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In this issue... Join the Groundswell page 16 Regenerative Agriculture comes of age Soil-led success page 82 - cpm magazine
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In this issue...
Join the Groundswell page 16            Soil-led success page 82
Regenerative Agriculture comes of age   Hants estate journey to Net Zero

Cultivating choice page 66              Sprouting solutions page 92
In this issue... Join the Groundswell page 16 Regenerative Agriculture comes of age Soil-led success page 82 - cpm magazine
In this issue... Join the Groundswell page 16 Regenerative Agriculture comes of age Soil-led success page 82 - cpm magazine
Opinion
                                                                              4  Talking Tilth - A word from the editor.
                  Volume 23 Number 8                                          6 Smith’s Soapbox - Views and opinions from an Essex peasant…..
                          July 2021                                           64 Tech Respect - CPM ’s machinery editor surveys the search for UK Ag’s next step.
                                                                              99 Last Word - A view from the field from CPM’s technical editor.

                                                                               Technical
                                                                              8     Cereals Event report - For the greater good…
                                                                                    After an online-event in 2020, Cereals returned to its in-person form.
                                                                              16 Groundswell report - All’s well at Groundswell
                                                                                    The first in-person technical event since the onset of the pandemic.
                                                                              20 Countryside Stewardship - The ‘brutal’ side of the RPA
                                                                                    The farmers in environmental schemes who’ll never trust RPA again.
                                                                              24 Pipeline fungicide - First glimpse of Adepidyn
                                                                                    New cereal fungicides are now coming along like London buses.
                                                                              26 Carbon farming - Tools of the trade
                                                                                    Three of the latest tools and partnerships which could help growers.
                                                                              30 Take-all - Research informs integrated control
                           Editor                                                   Control of take-all currently relies on long-standing cultural methods.
                    Tom Allen-Stevens                                         36 Bioscience insider - A boost from within
                      Technical editor                                              There are many times in a crop plant’s life that it may need a nutritional boost.
                    Lucy de la Pasture                                        40 OSR - Early benefits outweigh risks
                      Machinery editor                                              Could the secret to growing OSR successfully be early drilling?
                   Charlotte Cunningham                                       44 Theory to Field - Fine-tuning the RL
                                                                                    The AHDB Recommended List is part of the fabric of arable farming.
                     Writers
   Tom Allen-Stevens      Charlotte Cunningham                                47 Insiders View - Insist on a barn-buster?
    Melanie Jenkins         Lucy de la Pasture                                      A new hard Group 4 offering looks to provide a table-topping option.
      Rob Jones                                                               50 Real Results Pioneers - The confidence to champion OSR
                                                                                    Wilts grower Martin Smart has come back into on-farm oilseed rape trials.
              Design and production
                 Brooks Design                                                54 Pulse progress - A blend of benefits
                                                                                    Durham grower Richard Suddes is growing winter peas and beans together.
           Advertisement co-ordinator
                  Peter Walker                                                58 Forward-thinking farmers - The risk of reliance
                                                                                    Glyphosate is under threat, both from resistance and public perception.
                    Publisher
                  Steve Kendall                                               61 Agri-intelligence update - Break it apart to bring it together
                                                                                    Agrii’s trials at Stow Longa have defined an integrated approach to blackgrass.
               Commercial Director
                 Angus McKirdy
                                                                               Machinery
                To claim two crop protection BASIS points, send an email to
                cpd@basis-reg.co.uk, quoting reference CP/112061/2122/g.
                                                                              66 Cultivators and ploughs - One size doesn’t fit all
                To claim two NRoSO CPD points, please send your name,               Iit’s important to match a new purchase with on-farm objectives.
                NRoSO member number, date of birth and postcode to
                angus@cpm-magazine.co.uk
                                                                              70 Balers - Output powers innovation
                                                                                    Balers everywhere are about to get put through their paces.
 *the claim ‘best read specialist arable journal’ is based
     on independent reader research conducted by
                                                                              74 Sustainable farming - Sustainable solutions
                                                                                    Technology could play a key role in the future of sustainable farming.
                McCormack Media 2020
                                                                              78 Innovation Insight - 40 years of innovation
                Editorial & advertising sales                                       A look back on Claydon’s founding innovation, as well as the journey.
CPM Ltd, 1 Canonbury, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY3 7AG
Tel: (01743) 369707 E-mail: angus@cpm-magazine.co.uk
                                                                               Innovation
 Reader registration hotline 01743 369707
                        Advertising copy                                      82 Climate Change Champions - A respect for the soil
                      Brooks Design,                                                The Lockerley Estate has made impressive headway on its journey to Net Zero.
   24 Claremont Hill, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY1 1RD
   Tel: (01743) 244403 E-mail: fred@brooksdesign.co.uk
                                                                              85 Research Briefing - Mind the gap…
                                                                                    Hutchinsons’ Helix project identifies and then proves the latest technology.
CPM Volume 23 No 8. Editorial, advertising and sales offices are at
       CPM Ltd, 1 Canonbury, Shrewsbury, SY1 9NX England.
   Tel: (01743) 369707. CPM is published eleven times a year by                Roots
    CPM Ltd and is available free of charge to qualifying farmers
             and farm managers in the United Kingdom.
                                                                              88 Sugar beet disease - Rethink beet disease control?
   In no way does CPM Ltd endorse, notarise or concur with any of the               The 2020 season threw up some massive challenges.
   advice, recommendations or prescriptions reported in the magazine.
If you are unsure about which recommendations to follow, please consult       92 Potatoes - All in the timing
 a professional agronomist. Always read the label. Use pesticides safely.           Controlling the risks of sprouting begins long before a potato goes into storage.
     CPM Ltd is not responsible for loss or damage to any unsolicited
                     material, including photographs.
                                                                                                                     crop production magazine july 2021 3
  CPM (Print) ISSN 2753-9040        CPM (Online) ISSN 2753-9059
In this issue... Join the Groundswell page 16 Regenerative Agriculture comes of age Soil-led success page 82 - cpm magazine
because there are a few                A special thanks too to          the things on your farm that
                                          select people who truly          Charlotte Alexander, who has         mean the most to you. That has
                                             understand farming,           worked tirelessly to promote the     been such a privilege and
                                              what it is to be a farmer,   interests of CPM readers and         I have learned so, so much.
                                                and what would             has been responsible for                 It’s a privilege, too, to
                                                interest the CPM           putting all the content online       write about it. By far the best
                                               reader. They have           and for our email shots. Lottie      aspect of this magazine is its
                                             helped to shape change        is also moving on to pastures        readership –– those who are
                                          over the past ten years, as      new –– if you’re a Suffolk sugar     currently reading these words.
                                        well as brought us the best        beet grower you’ll have the          It has been so rewarding to
Thank you                            stories –– CPM is genuinely           pleasure and the benefit of          share what I’ve discovered with
                                    top of the list for something          her drive and energy.                those who are undoubtedly the
                                    new and interesting in arable              One aspect that’s remarkable     finest farmers in the world. So
Of the 108 Talking Tilth articles farming.                                 about CPM is the way we work         thank you.
I’ve had the pleasure of writing        The other names you don’t          with those who pay for it. It’s          When I left practical farming
over the past ten years, this       see are the others who share           almost entirely funded by the        behind and became a technical
one is the hardest.                 the space with the editorial           companies who place adverts          writer for farming magazines,
Because it’s my last.               team on the left-hand side of          or support sponsored features.       I found I was better at writing
   I’m moving on, so it will be the the previous page. Peter               What unites the CPM team and         about doing it right than doing
very talented Lucy de la Pasture Walker, aka Fred, has put                 the people who represent those       it right. It’s no exaggeration that
