Hardy breeds pay in HLS cash

TAKING ADVANTAGE of hardy breeds could provide extra payments in the higher level of the Environmental Stewardship Scheme, said Richard Small of Liverpool John Moores University.

“The HLS includes a secondary objective of conservation of genetic resources which will provide additional payments when producers use indigenous, locally adapted, hardy and rare breeds.

 “Single farm payment also provides an opportunity in that it replaces production-related support with an area-based payment. This may encourage producers to consider adopting native breeds for use in less intensive systems, particularly when the over thirty months scheme ends.

” However, Mr Small did point out that the dominance of Continental breeds and attempts to improve native breeds to match Continentals” performance may reduce availability of traditional hardy breeds for conservation grazing.