Significant developments in 2002-03
Cereal field margins
In 1995, MAFF (now part of Defra), in conjunction with the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, made a commitment under the UK BAP to increase the number of hectares of cereal field margins in the UK to 15,000 ha by 2010. This target was exceeded in 2002, 8 years ahead of schedule. CS has helped in the early completion of the target by being able to offer more agreements with the additional funding under the ERDP.
Cereal field margins are strips of land between cereal crops and field boundaries, managed to create habitats which benefit a range of wildlife without having detrimental effects on the remaining cropped area and act as a buffer. This range of wildlife includes farmland birds and rare arable plants, which have been in decline with the growth of modern intensive agricultural practices. One of Defra"s aims is to reverse this decline.
Threatened and important species of rare arable plants encouraged by these margins include pheasant"s eye, cornflower and corn buttercup, and overall there can be around 300 species of plants occurring in arable fields. Many invertebrates, such as butterflies, benefit directly and indirectly from cereal field margins, as well as a range of birds (eg barn owl, grey partridge and quail) and possibly mammals (eg the brown hare).
Grass margins can also act as pollution buffers between arable land and watercourses.
Cirl bunting
By 1989 the cirl bunting population had dropped to 118 pairs, mainly as a result of changes in farming practices, which reduced both winter and summer food supplies and caused the loss of hedges and scrub for nesting sites.
A CS special project was introduced in Devon in 1992 to help restore the declining numbers of this species. Agreements enabled farmers to implement strategies for maintaining and extending the special habitat required. RSPB worked with CS farmers and encouraged them to grow a spring barley crop with no insecticides and reduced herbicides. After the harvest, the stubble was to be left untreated until 1April.
As a result, between 1992 and 1998 numbers increased by 83% on CS land compared with 2% elsewhere. In 1998 over 450 pairs were recorded and RSPB linked this increase to CS agreements with winter stubble and arable grass margins options. Now there are around 150 agreements, providing over 400 hectares of stubble. By 2002, the UK BAP target of 550 pairs by 2003 had already been exceeded with an estimated 576 pairs recorded. The birds are concentrated in South Devon on low-intensity mixed farms and around 50% of the UK population is now on CS agreement land, with 90% within 1 km of agreements. With the introduction of the new CS arable options nationally, it is hoped that cirl buntings will extend their area beyond Devon.
The cirl bunting project has become a flagship, linking agri-environment schemes to the delivery of biodiversity targets for increasing farmland birds.
Arable options
Following a successful pilot in two areas (see page 5), the most beneficial Arable Stewardship options were incorporated into CS and launched as national options within the scheme in 2002. Nearly 30% of applicants applied for the overwintered stubbles options, and it is estimated that these options accounted for over 10% of the new land added to the scheme in 2002. Uptake of margins and other arable options, such as conservation headlands and wildlife seed mixtures, remained comparable with previous years.
Access review
Under the two schemes, permissive access allows quiet enjoyment of the countryside through walks, rides (horse riding and cycling) and picnic sites. It can also provide links to existing Rightsof Way.
As part of a review of permissive access in agri-environment schemes, a public consultation was carried out from July to September 2002, which stimulated a wide variety of interest. There was general support for the Government to continue to fund this option. As a result of the review, a number of changes are being implemented in the 2003-04 scheme year, while others covering longer term issues will be developed as part of the new scheme proposed for 2005.
The website about current agri-environment permissive access (the Country Walks and Rides Register) has been re-designed to give better information on footpaths, bridleways, cyclepaths and opportunities for the less mobile. A publicity and promotion strategy for access has been approved by Ministers. Implementation will start in 2003/04 and will be carried forward to the new scheme, in 2005.
CS also offers opportunities for educational visits to farms in two main forms:
- visits by school or higher education groups to study aspects of the school curriculum or college courses, using the farm as a "countryside classroom"; and
- guided farm walks, to learn about the farming industry, its relationship with the countryside and the measures being taken on the farm to conserve and enhance wildlife, landscape and historical features.
Educational access has also been reviewed. As a result, updated Health and Safety information was provided to agreement holders, and improvements have been made to other information supplied to farmers, teachers and group leaders. An accreditation scheme is being considered by the Countryside Agency, in which agreement holders would be encouraged to participate. A pilot training scheme was launched in September 2003, with 20% of participants coming from CS.
Review of payments for capital and access items
Payment rates for capital and access items in CS and ESA have been reviewed and a consultation exercise completed. The recommendations from the review were:
- to standardise the rates across the two schemes in preparation for the new Environmental Stewardship Scheme (see page 24);
- to reflect increased costs in the revised rates;
- where appropriate (for example, payments for access), to reflect 100% of costs in payment rates; and
- to introduce some new items (for example, permanent electric fencing and dog gates).
Following EU approval, the increased payment rates were implemented at the beginning of 2004.
Measures to improve the quality and effectiveness of the schemes
A number of initiatives have been successfully implemented to ensure the continuing high quality of agreements, compliance with EU RDR requirements and effective administration.
Agri-environment scheme compliance inspections now include on-the-spot checks for compliance with the standards of Good Farming Practice (introduced in line with the new requirements of the RDR). These standards include compliance with existing environmental legislation and certain verifiable standards that are complementary to existing legislative requirements. Work is continuing with enforcement agencies to maintain and develop processes for the effective monitoring of suspected breaches of the relevant environmental legislation.
Automatic cross-checking of all land information provided on ERDP scheme applications against data held on the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) was introduced. The new cross-checking procedure has significantly eased the burden of this legislative requirement. In the short term queries generated by the cross check inevitably led to some delay while data was checked, but the majority of claims were paid within the published target periods.
In the future, data will be held on the new Rural Land Register (RLR), which will be developed during 2004 and will go live in early 2005. This will provide a common database for IACS and agri-environment schemes and aims to streamline and speed up the administration of land-based schemes.
Renewal of agreements
It is Defra policy to encourage renewal of agreements, not only to maintain the environmental improvements achieved, but also to protect the 10 years of public investment. Renewed agreements continue existing prescriptions, but can include enhancements, such as the new arable options. They also reflect changes introduced by the EU Rural Development Regulation (for example, Good Farming Practice).
In 2001, the first Stewardship agreements reached the 10-year mark and over 500 agreement holders renewed their agreements for a further 10 years. In 2002 the figure was over 700. For ESAs, in 2002 there were 1,884 applications for renewal (value £8.2 million) in Stage 1. This represented 92% of the agreements that could be renewed.
Page last modified:
7 August, 2008
Page published: 19 May, 2004