NFUS sets out plans for land management scheme

NFU Scotland is calling for a radical shake-up of the Scottish Government’s Land Managers Options scheme, to deliver more effective support to farmers and encourage more of them to take part.

The non-competitive scheme forms part of the Scottish Government’s Rural Development Contracts scheme and offers farmers 22 Land Managers Options. But it has only been taken up by about a third of eligible farm businesses, NFUS says.

It blames the payment ceiling, capping support to farms, as a factor dissuading farmers from taking part as well the limited options available to them. The current LMO caps support at £75/ha for the first 10ha with decreasing penalties for bigger areas. NFU Scotland’s proposals would extend this to £100/ha for the first 10ha.

In total this would see the LMO funding ceiling for a 100ha farm rise from £3450 to £6400, or £64/ha. The NFUS is also calling for a further 26 new options to be open to farmers.

NFUS president Jim McLaren said: “Our substantial list of proposed LMO measures was drawn up after a wide consultation process around the country to ensure that we constructed options that would make a genuine difference to farm businesses. It was clear tat raising the funding ceiling on individual businesses was crucial.”

The Scottish government is conducting a review of the Scotland Rural Development Programme. A spokesman for NFUS said a decision on the new LMO measures would be needed early this summer for it to be taken up in 2010.

Existing LMO categories

*Membership of food quality assurance schemes.
*Skills development training
*Management of moorland grazing
*Small-scale woodland creation
*Retention of winter stubbles

NFUS proposed options

*Support for skills and labour for gathering hill stock
*Farm enterprise assessment
*Stock vaccination for non-endemic diseases
*Invasive [plant] species control (eg gorse)
*Capital allowances