Wet weather derogations to agri-environment schemes
Derogations are being made available to farmers with environmental stewardship agreements who are struggling to meet management prescriptions following weeks of wet weather.
Natural England said it would grant derogations to farmers in exceptional circumstances by lifting land management requirements that normally apply under environmental stewardship options.
This will offer farmers more flexibility to deal with the effect of the wet weather. For example:
- Field damage caused by flooding where environmental stewardship (ES) options are in place
- Difficulty establishing grass margins due to wet ground conditions
- Unsuccessful establishment of nectar pollen and wild bird seed mixes this winter, to be deferred until next spring
Derogations can be made for entry-level, higher-level and countryside stewardship schemes.
Natural England said requests would be considered on an individual basis, as the effects of temporarily relaxing scheme conditions will be different on each farm.
Geoff Sansome, Natural England’s director for land management in the South, said: “Farmers are currently facing some very difficult conditions and we want to ensure that appropriate derogations are in place to help ES agreement holders tackle some of the problems that this exceptionally wet weather is causing.”
Farmers and land managers who need advice about their environmental stewardship agreements or would like to apply for a derogation should contact their local Natural England adviser or call Natural England on 0300 060 0011.