The National Farmers’ Union, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, National Trust and Wildlife and Countryside Link have written to the Defra Secretary on behalf of farmers in Higher Level Stewardships (HLS).
According to the organisations, these farmers have been left behind as the industry transitions to Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs).
In the letter, the organisations have asked Defra to:
- Offer an uplift to HLS agreement rates to properly reward environmental protection, backdated to the 1st of January 2025.
- Implement a HLS pathway that enables those who want to join ELMs agreements to do so by January 2027.
- Meet to discuss concerns and how to deliver a platform for a profitable, productive and sustainable farming industry.
NFU president Tom Bradshaw said: “We’re all in common agreement. Early adopters of HLS, the farmers at the vanguard of environmental protection who manage some of our most important landscapes for wildlife and biodiversity, must be treated fairly for the work they do.
“While this is important for all farmers, it’s especially so for those in the uplands, farming in SSSIs and Protected Landscapes. Their incomes have been slashed, many haven’t seen an increase to HLS payment levels for decades and they’re stuck in agreements, unable to convert to ELMs. At the same time these businesses have been exposed to the same market and weather volatility experienced across the industry and face the threat of inheritance tax changes. They’re being crippled from all angles.
“To ensure farmers in these legacy agreements can continue to do what they do best, produce food for the nation while looking after the countryside, it is vital that Defra delivers an uplift to HLS payments and introduces a successful pathway for conversion. Without this, the country’s most cherished landscapes will look unrecognisable.”