Hill farmers left behind as ELM schemes unroll, says report

Farmers in upland areas are likely to be some of the hardest hit by the loss of support schemes, according to a new industry report.

Analysis by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) found that upland areas could struggle to hit nature and climate targets as a result of scheme delays and less support being made available for farm businesses.

Financial support for upland farms through Higher Tier Countryside Stewardship (CS) agreements have been pushed back until next summer, putting pressure on already tight farm margins.

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Defra farm business income figures show that grazing livestock farms in less favoured areas had the lowest income of all farm sectors at £23,500 in 2023-24.

Tom Lancaster, land, food and farming analyst at the ECIU, wrote on social media platform X that upland areas receive only 8% of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) budget, against 15% of England’s total area.

Farm finance crisis

The ECIU report concluded that delays to rolling out a refreshed Higher Tier CS scheme poses major problems for farm finances in the uplands.

It also raised concerns that too few farmers will be able get into the scheme once it launches next year.

Mr Lancaster said: “Hill farmers are often not rich and are less likely to be affected by changes to inheritance tax, but delays to new government schemes could have an outsized negative impact on their livelihoods.

“The Higher Tier Countryside Stewardship scheme, designed to support farmers to create and restore habitats such as woodlands, which would help to reduce flood risk downstream, has been repeatedly delayed under previous governments.

“Any further delays will put hill farmers’ finances in jeopardy.”

Yorkshire farmer and Nature Friendly Farming Network member Neil Heseltine added: “We’ve been waiting for years for Defra to provide us with the support we need to do more for nature and climate change on our farm.

“We are ready, willing and able, but the support to do so just hasn’t been there yet.

“I don’t begrudge our lowland peers the funding they’re getting; I just want some of it to flow up the hill to allow us to do the same.”