the challenges involved in managing the farms typically found in these areas. New options have been included that have been designed specifically to benefit the uplands and compliment farming systems in these areas.

To qualify for the Uplands ELS, farmers will have to farm in designated areas and meet a points threshold, with points based on a wide variety of beneficial land management practices including maintaining a minimum level of grazing stock on the moorlands, dry stone wall maintenance, and appropriate use of fertiliser or supplementary feed near a watercourse.

Over 400 farmers in the South West have already attended explanatory sessions where there have learnt more about the scheme and how to apply. Further workshops and demonstration days as well as one-to-one farm visits will be available through Natural England to assist those who decide to join the scheme. Hill farmers who join Uplands ELS will remain eligible for the Single Payment scheme, as well as other Environmental Stewardship schemes such as Organic Entry Level Stewardship and Higher Level Stewardship.

Farmers who want to apply for an Uplands ELS application pack should go to: www.naturalengland.org.uk/es, phone: 0300 060 1118 or email iss.bristol@naturalengland.org.uk. Farmers seeking to have a July 1 start date should apply by May 1 this year.

More information on the Uplands ELS can be found on the Natural England website.