farmland action plan - powys county...

Our Partnership with Nature: A Local Biodiversity Action Plan for Powys. September 2002 114

FARMLAND ACTION PLAN

Target Group This plan aims to raise awareness of biodiversity issues and ways in which all farms can contribute to enhancing the Biodiversity of Powys. The plan will also help farmers and land managers to source advice and financial incentives to farm more sustainably. It is aimed at all people managing agricultural land in Powys. This includes tenant farmers and farm contractors, landowners (including large estates) and their land agents. Targets Target 1:

Develop working groups and set up others where appropriate to co-ordinate aspects of HAPs and SAP relating to farms.

Target 2:

Implement and monitor BAP objectives relating to farmed land especially where new policies and approaches are required.

Target 3: Research farmers’ needs for information about biodiversity (wildlife)

and pass on to appropriate statutory agencies. Target 4: Produce materials where appropriate to fill gaps in information.

Target 5: Raise awareness among the agricultural community of sources of

information and grant aid to assist with sustainable farming; Woodland Grant Schemes, Agri-environment Schemes, biodiversity action plans and voluntary bodies offering advice.


Facts and Figures Powys is a largely rural county where around 78% of land area is used for agricultural purposes; this amounts to 333,618 ha excluding the area covered by the National Park. In 1999 there were 5,276 full time and 3,168 part-time jobs in farming in Powys. This figure is likely to have decreased since the 2001 foot and mouth epidemic. (All figures from NAW Agricultural Statistics, 2000). Current Initiatives • Tir Gofal Tir Gofal (agri-environment scheme) covers the whole of Wales and is run by the Countryside Council for Wales on behalf of the National Assembly for Wales. Holdings of more than 3 ha in size, which are in agricultural use, are eligible to apply. A Tir Gofal agreement runs for ten years from the signing date and covers the whole farm. The management prescriptions cover codes of good agricultural practice, traditional boundaries, archaeological remains, buffer zones alongside field boundaries and water courses as well as management of individual habitats. Annual payments are made for carrying out the prescriptions, also for including any of the optional categories for creating and enhancing habitats. There are grants towards ‘capital works’ such as hedge and wall restoration, tree planting, nest boxes and otter holts, and other items which may improve the environmental value of an area. • Wildlife Sites Project Wildlife Sites are non-statutory sites of nature conservation interest selected as being the best sites for wildlife in Powys, outside of SSSIs, Nature Reserves and other legally protected areas. The selection and protection of such sites will be an effective way of delivering many targets within the Powys LBAP. Around 100 Wildlife Sites have been selected and approved in Powys, and the project is awaiting further funds to take this work forward. • Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) Following a feasibility study in 2000, FWAG have been funded to develop a network of Wales-wide advisors commencing in Spring 2002. Radnorshire Wildlife Trust’s Agriculture and Conservation Working Group are an alliance of farmers who meet regularly to discuss wildlife management issues and organise guided farm walks to share ideas. They have also been active in lobbying for further funding for Tir Gofal and provide advice for farmers considering the scheme.

• Farming Connect Farming Connect is the mechanism to enable Welsh farmers to gain rapid access to the latest results of research, development and business advice. Through the Wales-wide network of demonstration farms it will, in turn, offer Welsh institutions engaged in research and development a better means of involving the community in their work. In addition, Farming Connect will help the National Assembly to maintain a clear view of the research and development priorities for the future development of Welsh agriculture and non-food crops.


• National Assembly for Wales Agriculture & Rural Affairs Department (ARAD) ARAD’s aim is to help agricultural communities to adapt to changes in agriculture by the following means:

• Safe, healthy food and non-food products produced with high standards of care for the environment and animal welfare, targeted more closely to market opportunities.

• A countryside which is visually attractive in its biodversity, archaeology, history and culture, thus helping to support tourism.

