Section 2 - The Farm Environment Plan
- 2.1 Why is a Farm Environment Plan so important?
- 2.2 How is a Farm Environment Plan prepared?
- 2.3 How long will it take to prepare a Farm Environment Plan?
- 2.4 Do I need to employ a 'consultant'?
- 2.5 When will I be paid for the Farm Environment Plan?
- 2.6 When should a Farm Environment Plan be carried out?
- 2.7 How do I use the Farm Environment Plan?
2.1 Why is a Farm Environment Plan so important?
HLS is designed to deliver significant environmental benefits which may require complex management. In order to do this, it is vitally important that you and your RDS adviser have good quality information about the current environmental value and interest of your farm and its potential to deliver additional environmental benefits. The Farm Environment Plan (FEP) is designed to capture this information in a way that both you and RDS can use to determine how suitable the farm is for HLS management, and help build an HLS agreement. The questions most frequently asked about the FEP are answered in this section, but for full details please refer to the FEP handbook.
The primary purpose of a FEP is to gather information necessary to inform an HLS application.
The FEP will:
- Identify features on your land that may benefit from HLS management. In the FEP handbook we have defined over 180 features including: habitats for breeding waders; historic buildings; upland hay meadows; vulnerable soils; stone walls; ponds; ancient trees and traditional orchards. By defining these features in advance it will allow us to assess farms in a consistent way. It will also provide us with a basis for monitoring the success of the scheme.
- Build on, and not duplicate, the ELS or OELS Farm Environment Record which you will have completed (see section 2.3.2 of your ELS or OELS handbook).
- Provide a baseline for future assessment of the condition of features managed under HLS.
The FEP will not:
- Seek to provide information already available, such as that in Countryside Character or Natural Area descriptions. The information relevant to your holding will already be summarised by the ELS or OELS character area information sheet or the HLS targeting statement, sent to you with your application.
- Duplicate information requested on application forms.
2.2 How is a Farm Environment Plan prepared?
FEP preparation falls into two main phases: the desk study and fieldwork. The purpose of the desk study is to make full use of existing environmental information that is already available to you: local records, existing maps and websites. Your land will then need to be walked to ensure that this data is accurate and to record additional information on all the fields, boundaries and any other features.
2.3 How long will it take to prepare a Farm Environment Plan?
The time taken to carry out the FEP will vary according to the size and complexity of your land, and its accessibility. All the land will have to be walked in order to complete a FEP.
2.4 Do I need to employ a 'consultant'?
FEPs need to be carried out by those who have experience of the practical issues involved in the five primary objectives of the scheme - wildlife, landscape, resource protection, historic environment and public access. For instance, you will need to be able to identify different species of grasses and wild flowers. You may therefore decide to employ a consultant who is familiar with the FEP process to undertake this task for you. However, you may feel that you have sufficient environmental experience to carry out the FEP yourself.
Whoever carries out the FEP will need to have access to the internet in order to obtain all the relevant information. The guidance in the FEP handbook explains exactly what is needed.
When a FEP is completed, you will receive a payment irrespective of who has completed the FEP. Payment will only be made on FEPs that meet the required standard, so whoever carries out the FEP must be competent in this area of work. If, when an RDS adviser visits the land, the FEP is found to be inaccurate you may be asked to correct the FEP and re-submit your application.
2.5 When will I be paid for the Farm Environment Plan?
Payment will only be made to you once your HLS application has either been approved or rejected. Therefore you should not commission a FEP unless you will be applying for HLS. The relevant payment will be made to you. If you employ a 'consultant' to carry out the FEP you will have to make separate arrangements for paying them yourself. Before payment is made, RDS will check that all the relevant sections of the FEP have been completed in accordance with the FEP handbook. If your application is rejected, providing the FEP has been completed correctly, payment will still be made.
Your FEP payment will be based on the total area of land covered by the FEP, see section 1.5.5 of the FEP handbook. The payment includes an element to cover the charge levied for consultations with Historic Environment Record Centres. The amounts are set out in the table below.
| Area (ha) | Total payment (£) |
|---|---|
| < 6 | 395 |
| 6-15 | 555 |
| 16-50 | 715 |
| 51-149 | 1035 |
| 150-200 | 1110 |
| 201-500 | 1430 |
| 501-1000 | 1750 |
| 1001-1500 | 2070 |
| 1501-2000 | 2390 |
| 2001-2500 | 2710 |
| 2501-3000 | 3030 |
| > 3000 | 3350 |
2.6 When should a Farm Environment Plan be carried out?
It can be done at any time of year but it needs to be done prior to applying for an HLS agreement. However, some features will be more easily identified at certain times of the year. For example, grasses and flowers in a hay meadow are most easily identified in summer, but the effects of soil erosion are more visible in winter.
2.7 How do I use the Farm Environment Plan?
The FEP should be used to identify all features on your land. The targeting statement will explain which of the features identified in your FEP are most likely to meet the objectives of the scheme and would therefore benefit most from inclusion in an HLS application. The FEP will also provide a guide as to which land management options or capital items would be most suitable for the various fields and features on the land. You then need to decide which of these options you would like to apply for, taking into account your current farming system. Some of the options may require a very different approach to farming some fields. Before applying for these, you need to be sure that you can adapt your farming system accordingly.
Page last modified:
30 June, 2005
Page published: 3 March, 2005