and Charlotte Cunningham            every single issue of CPM on           companies is that we want our        we’re now going through the
who will share this space from      the page since it first started        readers to have the information      biggest period of change
hereon, I believe.                  in 1999. Words simply don’t            they need to make the best           farmers have faced for at
   To take this space, to be        mean a thing until you bring           decision for their business. But     least 100 years. The technical
editor of this magazine, has        them alive with design and             it goes further –– as a journalist   capabilities we can bring in
been the greatest privilege. I’ve   layout. Fred not only has an           in this space, you stand at the      make this an exciting and
totted it up. Over the time I’ve    extraordinary talent for fitting       edge and look into what can          potentially empowering era of
been editor, we’ve brought you      our ramblings on the page, but         sometimes be an awe-inspiring        opportunity for farmers. So it’s
2245 editorial articles. That’s     also has the most incredible           world of innovation. It’s a credit   time to move on from writing
6077 pages and over 4M words. patience for an editor who                   to those we work with that we’re     about what’s right and to start
   The first thing I have to say is constantly pushes deadlines.           let into that space to explore       putting into action some of
thank you for reading them. But         Angus McKirdy founded              and to share what we find,           those ideas we’ve shared. I do
I also want to give you an insight the magazine and is still               trusted to do so without             hope you’ll come along on that
as to how they reach you.           responsible for almost                 misrepresenting or giving            journey with me.
   It is a remarkably small, but    everything it does. As such,           away trade secrets.
incredibly talented team. You       he is almost unique in a                   And that brings me to those
will not find editorial skill that  world where so many trade              for whom I have the most
surpasses what Lucy and             publications are run by faceless       thanks, as well as the utmost
Charlotte bring to these pages.     directors who don’t understand         respect. Of the 3297 interviews
They also bring a passion for       farmers. It is Angus I’ve worked       I’ve done over the past ten
farming and a yearning to           closest with since I joined as         years, 544 of them have been           Tom Allen-Stevens has a
explore what makes it better        editor. He’s ensured the support       farmers. I have arrived on your        170ha arable farm in Oxon,
and more interesting. It has        and resource for all the editorial     farm, probably parked in the           has written 812 articles for
been so invigorating to work        initiatives that have passed in        wrong place, pummelled you             CPM and is director of
alongside them.                     front of you since, and it’s his       with questions.                        communications and PR for
   The people you don’t see are singular drive to ensure the                   You have unreservedly              Trinity AgTech.
the freelance journalists and PR interests of the CPM reader               welcomed me, shared with me           tom@cpm-magazine.co.uk
operatives we work with. There      are always put first that has          the thoughts that are closest to      @tomallenstevens
aren’t very many, and that’s        made them successful.                  you about farming. Shown me
In this issue... Join the Groundswell page 16 Regenerative Agriculture comes of age Soil-led success page 82 - cpm magazine
In this issue... Join the Groundswell page 16 Regenerative Agriculture comes of age Soil-led success page 82 - cpm magazine
not so much ‘freak’ but rather       more conducive to a better
                                     indicative of what’s to come.                                                  Guy Smith grows 500ha of
                                                                          harvest for 2021. I do seem to
                                                                                                                    combinable crops on the north
                                      The thought we’ve got more,         remember there was a school
                                                                                                                    east Essex coast, namely
                                         not less, of this punishing      of thought doing the rounds               St. Osyth Marsh –– officially the
                                            weather to come does          when climate change                       driest spot in the British Isles.
                                             rather concentrate the       projections were first emerging           Despite spurious claims from
                                             mind. I suspect I’m not      20 years ago that suggested               others that their farms are
                                             alone in thinking that in    that the weather in northwest             actually drier, he points out
                                           autumn 2019 I shouldn’t        Europe would become more                  that his farm is in the Guinness
                                        have bothered to start the                                                  Book of Records, whereas
Long term                            cropping year. Even with
                                                                          benign for farming not less.
                                                                                                                    others aren’t. End of.
                                                                             But now things have taken a
weather woes                         improved prices, harvest 2020        far more ominous tone. These             @essexpeasant
                                     was the culmination of a lot of      dark predictions of hellish
For the meteorologically             bother and expense with little       weather become all the more
squeamish among us the               or no reward.                        engaging as we consider                 putting acres into schemes that
recent pronouncements of the             But before we rush to shut the   adjusting our farm business             guarantee an income no matter
Climate Change Committee             field gate, the key question is      models in preparation for the           what the weather becomes all
make for sobering reading.           how much trust we should put         demise of BPS and the advent            the more appealing in the face
   Basically, their expert opinion   into long term weather forecasts.    of a new suite of environmental         of flood and drought with not
is that the ‘freak’ weather          I’ve yet to come across a            schemes. The prospect of                much in between.
patterns we’ve seen over the         reliable ten-day forecast, let
recent years whereby flood           alone a ten-year one. Certainly,
gives way to drought and then        the weather in the 2020/21
                                                                            Nuffield and Knepp
returns back to flood again, are     growing year has been a lot
                                                                            Nuffield farming scholarships are
                                                                            primarily about travel bursaries
                                                                            that encourage farmers to look at
                                                                            a particular aspect of agriculture
                                                                            in foreign fields. The experience
                                                                            certainly expanded my horizons
                                                                            although admittedly from a very
                                                                            limited parochial start-point where
                                                                            I hadn’t ventured far from my
                                                                            small Essex pond. Obviously
                                                                            Covid has proven a huge travel
                                                                            hurdle for those recently awarded
                                                                            scholarships but hopefully the
                                                                            vaccine programme will start to
                                                                            open the world up again soon.
                                                                                                                  A stork’s nest on the Sussex Weald
                                                                                Another aspect of the Nuffield
                                                                                                                  may be balanced as precariously
                                                                            experience is the lifelong
                                                                                                                  as farming incomes.
                                                                            camaraderie where scholars stay
                                                                            in touch. There are various study
                                                                            groups which attract Nuffields of     nursed back to health in a new
                                                                            all ages. As Chair of the Arable      home on the Sussex Weald. The
                                                                            Group, I had the pleasure of          result is the first nesting storks in
                                                                            arranging a trip to the Knepp         the UK since 1400. Their scruffy
                                                                            Estate in West Sussex. It was         nests balanced precariously in
                                                                            fascinating to see what happens       the tops of trees make quite
                                                                            to a large arable farm where you      a sight.
                                                                            shut the gate only allowing in a         The Knepp experiment is very
                                                                            small number of herbivores to         on-trend as it has become a
                                                                            browse plus the odd pig to snout      honeypot attracting the the Defra
                                                                            around. There’s also some more        policy drones. While it was a
                                                                            intense management such as the        fascinating day most of the
                                                                            stork project where young, injured    Nuffield group walked away
                                                                            storks from Warsaw zoo are            with the F word on their minds.

