Grazing Management
The natural and semi-natural vegetation of England, such as moorland, unimproved grassland and native woodland, has important biodiversity value. One of Defra’s policy aims is to protect and enhance the condition of this vegetation and its value as a wildlife resource as part of a sustainable farming system. As the vast majority of this resource is grazed with livestock, effective grazing management is essential to help us achieve this. A range of measures are therefore in place to remove the incentive to stock at high levels and to repair past damage.
Overgrazing and Unsuitable Supplementary Feeding
In the early 1990s, it was recognised by the Government that, over
the last few years, production-based (headage) payments under the Common
Agricultural Policy (CAP) had provided an incentive for farmers to
keep high numbers of animals and that some farmers in receipt of these
payments (particularly in the uplands) were damaging natural and semi-natural
vegetation through overgrazing (defined as “grazing with so many
livestock as to adversely affect the growth, quality or diversity of
any self-seeded or self-propagated vegetation characteristic of the area
in which the land is situated”) and unsuitable supplementary feeding
methods (defined as “methods that provide supplementary feed for
livestock in a way that adversely affects, through trampling or poaching
of land by livestock, or through rutting by vehicles used to transport
feed, the quality or diversity of any self-seeded or self-propagated
vegetation characteristic of the area in which the land is situated”).
This was
particularly evident on moorland and common land. Overgrazing
and unsuitable supplementary feeding have been, and continue to be, a
particular issue on common land and on Sites
of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Overgrazing currently
adversely affects SSSIs more than any other management issue. As
Defra has a Public Service Agreement (PSA) target that, by 2010, 95%
of all nationally important wildlife sites will be brought into favourable
condition, it is essential that we address overgrazing on SSSIs if this
target is to be met. The latest
statistics on the condition of SSSIs are available on the Natural
England website.
Returning to more favourable condition
On 1 January 2005, cross compliance controls to halt current and prevent future overgrazing and unsuitable supplementary feed in an unsuitable way were rolled forward when the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) replaced the previous livestock schemes. Overgrazing and unsuitable supplementary feeding is one of the Single Payment Cross Compliance Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) requirements. A guidance leaflet ‘Grazing your landscape’ is available which explains how Overgrazing and Unsuitable Supplementary Feeding controls will be implemented under the Single Payment Scheme, agri-environment schemes and the Hill Farm Allowance. It also gives advice to farmers on how to identify and avoid these particular practices in areas important to wildlife.
Cross compliance measures were originally brought in between 1994 and 1994 to halt current and prevent future overgrazing and unsuitable supplementary feeding through cross compliance conditions attached to the livestock subsidy schemes. Later in 2000, with the introduction of the England Rural Development Programme (ERDP), requirements not to overgraze or provide supplementary feed in an unsuitable way also began to apply to recipients of the Hill Farm Allowance (HFA) and agri-environment scheme funding as part of Good Farming Practice (GFP). This also included a requirement not to undergraze. When the current ERDP finishes at the end of 2006, it will be replaced by a new Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), which will run from 2007 to 2013. GFP will be replaced by the same set of cross compliance requirements that currently apply to the SPS. Undergrazing will also still apply to agri-environment agreement holders. However, current agreement holders will still be subject to GFP for the full length of their agreement.
Whilst dealing with current or future overgrazing and unsuitable supplementary feeding is done through Cross Compliance, restoring historically overgrazed sites is addressed through agri-environment schemes - previously Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs) and the Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS), which have now been replaced by Environmental Stewardship. Our objective to prevent further damage is also supported by additional controls that can require land managers to obtain permission to alter current management practices on ecologically significant semi-natural habitats - for example, altering activities that have been consented to by English Nature on SSSIs or obtaining an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) screening before increasing stocking rates to intensive levels on semi-natural and uncultivated habitats.
Undergrazing
The Department has begun to look more closely at the issue of undergrazing
(already seen as a potential issue on some sites), as there is concern
it might become more widespread under the SPS. Whilst undergrazing
is not currently included in the requirements of Cross Compliance GAEC,
it is included in GFP, where it is referred to as “under-utilisation”,
and defined as “Land where there is evidence of the annual growth
not being fully utilised, or scrub or coarse vegetation is becoming evident,
and such changes are detrimental to the environmental interest of the
site.”
Enforcement and Inspection
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is the competent authority for most aspects of cross compliance in England. The Uplands and Grazing Management Team of Natural England provide technical expertise for the assessment of overgrazing, undergrazing and unsuitable supplementary feeding on agreement land and other land areas managed by a claimant. They operate as a national team to ensure common standards of assessment and advice across the country.
Page last modified:
17 October 2007
Page published: 24 February, 2005