‘Inactive’ farmers in Wales set to gain from farm support

A north Wales common land grazier has warned that payments under the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) could benefit individuals who are not actively farming, raising questions about how support is targeted.

Farmers with common grazing rights are eligible to apply to the SFS until 15 May, provided they can demonstrate the ability to graze livestock on the land tied to those rights.

See also: Thousands of commoners face SFI and CS exclusion

However, while claimants must keep at least one relevant type of livestock, such as sheep or cattle, they are not required to match the number of animals to their grazing rights, nor to turn stock out onto the common.

Active grazier concern

Dewi Jones, who holds grazing rights for 720 sheep across two commons – including Tal Y Fan in Conwy – said the rules risk allowing payments to those not actively using the land.

“Labour ministers decided to follow a path to pay non-active farmers, householders and private individuals according to the number of grazing rights they held on common land, regardless of whether they were active or not, and whether or not farming was their main occupation,” he told Farmers Weekly.

Mr Jones argued that the current structure could see significant payments made based on historic rights rather than active grazing.

He claimed some individuals holding large numbers of rights could receive substantial annual payments despite minimal farming activity.

“Some recipients will hold a thousand-plus such rights and maybe have only two or three sheep in a field on the home farm, and will receive £16,769-plus/year,” he said.

He added that grazing rights were not intended to be used as leverage for payments without active use.

“Use them or lose them should be the norm,” he said, suggesting grazing associations should play a greater role in verifying active farmers and allocating payments.

Common land makes up about 8.5% of Wales, covering approximately 175,000ha.

Under the SFS, grazing rights can trigger both Universal baseline and social value payments, with the Welsh government allocating a share of common land area to eligible claimants.

Mr Jones criticised the arrangement, which he said effectively allows payments of £109/ha to those holding rights, regardless of whether they actively graze livestock on the land.

Government response

Responding to the concerns, former deputy first minister Huw Irranca-Davies said the scheme aims to prioritise active graziers, while avoiding excessive complexity.

“There is a balance between adding greater complexity and bureaucratic detail to a scheme, or a scheme that is easily accessible and works.”

He added that the scheme’s approach to common land had been developed with input from farmers, including those managing common land and tenant holdings.

While there are currently no plans to revise the arrangements, Mr Irranca-Davies said a future Welsh Labour government would keep the policy under review and continue to gather feedback from the sector.