6 crop production magazine july 2021
In this issue... Join the Groundswell page 16 Regenerative Agriculture comes of age Soil-led success page 82 - cpm magazine
In this issue... Join the Groundswell page 16 Regenerative Agriculture comes of age Soil-led success page 82 - cpm magazine
“   Now is
              the right time
           for good teamwork
             and knowledge
                exchange.
                                  ”

 For the greater
          good…
          Technical
Cereals Event report
      After an online-event in                    growing medium to hold, we know that soils       farmers to ‘increase their ambition’ within
2020, Cereals returned to its                     are alive, and farmers know that the extent to   those standards, but also, to add additional
                                                  which they have humus and organic matters        ones. “Initially we’ll be looking at nutrient
  in-person form once again                       in the soil is key to plant health.              analysis.
this year. CPM paid a visit to                       “That is why we want to ensure that as we        “I’m also interested in whether we can do
                                                  move forward, we can support improved soil       more to incentivise the use of green fertilisers,
         the Lincolnshire site.                   health through new agriculture policies. That    whether there can be more on min and no-till
                                                  is why we want our future policies to support    systems and also whether more can be
       By Charlotte Cunningham                    this movement and that is why today we are       done on companion crops which can assist
                                                  announcing more details on our Sustainable       in tackling diseases as we lose more and
                                                  Farming Incentive.                               more pesticides. And whether we can look
 Crop plots, a jam-packed seminar                                                                  at options to incentivise fallow crop options
 programme and more tyres to kick than            Soil custodians                                  as well.”
 one could dream of could all be used to          “It’s going to start with soils –– a better         Turning focus to payments, proposed
 describe this year’s Cereals Event, which        understanding of our soils and incentivising     rates so far are only available for improved
 took place at its Lincolnshire home in           farmers to be custodians of their soils.”        grassland soils and arable and horticulture
 Boothby Graffoe at the end of last month.            As such, the Secretary of State              soils, with the standards set to be finalised in
    But it was ‘what’s next for farming?’ that    announced that there is going to be four         November this year –– when a payment rate
 was the question on everyone’s lips –– with      different soil health standards going forward    for moorland and rough grazing is expected
 many seminar sessions focusing on what           –– three specifically relevant to arable         to be announced too.
                                                                                                                             ▲

 may lie ahead for the industry and how           growers –– and each linked to different
 growers can best prepare for change.             payment rates.
    And providing some clarity on what                These are (and will be available from
 the industry can expect in terms of              2022):
 government direction, was Secretary              ● Arable and horticultural soil

 of State, George Eustice.                        ● Improved grassland soil

    Speaking at the event, the minister           ● Moorland and rough grazing

 announced a first look at how the new                “The fourth is the beginning of our animal
 Sustainable Farming Incentive –– one of          health and welfare pathway where we are
 three new schemes which will reward              going to pay farmers to have a vet to do an
 environmental land management –– is              annual review of their herd and come up
 going to shape up.                               with a management plan to try to manage
    “In recent years, we’ve seen a renewed        down diseases and the overall health of their
 interest in an ancient knowledge –– the          herd, thus promoting profitability as well.”
                                                                                                   Secretary of State, George Eustice, gave a first
 knowledge around what makes healthy,                 The Secretary of State added that
                                                                                                   glimpse of some of the key priorities of the
 fertile soil. Farmers instinctively understand   additional modules would be added in
                                                                                                   Sustainable Farming Incentive.
 this – we know that soil is more than a          coming years, with the aim of enabling

  8 crop production magazine july 2021
In this issue... Join the Groundswell page 16 Regenerative Agriculture comes of age Soil-led success page 82 - cpm magazine
In this issue... Join the Groundswell page 16 Regenerative Agriculture comes of age Soil-led success page 82 - cpm magazine
Cereals Event report
                                                         that the quid pro quo for moving away from      methodology been applied. I know that that’s
                                                         an arbitrary area-based payment system is       going to be a really powerful incentive for
                                                         that we should also depart from the income      farmers to get involved in these schemes.”
                                                         forgone payment methodology the European            The question is, will the RPA be able to
                                                         Union previously used for agri-environmental    handle managing another payment scheme?
                                                         schemes.                                            While the minister was confident that this
                                                            “We need to start to have payment rates      would be the case, there was some concern
                                                         attached to the Sustainable Farming             in the room. (Find out more about growers’
                                                         Incentive that better reflect the cost          current challenges with the RPA on p20)
NIAB’s crop plots provoked many discussions              associated with those options which are             CPM will be examining the scheme and
about getting the best from crop protection.             set at a rate which genuinely creates an        how it will work practically in upcoming
                                                         incentive for farmers to take part.             issues, so watch this space…
  The table below highlights the new                        “So the payment rates that we are                And though the government were keen to
▲

