WIREDGOV

At the Royal Welsh Winter Fair, Deputy First Minister with responsibility for Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies yesterday announced an updated outline plan for the Sustainable Farming Scheme.

It was clear changes were needed – we said we would listen – and we’ve done just that.

– Deputy First Minister, Huw Irranca-Davies.

Working in partnership with the farming unions, environmental groups and other stakeholders on the Ministerial Roundtable and supporting groups, including the Carbon Sequestration Panel, this latest update contains important changes to previous proposals.  

The changes address the needs of Welsh farmers, while supporting the ongoing sustainable production of food, as well as climate change and nature commitments. 

The main changes include:  

• The framework of a Universal layer for all has been retained but with a reduced overall number of Universal Actions with additional Optional and Collaborative Actions for those who choose to do more. The number of Universal Actions has been reduced from 17 to 12 with changes made to 10 of the 12 that remain.
• The farm-level figure for tree cover has been removed and will be replaced by a scheme-wide target, which will be agreed after discussions with the Ministerial Roundtable, and a new Universal Action for a tree planting and hedgerow creation opportunity plan.  Farmers will therefore no longer be asked to have a minimum of 10% tree cover on their land. 
• Farmers who apply for the Scheme will be able to decide where they want to add more trees / hedges on their farm, and how many, and get funding to support them through the Optional Layer of the Scheme.
• The Animal Health, Welfare and Biosecurity actions have been merged into a single simplified Universal Action to focus discussions with the farm vet on improved animal health and welfare outcomes. 
• The requirement for all farms to have wash stations has been moved to an Optional Action, recognising that the biosecurity need of individual farms can be very different.
• Confirmation that additional payments for social value will be made under the universal part of the scheme. This will represent the wider benefits which come from a sustainable agricultural industry.
• Taking account of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and common land rights in the Universal Payment. Further support for both will also be available as Optional and Collaborative Actions.  

Given the importance of the Scheme in contributing to Wales’ nature and biodiversity objectives, the requirement for farmers to manage at least 10% of their farm as habitat has been maintained.   

To support farmers to meet this requirement, additional options to create temporary habitat are being considered. These should be suitable for all farming systems and land ownership. 

In making the announcement from the Royal Welsh Winter Fair, the Deputy First Minister, yesterday said: 

Following the consultation, it was clear changes were needed – we said we would listen – and we’ve done just that. 

Farmers are at the heart of communities right across Wales, and they play a crucial role in our economy and food production. As stewards of our land, they also have a key role to play in protecting and restoring nature and tackling the climate emergency.   

I am pleased to be able to publish a revised Scheme Outline today which sets out the significant progress we have made through collaboration with the Roundtable.  

Whilst the progress we have made collectively is significant, this is not the final Scheme. The Roundtable has agreed that the Scheme Outline published today will be used to undertake an updated economic analysis and impact assessment. 

I am extremely grateful for the immense effort that has been made by all members of the Roundtable, an Officials Working Group and the Carbon Sequestration Evidence Review Panel.  

We are developing a scheme which is designed to support all farmers in Wales, based on the completion of a set of Universal Actions. These Actions will be familiar to farmers in Wales, whether beef, dairy, arable, upland, lowland, extensive or intensive. They are actions many of them take on a day-to-day basis.  

The final Scheme decision will be made next summer, based on further discussions at the Ministerial Roundtable and evidence including the economic analysis and impact assessment. This will be earliest opportunity we will have to provide details of the payment rates. 

I remain committed to listening to and working with our stakeholders to ensure the final Scheme we deliver next year is a Scheme that will help support the economic resilience of farming businesses, the sustainable production of food, our climate and nature objectives and our rural communities for current and future generations.

I believe the changes set out today to the Scheme Outline will make the Scheme available to all farmers who wish to participate, and strengthen the Scheme’s contribution to our climate and nature commitments. 

We’ve come a long way - and there is still more work to do. 

Supporting comments: 

Country Land and Business Association (CLA), Victoria Bond Director – Wales, yesterday said: 

We are proud to have played a key role in the Sustainable Farming Scheme Ministerial Roundtable process, representing our members’ views and driving forward practical solutions. Today’s updated SFS shows a shift in the right direction, as a consequence of this consultation. This progress reflects the impact of stakeholders like the CLA working constructively with government and the Deputy First Minister’s commitment to collaboration. While there is much more to be done, this milestone demonstrates that positive change is possible when our sector’s expertise is truly heard and valued.

 FUW President Ian Rickman yesterday said: 

The work of the three groups over recent months has been intense as we've worked through and agreed, in principle, a revised Scheme design. We've welcomed the collaboration and opportunity to engage at this level and believe we are now in a better place as a result.

Today’s announcement however only marks the end of the beginning, and there remains a high level of detail to work through and confirm, with the updated economic analysis and impact assessments of crucial importance.

With a more accessible and flexible Scheme design following significant changes, we must now ensure that the associated budget and payment methodology deliver real economic stability for our family farms in Wales as we face a backdrop of many other challenges.

NFU Cymru President Aled Jones, yesterday said: 

Today marks an important step forward in the development of the SFS, whilst there remains a huge amount of work to be done on many aspects of the scheme, including the detail under each Universal Action and payment rates, I am confident that if we continue to work in partnership the SFS can help to deliver on our ambitions for food, nature, climate and communities.

Wildlife Trusts Wales Director,  Rachel Sharp, yesterday said: 

The Welsh Government have successfully brought together a wide spectrum of organisations to listen to farmers' concerns. Today's announcement we hope shows how these concerns have been addressed. However, the need to help farms become resilient to climate change means that excluding key elements of water management and shelter for livestock will need addressing in higher tiers of the scheme. We do recognise the continued commitment of farmers in the scheme to manage existing woodland and habitat, along with retaining the 10% habitat scheme requirement. However, going forward it will be critical to support the many farmers who want to go beyond this if we are to see nature restored in Wales. To achieve this we now need to see a focus and sufficient budget in the higher tiers of the SFS. We need to enable farmers to respond to the climate and nature crisis as only they have the ability to achieve this for Wales.