• Distinctive local food products

The way that ARAD will achieve these aims is outlined in the publication Farming for the Future: A new direction for farming in Wales (November 2001). • Powys County Council Landholdings Powys County Council has both freehold and leasehold tenant farms. In March 2001 there were 206 equipped and 31 bare land farms. Of these 237 farms, 204 have tenancy agreements and stock rearing is the primary land use on all of them. These farms comprise a total of 4849 ha. Eight of the farms are part of the Radnorshire ESA scheme and three farms are in Tir Gofal agreements; no PCC landholdings in Montgomeryshire qualified for Tir Gofal on a points basis. A farms officer was employed for one year to help tenants into agri-environment schemes (2001). • Powys Food Links This was a Powys County Council initiative undertaken by a steering group under the Local Agenda 21 Partnership. The aim is to promote local food to consumers and local businesses. This will give farmers better returns. A Food Links Officer has been appointed to promote and co-ordinate local food initiatives and also to assist with setting up of a series of farmers’ markets across Powys. • Coed Cymru Coed Cymru is a Welsh woodland initiative that promotes the sustainable management of broad-leaf woodlands and the use of locally grown hard wood timber in Wales. Coed Cymru have a network of officers covering Wales who provide free advice and training for woodland owners, particularly within the farming community who own many of the small woodlands in Wales. Coed Cymru officers can assist with Woodland Grant Schemes (WGS), Tir Gofal applications and woodland management plans.

Current issues in Powys Agricultural land is of paramount importance for biodiversity in Powys. Therefore, co-operation and involvement of farmers and landowners/managers is key to the successful implementation of the majority of targets within the whole Powys LBAP. Agriculture has been in crisis as an industry since 1997. The financial situation faced by many farmers has put pressure on them to concentrate solely on activities that promise a financial return – in a county such as Powys, where most land can now be described as marginal, this is difficult even in a favourable economic climate.


The Tir Gofal agri-environment scheme offers some incentives to land managers to implement conservation measures, but funds available do not meet even 50% of the demand amongst farmers and there is a shortage of officers to assess the scheme. In December 2001, a discussion seminar ‘The Future of Farming’ was held by Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust. It was clear that the majority of farmers present would be able to deliver biodiversity targets if they had sufficient financial incentives to do it and were given clear guidance from the relevant conservation agencies. Research is needed amongst Powys’ farming community into views on biodiversity, to find who can and is willing to deliver BAP targets. The importance of farmers as stewards of the countryside and of biodiversity needs to be emphasised outside the farming community as well as within. The BAP process could be helpful in this respect. In particular, positive stories which reflect good practice on farms should be highlighted in BAP publicity. Several of the Powys Local Biodiversity Action Plans relate to farmland species and have highlighted the lack of adequate baseline data from which to begin monitoring progress. It cannot be assumed that UK trends (e.g. bird numbers) have been mirrored in Powys, nor indeed Wales and therefore data specific to the county is needed. Data from surveys needs to be made available to land managers to aid their management decisions and to support agri-environment grant applications where these are submitted. Farmland buildings such as old barns are especially important for bats, barn owls and birds like house martins and swifts.


Farmland Action Plan Action Meets

target Deliverer Complete

by Establish A system for implementing and monitoring BAP objectives relating to farmland Develop working groups and set up others where appropriate to co-ordinate aspects of HAPs and SAPs relating to farms.

1 FUW, NFU, CLA, WTs, FWAG, CCW, ARAD

2003

Develop strategy to implement and monitor BAP objectives relating to farmed land.


Ensure sources of information about the BAP and biodiversity issues are accessible to all farmers in Powys Research farmers needs for information about biodiversity (i.e. wildlife)


2003

Produce materials where appropriate to fill gaps in information provision.


2005

Campaign for more grant aid for land management which favours biodiversity on farms.


2003, ongoing

Encourage on-farm monitoring and feedback by local wildlife recorders. Set up a database of contacts (similar to RSPB advisory idea).


2003, ongoing

Associated action plans (within the Powys LBAP) Habitats: upland oak wood, wet woodlands, lowland wood-pasture and parkland, linear habitats (hedges and verges), conifer plantations, lowland dry acid grassland, lowland meadows, upland calcareous grassland, upland and lowland heath, rhos pastures, lowland raised bog, mesotrophic standing waters, ffridd, rivers and streams and old orchards. Species: water vole, brown hare, hazel dormouse, pipistrelle bat, lesser horseshoe bat, tree sparrow, curlew, lapwing, great-crested newt, wild brown trout, fairy shrimp, high brown fritillary, pearl-bordered fritillary, wood bitter-vetch, globeflower, pillwort, waxcap fungi. Other plans MWT’s Biodiversity Matters: Action Plan for Farmland MWT’s Biodiversity Matters: Action Plan for Farmland Birds

farmland action plan - powys county...

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