payments, compared with how they stack                   publishing for those three new soil standards   push the new schemes, consultancy, Ceres
up against the rates being offered under the             roughly equate to a 30% uplift in what would    Rural were also on hand, offering advice for
current pilot scheme “I’ve always been clear             have been the case had the old EU               those still getting to grips with the fall out of
                                                                                                         life after BPS.
                                                                                                             Taking a closer look at current business
                                           Sustainable Farming                Current Sustainable
                                           Incentive payments                  Farming Incentive         performance and using the transition period
                                                from 2022                         pilot scheme           to make changes –– especially where
    Improved grassland soils                                                                             farming is the major contributor to profitability
    Introductory                                      £26/ha                          £6/ha              –– is the priority, according to the firm.
    Intermediate                                      £44/ha                          £6/ha                  As such, it issued a five-point plan at the
    Advanced                                          £70/ha                          £8/ha              event, aimed at helping growers prepare for
    Arable and horticultural soils                                                                       what is to come.
    Introductory                                      £26/ha                         £30/ha              1. Focus on efficiency
    Intermediate                                      £41/ha                         £47/ha              Start by benchmarking, urged partner,
    Advanced                                          £60/ha                         £59/ha              Richard Means. “Knowing how the farm is
                                                                                                         performing compared with others and
                                                                                                         whether your business is amongst the top
    FSOOTY winner announcement                                                                           25% gives a good basis for decision-making.
                                                                                                             “There will be new opportunities or
    Congratulations to Luke Haynes who was                                                               changes to consider and it’s much easier to
    crowned winner of this year’s Farm Spray                                                             do this with your current performance in
    Operator Of the Year.                                                                                mind.”
        Followers of the award will know that this                                                           Reducing costs will be a priority on
    was Luke’s second consecutive appearance as                                                          most farms, but any changes should be
    a FSOOTY finalist, however, during the past                                                          introduced in a gradual way so that
    year he has changed both jobs and sprayers.                                                          margins are maintained, he added.
        Today, Luke covers 1150ha at Stevens                                                                 “Low input systems only work where soils
    Farm, in Kent, and operates a Fendt Rogator                                                          are functioning well and management is top
    645, fitted with a 5000-litre tank and 30m                                                           notch. Be cost appropriate rather than just
    Pommier boom. His go-to nozzle choice has                                                            cutting costs.”
    been the Syngenta 3D Nozzle which, with three                                                            Richard also added that putting the
    different sizes fitted and his sprayer’s            Kent-based Luke Haynes was crowned at this       foundations in place for a consistent,
    Optinozzle systems, can automatically select        year’s FSOOTY winner.                            profitable farming system which avoids
    the optimum spray pattern for any given water                                                        damage to the environment and delivers
    volume and speed. Fungicides are typically          part that the sprayer operator plays in          public goods takes time.
    applied at 100 l/ha and herbicides at 200 l/ha.     ensuring the business meets its productivity         “A good starting point is to improve the
                                                                                                         resilience of your soils. That reduces risk,
                                                                                                                                                          ▲

        Syngenta application specialist and FSOOTY      and efficiency goals.”
    judge, Scott Cockburn, commented how all            FSOOTY 2021 finalists:
    six finalists had demonstrated a deep               ● Luke Haynes: Stevens Farm, Cranbrook,

    understanding of sprayer operation and                Kent
    exemplified good practice to consistently           ● Steven Forbes: W H Gittins and Sons,

    achieve optimum results, whilst achieving             Shrewsbury, Shropshire
    safe and accurate application.                      ● Tom Ingram: Sutton Cheney Farms

        “Luke stood out for his appreciation of how       Partnership, Nuneaton, Warwickshire
    his role and the spraying activities integrated     ● Jonathan Legg: Ashton Farms, Trowbridge,

    into the farm’s overall agronomy, decision            Wiltshire
    making and strategy.                                ● Josh Whitear: Netherley Farm Partnership,      DSV’s new ‘quad-layered’ oilseed rape variety,
        “It really emphasised the vitally important       Waterlooville, Hampshire                       Matrix, looked well in the crop plots.

10 crop production magazine july 2021
Cereals Event report
                                                  a professional management structure.”            significant development for industry, was
                                                  4. Grow profits from diversification/            the launch of Syngenta’s new 3D ninety
                                                  environmental management to spread risk          nozzle.
                                                      With a 12% reduction in BPS already              For those who didn’t catch it at the
                                                  introduced for 2021, farmers should look at      event, the latest launch is designed to
                                                  other funding streams to fill this gap such as   improve all round coverage –– by better
                                                  the Sustainable Farming Incentive and            balancing the demands of improving
                                                  Countryside Stewardship, as well as the          application efficacy and minimising
                                                  Farm Equipment and Farm Transformation           environmental losses.
                                                  Funds, suggested partner, George Badger.             The design comprises the benefits of
Kaleb Cooper said the best advice he could give       “In-field practices which increase soil      Syngenta’s 3D nozzle, but with the ‘ninety’
to the next generation is to seize every          organic matter could earn you around             element representing the 90% drift
opportunity.                                      £70/ha under the SFI, which is piloting now      reduction technology, explained Harry
                                                  and will be available next year. Help with       Fordham, Syngenta’s new farming
   allows for lower input use and paves the       larger infrastructure projects or equipment      technologies lead.
▲

way for ELMS and potentially future carbon        purchases is on offer with the new funds.”           “The 3D ninety comes as a result of
sequestration payments.”                              Diversification projects may also be         three years of research and development
2. Make environmental management as               relevant, especially where farming is            –– including extensive laboratory testing
good as your farm management                      contributing less to profitability and there’s   as well as field trials and on-farm
    Accept that nature recovery and               a need to spread risk.                           evaluations.”
environmental sustainability will be key          5. People make the difference                        Field trials were carried out at
requirements for future success, said             Involve the farm team in decisions about the     Syngenta’s innovation centre, where the
associate partner George Hoyes.                   future and use their enthusiasm to try out       3D ninety gave a 2.5% improvement in
    With the guaranteed income stream from        new ideas and practices, said partner            blackgrass control, compared with
Countryside Stewardship still available until     Charlie Ireland –– aka, ‘Cheerful Charlie’       conventional low drift nozzles –– equating
2023, George says that there’s time to            from Clarkson’s Farm.                            to over 150 plants/m2 in the trial plots,
introduce management options to the                   “People are so important in farm             he added.
rotation, see whether they stack up and if        businesses and a great deal of effort goes           “The 3D ninety also performed 9%
the desired environmental outcomes are            into recruiting, training and retaining the      better than the existing industry-standard
delivered.                                        right staff. Now is the right time for good      grassweed application 3D nozzle at the
    “Farmers will be allowed to leave             teamwork and knowledge exchange.”                recommend 200 l/ha.”
agreements early to join ELMs when it’s               Farm trials are an effective way of              And for those interested in robotics,
available, so it’s a good way to mitigate         assessing the contribution of new                AgXeed’s AgBot Ecosystem was seen in
some losses from BPS reductions and               techniques, or trying out a demonstration        action in a series of demonstrations.
assess the right options for your farm.”          drill, before sweeping changes are made,             As a company who market themselves
    Two-year whole field environmental            he added.                                        with the strap line ‘we do automation’, the
fallows might be a good solution where                “Take independent advice, learn from         AgBot is claimed to deliver advanced
break crops are struggling, while the             best practice and get everyone on board          digital path planning, autonomous task
enhanced over-winter stubble option can           with your plans. They are far more likely        performing and automatic data collection.
work well if grass weeds are threatening          to succeed if you have taken the team                Optional crawler tracks with belt widths
profitability, he added.                          with you.”                                       from 300 to 910mm, combined with a low
3. Collaborate to use the best skills                 Chipping Norton’s most famous resident,      maximum weight of 6.0 t (without ballast)
Collaboration is a proven way of bringing         (closely followed by David Beckham) was          it’s also a soil-friendly option. The vehicle
costs down and making better use of               also on the Ceres Rural stand for a Young        also features an adjustable track width,
machinery and labour, highlighted partner         Professional’s breakfast.                        load-sensing hydraulics and a linkage
Will Gemmill.                                         With talk of lump sum exit payments and      with a lift capacity of up to 8t.
    “It also gives you access to other            new opportunities for young farmers, star of         An electric PTO, independent of the
expertise and skills, as well as assets.          Clarkson’s Farm, Kaleb Cooper, said the          engine speed, and external high-voltage
So while it is often introduced to bring          best advice he could give to the next            connections are also optionally available.
about economies of scale, it can also be          generation is to seize every opportunity.        The electric equipment includes all the
used to generate new income streams or            “Have a go –– that’s what I did. I made a lot    technology required for hazard and
increase sales.”                                  of mistakes, but if you don’t make them, you     obstacle detection, in addition to an RTK
    Partnering with others ensures that any       don’t learn from them.                           steering system.
skills that don’t already exist in the business       “A mistake is not a failure –– it’s an           In May this year, Claas announced a
can be secured, while also avoiding               opportunity to learn.”                           co-operative venture with AgXeed with
expensive mistakes or over-stretching the                                                          the aim of working together on the
existing team’s capabilities, he noted.           Innovation on display                            development and commercialisation of
    “The key is to find a system of               Outside of the seminar tents, there was an       the bot, which could add some serious
collaboration that suits your needs. That         array of innovation on display, giving many      clout for UK markets.
may be a very simple sharing arrangement          the first opportunity to see the latest              Together with the associated software
between two neighbouring farmers or a             launches from over the past 18 months.           solutions and platforms, AgBot is expected
more complex joint venture agreement with            Among those, and looking like quite a         to be launched commercially in 2022. ■

