It includes numerous recommendations to government on the design and accessibility of the new environmental land management schemes and broader recommendations for a legal review of agricultural tenancy and taxation rules in order to create a vibrant tenanted sector.

New legislation in both Scotland and Wales is targeting short-term holiday accommodation providers, with planning restrictions signalled in Wales and a new licensing scheme in Scotland. Elsewhere, dairy giant Arla has announced its milk price paid to farmers will now be partially linked to environmental performance, allowing better impact farms to be paid more.

FOOD & FARMING

Arla to pay farmers for sustainability
From August 2023, the dairy co-operative Arla will pay its farmers in part based on new environmental sustainability targets. The sustainability incentive model will help Arla to reach its target of reducing emissions on farms by 30% for each kg of milk produced by 2030, and to reach carbon net zero by 2050. This new model of pricing means the exact price paid to producers will depend not only on fat, protein, and quality, but also on their sustainability actions.

The cooperative has set aside up to €500 million annually for rewarding climate change reducing activities on farms. There will be 19 sustainability targets which have been scientifically proven to drive on-farm carbon emissions reduction. The key areas for scoring points are feed efficiency, fertiliser use, land use, protein efficiency, manure handling, sustainable feed, renewable electricity, biodiversity and carbon farming activities. Almost all of Arla’s 2,100 British farmers will be involved in this new incentive model.

Free business advice from Savills Food and Farming team
The next phase of the government’s Future Farming Resilience Fund will allow farmers across the country to access free business advice from Savills Food and Farming team. All farmers currently receiving BPS payments are entitled to the advice to help them understand the changes to agricultural support, the potential impact on their business and to identify options to adapt their business models. To register your interest or to find out more, please click here.

British lamb shipped to America for first time in 20 years
British lamb has been exported to the US for the first time in over two decades. The United States Department of Agriculture agreed to open the market for British lamb last year, and the first consignment was flown to the US at the start of October. It contained lamb produced by meat processor Dunbia from its site in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The deal capitalises on new trade freedoms the UK has outside of the EU and is part of wider efforts to drive growth and open up new opportunities for the British food and farming sector. The US lamb market is estimated to be worth £37 million in the first five years of trade. NFU President Minette Batters said “it is great news that British farmers producing top quality, sustainable, high-welfare lamb once again have access to the US market, something we’ve been working hard to achieve for over two decades”.

POLICY

Publication of the Rock Review
The Rock Review, commissioned by Defra in January 2022, has published its 70 recommendations on how to better deliver a resilient and productive agricultural tenanted sector in England. The review emphasises the essential role of tenant farmers in delivering food security, environmental targets and a growing rural economy. The recommendations cover a range of areas including:

• Tenants should not need landlord consent to enter tenanted land into most environmental land management schemes, and landlords should not be allowed to enter tenanted land into schemes unilaterally

• Defra should incentivise landlords to offer tenancies to new entrants

• Tax changes should encourage landlords to let more land for longer

• Defra should appoint a tenant farmer commissioner to ensure future policies are ‘tenant proofed’

• A consultation on tenancy reform should take place in 2023, to improve the functionality of farm business tenancies

• Defra should allow joint applications for productivity schemes, fixed equipment grants and woodland schemes.

The government will publish a formal response to the review in due course.

Environment Secretary commits to growth and greenhouses
The Environment Secretary Ranil Jayawardena declared Defra is an ‘economic growth department’ rather than a ‘regulatory department’ in his speech at the Conservative Party Conference earlier this month. Mr Jayawardena set out his vision for Defra as being ‘all about EFG. The Environment. Food. And Growth’. This statement is reflected in the appointments of Trudy Harrison as Minister for the Environment, Mark Spencer as Minister for Food and Scott Mann as Minister for Growth. Lord Benyon is overseeing the international nature and biosecurity brief. Mr Jayawardena says he wants to use new grant schemes to support farmers and food producers to invest in technology that will boost productivity and profitability.

As part of his drive to boost productivity, Mr Jayawardena is focusing on home grown fruit and vegetable production. He has committed a further £12.5 million investment into automation and robotics through the Farming Innovation Programme which will open in January. The intention is to drive growth of the high-tech horticultural sector as the government believes glasshouse growing has multiple economic, food security and sustainability benefits, however the sector currently represents only 10% of English horticultural businesses. After a visit to the Netherlands to learn more about high-tech greenhouse and vertical growing approaches, Mr Jayawardena says he is committed to actively expanding the Controlled Environment Horticulture sector, and he intends to set out frameworks for innovation, regulation and investment later this year.

ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL CAPITAL

Catchment sensitive farming advice available to all farmers in England
Farmers across England will now be able to benefit from the advice of Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) advisors following the expansion of the programme. Local CSF advisors provide on-farm support and advice to encourage the uptake of new and existing agricultural schemes and to help farmers comply with regulation to deliver environmental gains. CSF is led by Natural England, in partnership with Defra and the Environment Agency. Since 2006, 24,000 farms have benefitted from CSF advice, helping them to reduce agricultural pollution and effectively deploy nature based solutions.

Wales triples its peatland restoration targets
An expert-led Biodiversity Deep Dive commissioned by the Welsh government has assessed how nature recovery across land and sea can best be accelerated across Wales. In response to the recommendations of the Biodiversity Deep Dive, the Welsh government has committed to tripling its peatland restoration target and promised further action to restore Wales’ wildlife and plants.

