Bennett slams DEFRA’s plans

THE NATIONAL Farmers Union has said the government‘s cross-compliance measures, announced on Thurs (July 22) are a “slap in the face” for farmers.

NFU President Tim Bennett, said he was “extremely disappointed” that the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has decided to impose two-metre margins.

“It will not have the results its supporters claim,” he said.

“It has all the hallmarks of a political decision, where the symbol has become more important than the substance.”

A better way forward would be where farmers draw up improved management plans on hedgerows and watercourses, which would have targeted action, he said.

This would then be in line with DEFRA‘s cross-compliance measures for soil, which include a simple risk assessment – a move the NFU “applauds”.

“This is a missed opportunity and a slap in the face for those of us who have been arguing for a new consensus on the environment,” said Mr Bennett.

“What makes this decision all the more galling is that it only applies to England.

“The rest of the UK will not be required to keep uncultivated margins.”

He said the decision will also have “wider repercussions” for the take-up of the new Entry Level agri-environmental scheme.

“The two-metre uncultivated margins were supposed to be part of that voluntary scheme,” said Mr Bennett.

“By making them a compulsory measure in cross compliance, DEFRA has, at a stroke, made it harder for farmers to enter the ELS.”

He said he was also disappointed by the decision to raise modulation in 2005 to 5%.

“Potentially we have a situation where, uniquely in Europe, almost every farmer will have a compulsory deduction in his single farm payment to fund a scheme in which a significant number of farmers may now, thanks to this decision, be reluctant to participate.”