12 crop production magazine july 2021
All’s well at                                                                                     “    Regenerative
                                                                                                      agriculture is a

Groundswell                                                                                       direction of travel – not
                                                                                                        an absolute.
                                                                                                                           ”

        Technical
Groundswell report
   Normality resumed this                     regards to how the five key principles of        specific funding for providing natural
       month, with the first                  regenerative agriculture can be adopted          capital.
                                              on a wider scale –– the overriding theme            Gary believes that this will put a
 in-person technical event                    of the event.                                    financial strain on many businesses. “While
     since the onset of the                      “Regen ag is quite simple –– it’s a           many farmers have correctly attempted to
                                              form of farming which at the same                expand to deal with pressures, expansion
 pandemic. CPM headed to                      time improves the environment,” said             has meant tendering for contract farming
  Hertfordshire to visit this                 Alex Cherry, event director.                     agreements but on average, a loss of
                                                 “This primarily means regenerating the        £40-£60/ac £98.80-£148.20/ha) is made
 year’s Groundswell event.                    soil, but it’s a direction of travel –– not an   on contracted land.
                                              absolute.”                                          “But there is another way…”
     By Charlotte Cunningham                  The 5 Principles of Regen Ag include:               LFB has been benchmarking a group
                                              1. Don’t disturb the soil                        of regenerative agriculture farming
                                              2. Keep the soil surface covered                 businesses for the 2017-20 harvests ––
“How many farmers does it take to             3. Keep living roots in the sun                  known as the Groundswell Benchmarking
change a lightbulb? Change, what’s            4. Grow a diverse range of crops                 Group –– to identify if regenerative
                                                                                                                                     ▲

that?” an opening quip that drew              5. Bring grazing animals back to the land
laughs from the audience at this year’s
Groundswell event –– and wow, what a          Stack up financially
treat the sound of ‘real-life’ laughter was   And while satisfying all of those
after a difficult 18 months.                  principles may seem like a tall order, it
   Now in its fifth year, Groundswell has     can really stack up financially, as well as
become colloquially known as the              environmentally, explained Gary Markham,
Glastonbury of the ag show world.             Land Family Business, speaking at a
However, in the absence of miles of           seminar on the future of agronomy.
quagmire, and with notably better toilet         “Farming is embarking on a period of
facilities, the only real comparisons that    change that most of the current generation
could be drawn between the two was the        of farmers have not experienced. Moving
bucket-loads of new talent on display.        from the comfort of area payments ––
   And change isn’t something that visitors   which on average make up around 84%
to this event resent, nor fear, with the      of income on arable farms included in the
                                                                                               Gary Markham has set up a benchmarking group
seminar tents a hub for knowledge             Land Family Business (LFB) annual
                                                                                               for regenerative agriculture farmers.
exchange and idea sharing with                benchmark –– to having to apply for

16 crop production magazine july 2021
Groundswell report
                                                           agriculture production systems can be

                                                        ▲
                                                        financially viable.
                                                           “Some of the key findings are that
                                                        in regenerative systems, the average
                                                        output per unit area is 25% lower,
                                                        variable costs are 24% lower, gross
                                                        margins are 28% lower and labour and
                                                        machinery costs are 30% lower.
                                                           “This results in an average margin very
                                                        similar for both systems of production.
                                                        However, the range of results within the
A new direct seed drill from British manufacturer       group is wide –– with the top performers
                                                                                                                  NIAB’s crop plots illustrated lower-input cropping
izona was launched at the event.                        achieving results well above the conventional
                                                                                                                  options.
                                                        top 25% group.”

