All farmers are facing the loss of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) which will reduce to 50% by 2024 and to zero by the end of 2027. We are being told that future support will only be for the delivery of Environmental Goods and Services, however many farmers are still not clear what these are. This is obviously an extremely worrying time for all.

 

Swaledale and Wensleydale Environmental Farmers - SWEF is an environmental co-operative, a group of farmers and upland managers, who have come together to put themselves in the best place to achieve environmental outcomes, at landscape scale and look to receive a fair financial reward for the same.  

 

Similar Environmental Farmers Groups have recently been established in Hampshire – known as Environmental Farmers Group - and in the Peak District – known as Peakland Environmental Farmers www.peaklandenvironmentalfarmers.co.uk

SWEF aims to:

• Unlock understanding of the environmental goods and services that members are already providing through traditional farming, food production and land management.
• Demonstrate how these can be enhanced and delivered; and,
• Ensure its members are appropriately financially rewarded.

   

  Working together will mean we can offer environmental benefit on a size and scale that will provide maximum reward to members, including:

1. Access to grants and funding that usually go to Wildlife Trusts & Environmental NGOs.
2. Creating further opportunities to benefit from the ELMS – tier 3 Landscape Recovery, not just restoration but to support maintenance and protection of existing good habitat and species numbers.
3. Investor engagement and greater bargaining power than being an individual in the new emerging markets of environmental trades such as Biodiversity Net Gain, Carbon Credits, Green Finance and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance).
4. Private funding to support good environmental outcomes e.g. Carbon Sequestration and storage, maintaining and enhancing biodiversity, flood mitigation and clean air.

    

   Other benefits of being a member of SWEF are:

• Better local representation and influence with policy makers e.g. YDNPA and DEFRA.
• Advice and Support.
• Member cooperation means not tackling this new era on your own.

 

SWEF is intended to complement existing conservation work and run alongside your own CS or ELMS and existing Farmer Clusters.

Local NFU and the CLA representatives are actively promoting the SWEF Group to help all farmers in the area.

 

A series of farmer meetings will be running in Swaledale & Wensleydale:-

• Tuesday 16 May at 7pm at The Pantry, Hawes
• Wednesday 17 May at 7pm at The Buck Inn, Reeth
• Thursday 18 May at 7pm at The Wensleydale Rugby Club, Leyburn

Click on the button below to book, or alternatively call the office on 01748 907070 or email north@cla.org.uk