PROPERTY & DEVELOPMENT 

Licensing scheme opens for Scottish holiday accommodation
Short-term holiday accommodation providers who were operating in Scotland on 1 October 2022 have until 1 April 2023 to apply for a licence for their property; they can continue to let the property until the application is determined. New operators must obtain a licence before accepting bookings for the first time. The scheme is intended to ensure that consistent standards are available to all travellers regardless of the platform through which they are booking. The licensing scheme was developed in response to concerns about the impact of short-term let properties on local communities. Councils have the flexibility to develop licensing schemes alongside powers to establish short-term let control areas. To comply with the licence, hosts will be required to meet a set of mandatory conditions which apply across Scotland, such as displaying energy performance certificate information and having appropriate insurance in place. Applications are made to the local council in which the accommodation is based, further information is available here.

Tougher planning conditions on second homes and short-term lets in Wales
Two new statutory instruments come into effect in Wales on 20 October introducing tougher restrictions on second homes and short-term lets. New use classes will be introduced for dwellinghouses, dwellinghouses not used as a main residence, and short-term lets, with permitted development rights (PDRs) introduced for changes between these use classes. However, these PDRs can be disapplied by a Local Planning Authority on the basis of robust evidence. Central planning policy for Wales is also being amended to make it explicit that, where relevant, the prevalence of second homes and short-term lets in a local area must be taken into account when considering housing requirements and policy approaches in Local Development Plans.

Business & Economy

Scotland generates record amount of renewable electricity
Windier weather combined with new capacity has enabled Scotland to generate a record amount of renewable electricity. Across April, May and June 2022 there was a 36% increase in the amount of electricity produced compared to the same period in 2021.

Renewable energy capacity increased by 10.5% from June 2021 to 13.3 GW in the June 2022, largely due to new wind farms becoming operational, particularly the Moray East project. An additional 16 GW of renewable electricity capacity is currently in the pipeline, more than half of it through onshore wind projects. Whilst renewable generation increased, average daily electricity demand also increased, rising by 8% during the first six months of 2022, following suppressed figures in 2021 due to Covid-19 lockdowns. The renewable energy sector in Scotland now employs more than 27,000 people and generates £5.6 billion of output.

Tax cuts reversed and energy support reduced
Jeremy Hunt has been appointed as the UK’s new Chancellor and has taken an unprecedented step of reversing a number of policies from former chancellor’s Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget announced just 5 weeks ago, in order to ensure the UK’s economic stability and provide confidence in the government’s commitment to fiscal discipline. The basic rate of income tax will now remain at 20% until economic conditions allow for it to be cut, and the dividend tax rate reduction will also no longer go ahead. The Chancellor’s announcement follows earlier decisions to retain the additional rate of income tax (45%) and cancel the planned reduction in corporation tax.

The stamp duty and national insurance cuts from the mini-budget survive, but the government’s support to protect households from high energy bills has been pared back. The energy price guarantee for domestic properties will only last for six months rather than the planned two years. A Treasury-led review will therefore be launched to consider how to support both households and businesses with energy bills after April 2023.

The Chancellor will publish the government’s fiscal rules alongside an Office for Budget Responsibility forecast, and further measures, on 31 October 2022.

London Stock Exchange backs carbon offsetting market
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has set listing rules for companies that finance carbon reduction projects, as part of efforts to grow the carbon offsetting market and make it more transparent. The global market for voluntary carbon credits remains largely unregulated yet the LSE expects demand for carbon offsets, generated through projects such as tree planting, will increase as companies seek to meet net-zero emissions goals. LSE’s Voluntary Carbon Market will enable funds and operating companies to raise capital to be channelled into carbon reduction projects. The intention is that the public market framework is well positioned to stimulate the scaling of the global voluntary carbon market through capital at scale and transparency through disclosure.

OTHER RURAL NEWS

Bird flu threatens Christmas turkeys
The National Farmers Union has warned Christmas turkey supplies could be at risk if the worst avian flu outbreak in UK history continues to spread. More than three million birds have had to be culled so far with bird flu detected at 155 sites across the UK in the past year. If turkey farms are affected by bird flu, it could cause real supply chain issues in the run up to Christmas, which may impact on availability of turkeys. An Avian Influenza Prevention Zone has been declared across Great Britain from midday on Monday 17 October, making it a legal requirement for all bird keepers in Great Britain to follow strict biosecurity measures to help protect their flocks from the threat of avian flu.

And finally…
Former industrial wasteland becomes one of UK’s largest urban nature reserves
The Flashes of Wigan and Leigh, a former industrial wasteland in Lancashire, has become a 738 hectare area of species rich wetland, meadows and woodlands, and is now designated as a nationally important site for rare habitats. The former industrial landscape has been declared as one of England’s largest urban nature reserves, recognised for its importance in protecting wildlife and natural capital and also for its recreational value to the community. Lakes formed as a result of mining subsidence have created a mosaic of shallow open water and wetland habitats which now support a rich density of species such as rare willow tits, bitterns and water voles. It is also hoped the site will provide new opportunities for sustainable tourism and visits from local residents and those further afield.