  Are livestock the future for arable farming?
  The fifth principle of regen ag is ‘bring grazing     things like flying flocks are a great idea, having a
   animals back to the land’ –– something that          shepherd who understands that you don’t want
  mixed farmers have been doing for some time,          your cover crop grazed completely to the ground
  but large-scale arable farms are just starting to     is a challenge.
  edge towards.                                             “The other thing that concerned me was that
      And while the environmental benefits are clear,   when we first started getting our soils moving in
  can it work on a commercial basis?                    the right direction with no-till, the last thing we
      Groundswell facilitated a debate with farmers     wanted was a wet winter and being committed
  David Miller, George Hosier and Jo Franklin, as       to having someone’s sheep going across the
  well as beef and sheep consultant Liz Genever to       cover crops.
                                                                                                                David Miller says livestock could compromise his
  discuss the pros and cons of integrating livestock        “Now the soil has moved on and improved,
                                                                                                                simple, low input system.
  into an arable system.                                maybe we could facilitate it, but for us, it’s not
      First up was farm manager, David Miller, who      yet an option.”
  said that after experimenting with sheep in the           On the other side of the debate was Jo Franklin
  rotation, it wasn’t a viable option for the           who is an advocate of the benefits sheep can
  Wheatsheaf Farming Company. “We’re an                 bring to the arable rotation.
  all-arable farm, all combinable crops ––                  Herts farmers, Jo and husband, Rob set up
  farming about 700ha –– and made the change to         their business ‘Kaiapoi’ in 2013 with 200 ewes.
  optimising regenerative agriculture principles in     Today, they run 2250 ewes across 405ha of
  2010 and today, we’re satisfying four of them.        semi-improved grassland, alongside 648ha of
      “However, livestock doesn’t work for us.          arable crops.
      “In 2014, we had sheep on the farm. We grew           Jo believes that integrating livestock and arable
  some really thick cover crops and at the time         systems bring huge advantages and cost savings
  didn’t have a disc/no-till drill, so we needed        to both enterprises and creates one big profitable,
  something to remove the green matter.                 holistic machine. “Working with nature rather than      Jo Franklin believes livestock can bring cost-saving
      “We had no idea whether what we had in the        fighting it to benefit sheep, crops, wildlife,          and environmental benefits to arable farms.
  mix was good for sheep, but we ended up with          landowners, staff, farmers and the environment.
  2500 sheep which took everything right down.              “Recent events within British agriculture have      which we seed with a legume-rich multi-species
      “The issue for us is that we run an incredibly    seen unprecedented change –– the ending of BPS          grass and herbal ley. We spot spray these leys for
  simple, low input system and adding livestock to      payments, switch to ELMs and the “public money          thistles, otherwise they receive no inputs –– a
  that might complicate or compromise. While            for public goods” mantra have all combined to           great opportunity to let nature repair the soil.”
                                                        create a “perfect storm”.                                   Though Jo is having huge success with her
                                                            “Add into the mix the emergence of                  flock, it’s not feasible for every grower who wants
                                                        regenerative agriculture and it is clear farming in     to incorporate livestock into the system to go out
                                                        even five years will be very different from today.      and buy a flock of sheep. And in all honesty, many
                                                            “Our farming approach positions us somewhat         specialist arable growers would probably agree
                                                        uniquely to take best advantage of Hertfordshire’s      that they don’t have the skills necessary to
                                                        mixed soil types. We take out all of the                manage livestock.
                                                        uneconomic arable fields and put them into a                Which is why consultant, Liz Genever, has set
                                                        mid-tier scheme as arable reversion –– which can        up “carbon dating” –– a new hook-up service
                                                        be returned to arable production at the end of the      for livestock farmers who want land and arable
  Could sheep become an important part of the           five-year term if it is profitable to do so.            farmers who want stock. (Think Tinder, but for
  arable rotation?                                          “In the meantime, the scheme grants capital to      sheep). “The overall aim is to help build carbon
                                                        cover fencing and running water to these fields         levels in arable soils.”

18 crop production magazine july 2021
Groundswell report
                                                  West, West Midlands and Wales –– with
                                                  the National Trust heading up activity in
                                                  the East.
                                                     The ‘FAB’ in FABulous stands for
                                                  Functional AgroBiodiversity –– targeted
                                                  measures of biodiversity in and around
                                                  fields to boost pollination and pest
                                                  management as well as soil and water
                                                  quality –– and the programme is designed
                                                  to help farmers identify and adopt the
                                                  relevant FAB-methods specific to
  A carbon border tax is a measure Defra          their farm.
  secretary of state George Eustice revealed      Examples of FAB practices include:
                                                                                                  The seminar tents were a hub for knowledge
                                                  ● Reduced tillage techniques
  as an “ambitious” plan the UK Government                                                        exchange and idea sharing.
                                                  ● Mixed crops/crop rotations
  hopes to take forward in forthcoming
                                                  ● Cover/catch crops
  negotiations with world leaders. Answering                                                      12.7cm coulter which drills individual rows
                                                  ● Organic matter input such as plant
  questions from Baroness Rosie Boycott and                                                       evenly spaced apart across the width of
  in particular from one Groundswell visitor         residuals, wood chips and biochar.
                                                  ● Modified manure quality and diversity
                                                                                                  the drill. The iPass can also be available
  who highlighted how the UK is off-shoring its                                                   in 333mm row spacings with models
                                                  ● Hedgerow management
  responsibility on climate change through                                                        including the 618 and the 824.
                                                  ● Field margin management
  imports, the Minister indicated “there was                                                         Summing up the event, hosting farming,
                                                  ● Reduction in the use of plant protection
  increasing interest around the world” in a                                                      Paul Cherry said: “Back in 2016 when
  tax that reflected commodities traded with a       products
                                                  ● Semi-natural landscape elements to
                                                                                                  we started Groundswell, regenerative
  higher carbon footprint. Asked to elaborate                                                     agriculture as a name was on the fringe
  by CPM, he said the idea had been mooted           provide habitats.
                                                                                                  –– now, it’s on everyone’s lips. I see it as a
  at the recent G7 summit in Cornwall. “It’s         The Soil Association is currently setting
                                                                                                  chance to really take the lead on showing
  very early days, but we are doing exploratory   up learning networks which are open to all
                                                                                                  the best of farming to an increasingly
  work to see how such a thing might              located within the pilot regions.
                                                                                                  demanding and aware public. We can
  develop,” he added.                                And it wasn’t just all about seminars
                                                                                                  build natural fertility, we can store carbon,
                                                  –– there was plenty of kit both on stand
                                                                                                  we can improve drinking water and by the
                                                  and working in the demo zones.
                                                                                                  way make our own businesses more
    In addition to margins, Gary said there          Among them was the debut of the
                                                                                                  resilient. I’m more excited by what I’m
are savings in working capital of around          izona iPass –– a new direct seed drill from
                                                                                                  seeing in agriculture than I have been
£365/ha, which can have a huge impact             British manufacturer izona.
                                                                                                  in the past 35 years.” ■
on farming businesses.
    “The main driver of lack of profitability     High output seeding
in arable farms are the machinery costs           The izona iPass is the brainchild of farmer
and in particular the depreciation which          and engineer, Martin Lole, and has been
represents the capital.                           designed to offer flexible, high output
    “We therefore have developed a key            seeding across a range of establishment
indicator of machinery capital per tonne.         systems.
The Groundswell group average is £74/t,              Boasting a large 7000-litre split tank the
while the LFB conventional system is £91/t        iPass can comfortably accommodate four
–– with the difference between the two            bags of fertiliser and six bags of seed to
coming in at anywhere between £20 and             allow an output of up to 16ha/tank fill when
£30/t over the past four harvests.”               based on a 180kg/ha seed rate.
    But what does this all mean in practice?         Supporting the high-capacity tank,
                                                                                                    A group of former Soil Farmers of the Year
    “Firstly, the current traditional ‘yield is   the monocoque chassis features a
                                                                                                    finalists have come together to form the
king’ philosophy doesn’t work,” said Gary.        commercial axle fitted with hydraulic
                                                                                                    Green Farm Collective. (From L to R) Michael
“Secondly, expanding area is not feasible         brakes as standard, as well as flotation
                                                                                                    Kavanagh, Jake Freestone, Tim Parton,
by using traditional contract farming             tyres to minimise compaction and impact.
                                                                                                    Angus Gowthorpe and Simon Cowell
structures. And thirdly, benchmarking data           Interchangeable front points and
                                                                                                    presented plans to offer enhanced carbon
from four harvests proves that there is an        coulters allow the iPass to be converted
                                                                                                    sequestration and food provenance services
alternative approach for growers that is          from a no-till drill to a strip till or
                                                                                                    to local and national clients, sourced from a
still economically viable.”                       conventional drill at the push of a roll pin.
                                                                                                    regenerative agriculture system. This is
    And if you’re looking for support to get         Operators can choose 5cm single shoot
                                                                                                    underpinned through carbon accounting and
started, the FABulous Farmers project             and 7.6cm and 12.7cm double shoot coulters
                                                                                                    biodiversity assessments brought together
could be worth looking in to.                     to achieve different row spacings to suit
                                                                                                    through Sandy, the new digital assistant
    The European project is supported by          different seeding techniques. 250mm row
                                                                                                    from Trinity AgTech. For more follow
the European Regional Development Fund            spaced models, such as the 6m iPass
                                                                                                    @TheGreenFarmCo1 on Twitter.
and the Soil Association for delivering           624 and the 8m iPass 832 can achieve
                                                                                                    (Photo kindly supplied by Guy Eckley)
activity in three UK pilot regions –– South       a conventional seed row finish using the

                                                                                                       crop production magazine july 2021 19
“   It’s the
                                                                                                                  way the schemes are
                                                                                                                administered and that the
                                                                                                                 RPA communicates that
                                                                                                                  are all wrong, and it’s
                                                                                                                  the environment that
                                                                                                                         loses out.
                                                                                                                                              ”

  The ‘brutal’ side
           of the RPA
Technical Countryside
         Stewardship
      As the Government puts                            started in Jan. “By then it was too late to sow   on the land and effectively received no
                                                        the AB9 wild bird cover option. An inspector      income.”
forward promises of “trusted                            came out in August, right in the middle of            In total, the business has lost around
  advisors” who’ll administer                           harvest. He was really pushy, insisting on        £25-30,000 in claims and penalties. “The
                                                        discussing what he’d found while at the time      Government clearly doesn’t want to do its bit
  ELMs, CPM talks to farmers                            I was trying to sort out the grain dryer that     for the environment at all. It simply wants to
   in environmental schemes                             was backing up.                                   claw back the money it’s spent. I know the
                                                           “Then we heard nothing for a whole             RPA has had restrictive EU rules it has to
who’ll never trust RPA again.                           18 months but noticed payments were               follow, but farmers seem to be paying the
                                                        missing. Eventually the report came through,      penalty for a scheme the Government has
              By Tom Allen-Stevens                      which I had to chase, and sure enough             decided it doesn’t like any more.
               and Melanie Jenkins                      they’d deducted the payment for the AB9               “But we’ve done nothing intentionally
                                                        and taken off penalties, even though it           wrong. All we’ve done is try to enhance the
                                                        wasn’t our fault.”                                environment following the scheme options.
                                                                                                          Instead, I’ve spent literally weeks of my time
  Delays, administrative errors and                     Payment deducted                                  trying to piece together from their haphazard
  heavy-handed tactics from the Rural                   This year there’s been a fresh set of issues.     way of accounting how and why they’ve
  Payments Agency (RPA) when dealing with               “We’ve been deducted payment for land             deducted all the payments and fines.
  appeals against hefty penalties are putting           we’d taken temporarily out of arable into             “You ring them up and even they can’t
  farmers off applying to Countryside                   GS4, legume and herb-rich swards –– the           work it out, but the RPA isn’t answerable
  Stewardship and ELMs.                                 option is disallowed on land parcels prone to     to anyone. Being out of the EU won’t
      CPM has been approached by several                erosion, which is what we’d marked it as five     help, because it’s the way the schemes
  farmers and agents whose clients are                  years ago when we completed our Farm              are administered and that the RPA
  £10,000s out of pocket following fines and            Environment Record. Also a remapping              communicates with farmers that are all
                                                                                                                                                       ▲

  deductions. Some of them have agreed to               exercise has meant three new tumulus
  tell their story only if their identity is withheld   sites have suddenly appeared in our fields,
  for fear of reprisals and further deductions          making options in them ineligible,” explains
  on continuing contracts with RPA.                     the farmer.
      One Herts mixed farmer has five Mid Tier              “They haven’t said anything for four years
  CS agreements and told CPM they’ve been               about the GS4, and suddenly they just take
  battling RPA ever since they applied for the          back all the payments. Yet over that time the
  first one that started in 2017. “They lost the        soil has really benefited from the legume
  application forms, and initially blamed us,           and herb mix and the field is no longer an
  until we provided written proof they had              erosion risk. The options in the tumulus fields
  been submitted correctly.”                            have helped preserve them. It makes no
                                                                                                          Farmers have felt frustration at the considerable
      It wasn’t until mid-June that they finally        sense as we now have to rip it all up and put
                                                                                                          time RPA has taken to deal with appeals.
  received confirmation for the agreement, that         it back to arable –– we’ve been paying rent

  20 crop production magazine july 2021
Countryside Stewardship
                                                      deal with client appeals.                            of the RDPE; the most recent has seen the
                                                          One case from 2014 involved a client in          worst delays from the RPA in making
                                                      ELS and HLS schemes that paid £40,000/yr.            decisions. One was for a small-scale tourism
                                                      After an inspection in the July of that year a       project,” she explains. “The application was
                                                      letter was issued stating fines and withheld         submitted on 30 April 2020 and only got
                                                      payment of £50,000 in total. “We went                approval on 3 March 2021. It wasn’t even
                                                      through four different appeals and were              a complex application. These are real
                                                      partially successful each time, with each            businesses they are dealing with who have
                                                      appeal taking longer,” says Elton.                   to make decisions about their future.”
When mistakes are made by the RPA there’s a lack          “Eventually, in 2016 they paid, by which             This is just one of many cases where
of response to enquiries and nobody to talk to.       point he was owed £65,000. But rather than           applications have taken considerably longer
                                                      getting £40,000/yr subsequently the RPA              than they should. “It’s not a customer friendly
   wrong, and it’s the environment that               reduced it to £35,000 –– something they still        system and immediately puts a divide
▲

loses out.”                                           can’t explain to our satisfaction.”                  between RPA and applicant,” she adds.
   Another large farming business in the                                                                       The bureaucracy involved may be per-
Eastern Counties is £130,000 out of pocket            Nothing back                                         ceived as a barrier to uptake of the ELMs
after a bitter battle with the RPA when it            Elton currently has an on-going appeal from          pilots, she notes. “Prior to the RPA running
imposed claims and penalties multiplied               September 2019, where £54,000 in fines and           and managing schemes, skilled staff from
over the entire business.                             withheld payments were administered to his           the managing bodies would go out and
   “It was brutal,” comments the farmer.              client. “I appealed straight away and got a          present to farmers and businesses,
“I was made to feel like a criminal, and they         partial victory in November 2019, reducing           developing relationships and understanding
withheld all subsequent payments from RPA             the figure to £28,000,” he says. However, he         that led to more trust and stronger projects.
to recover the deductions and penalties.              has appealed again and despite chasing the           Those days seem to have gone.”
It was very heavy-handed and they’re                  RPA and speaking to senior staff, he has                 After successfully participating in previous
incredibly difficult to deal with once you            heard nothing back.                                  environmental schemes, entering CS has
start the appeal process.                                “Trying to get hold of the RPA is                 been a nightmare for one East Yorkshire
   “I can see that most farmers would just            impossible. You have to send everything to           mixed arable and livestock farmer. “We
give up, even if they knew they were in the           a generic email and it goes into a big black         worked with an adviser to go into a 10-year
right, because it’s a tortuous process –– the         hole. There must be loads of people with             agreement –– but they left for personal
RPA must be reaping the rewards of clawing            small fines who don’t think the time, effort         reasons,” explains the farmer.
back money due to farmers.”                           and cost of paying an agent is worth                     “In the winter of 2017/18 we had an
   The time taken for RPA to process                  appealing against,” he adds.                         inspection where a few things were flagged
inspections, and then subsequent queries                 Although Emma Powlett, rural                      as not being quite right, but we compared
from claimants is a common complaint from             management consultant at Powlett and                 his prescription book to ours and they didn’t
many farmers who have contacted CPM.                  Associates, hasn’t dealt directly with CS            match –– so he was measuring things we
Elton Moulds, a rural chartered surveyor              cases, she is involved with the RPA through          didn’t have to do.”
at Perkins George Mawer and Co, has                   the Rural Development Programme for                      After this the farmer heard nothing from
experienced numerous instances where                  England (RDPE).                                      the RPA for 12 months. They then got a letter
the RPA has taken considerable time to                   “Since 2016 there have been three rounds          fining them thousands of pounds –– some

    ‘Draconian’ CAP simply didn’t fit, says George Eustice
    Defra Secretary of State George Eustice has put   to put such a system in place, bearing in mind
    the blame for heavy-handed tactics from the       current failings, he blamed “the incredibly
    RPA when dealing with claims and penalties        onerous” EU rules for the “draconian” measures
    squarely at the door of the European Union.       the agency has been taking and for what it was
    Going forward, he’s pledged a system where        able to say to farmers.
    “trusted advisors” will work with farmers on         “The Common Agricultural Policy was
    new agreements.                                   hideous,” he said. “I spent many years dealing
       Speaking at Groundswell, he said that          with RPA appeals. Wherever it was possible
    30,000 farmers are currently within Countryside   I used to push for more proportionate outcomes,
    Stewardship or other environmental schemes,       recognising genuine error, for instance.            George Eustice claims the UK incurred fines of
    and the intention is to bring more farmers on        “But bear in mind the UK Government was          £100 million/yr from the EU for not being
    board. In future, farmers will work with their    typically fined £100 million each and every year    draconian enough with farmers.
    agronomists or other trusted advisors to put      by the EU for not being draconian enough on
    together agreements and then to monitor work      farmers or claims where we were too soft or         are out of the way, we’ve already made
    undertaken. He estimated around 600-1000          weren’t using penalties enough –– it was an         clear that we’re going to take a much more
    professional advisors would need to be            appalling position to be in.”                       pragmatic and sensible approach to penalties,
    accredited, visiting around 80 farms per             For schemes starting in Jan 2021, the Minister   issuing warning letters where it’s appropriate.
    person twice a year.                              pledged RPA will be dealing with farmers in an      We’re not obliged any more to simply follow
       When asked by CPM if RPA could be trusted      entirely different way. “Now that the EU auditors   the EU approach.”

22 crop production magazine july 2021
Countryside Stewardship
for things they had cleared up with the           it more attractive and streamlining the
inspector and should not have been                inspection process.”
penalised for.                                       However, there are still plenty of farmers
     With the help of an adviser who pushed       experiencing issues. “There’s a lack of
their case, the farmer launched an appeal,        clarity and where things could be resolved
but it took until 2020 to get the money.          quickly it’s overly complex and long, with the
“My family and I were really stressed by the      various stages of complaints and appeals,”
experience, and we questioned why we              says Harry.
even bothered to do CS in the first place.           He’s found the system makes it difficult to
The thing that ticks me off is that there is no   know what’s happening in individual cases
one to talk to and they don’t get back to you.    where issues have arisen, and says the           The rules and deadlines are so numerous that it
If it was any other public body, there would      penalty notification letters during an appeal    can be difficult to get full farm and environmental
be an inquiry.                                    process increase farmers’ anxiety.               value from an application.
     “It doesn’t fill you with any confidence        There are several occasions where
going forward.”                                   appeals have taken one or two years to           Government about the importance of
     As a farm consultant, Rob Wilkinson,         resolve. A lot could be done earlier if          investing in sustainable farming and
at Strutt and Parker, finds the inflexibility     improvements were made to the system and         environmental land management. We can’t
of Natural England and the RPA very               a case worker was allocated with authority       improve our environment without farmers, so
 frustrating. Though several recent               to make decisions, he says.                      environmental schemes must pay well and,
inspections have seen quick responses,               “There’s a case to be made to the             just as crucially, be well-administered.” ■
with good inspectors who are able to clearly
explain things, there have been others with
a whole host of issues, he says. “Currently
there definitely seems a lack of response
to enquiries.”
     The complexity of the application has
proven a real issue. “There are a lot of
additional requirements to some of the wider,
more exciting environmental options, which
are putting farmers off applying, or they feel
like options benefit bureaucracy only and not
the environment,” he says.
     “I know of a case where a farmer’s best
land from an environmental perspective is
now not included within their agreement, due
to a deadline and permission being missed.
This is land which was previously managed
under ELS/HLS as the same option.
     “The rules and deadlines are so
numerous that it can be difficult to get full
farm and environmental value from an
application, especially with such limited
flexibility,” says Rob. “Where farmers have a
number of options, there are so many times
and dates, it’s very difficult to manage.
Farmers will then choose the simple options
that have some environmental benefit –– but
it could be more.”
     The real issue is the administration, he
adds. “The whole system needs completely
streamlining, in order to get wider farm
uptake.”
     Helping members with agri-environment
schemes constitutes a large part of Harry
Greenfield’s work as senior land use policy
adviser at the CLA. “I probably have a bias
as the farmers who don’t have problems
don’t phone me –– I know some farmers in
schemes like CS think it’s a really good deal
and don’t have any problems.
     “I also think the RPA has improved the
scheme a lot in recent years –– making
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