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Charlotte Elliott, Catchment Advisor for South East Water outlined some new changes that were occurring for farming. These included:

·       Brexit.

·       Supply chain issues.

·       Carbon accounting.

·       COVID-19.

·       Future Trade Agreements.

·       Input prices.

·       Pesticide withdrawals/resistance.

·       Introduction of Environmental Land Management (ELM).

·       Availability of Labour.

·       Phasing out of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).

Charlotte Elliott said that between 2021 and 2028, an agricultural transition was beginning to take place. She said that the BPS would be phased out over 7 years, starting in 2021. The last payments would be made in 2027 and the money released from this would stay within the sector, until the end of the current Parliament and be used to help farmers negotiate the changes, improve efficiency, adopt new technologies and to take actions to address climate change.

Charlotte Elliott said that on 16^th November 2021, the Farm Investment Fund was launched, which provided funding for farming equipment. It was divided into two strands: The Farming Equipment & Technology Fund, with grants existing from between £2,000 to £25,000 and the Farming Transformation Fund with grants from £35,000 to £500,000.

Charlotte Elliott added that the Environmental Land Management scheme was the new Agri-environment scheme, which would be up and running by 2024. It will support the aims of the government’s 25-year Environment Plan, namely:

·       Clean air.

·       Clean and plentiful water.

·       Thriving plants and wildlife.

·       Reduction in and protection from environmental hazards.

·       Mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

·       Enhanced beauty, heritage, and engagement with the environment.

Charlotte Elliott said that the Environmental Land Management had 3 components and that it would replace the currently existing Agri-environment schemes such as the Countryside Stewardship. However, these would be open to new applications until 2023. The 3 components of the new scheme were the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) starting in 2022, the Local Nature Recovery and the Landscape Recovery component. She added that the SFI currently had a pilot scheme running with over 1,000 farmers being part of it, including one from the borough.

Charlotte Elliott said that the SFI would be offered to applicants in 2022 on 3-year agreements and that it would develop over time. She added that it would initially be open only to BPS recipients, but ultimately would be offered to a wide range of land managers. Payments would be made quarterly and that more details would be published during the week after the forum meeting.

Charlotte Elliott said that the SFI had a series of ‘standards’ and each standard had different levels of ambition (actions to undertake) – introductory, intermediate and advanced.

One example, the ‘Arable and Horticultural Soils Standard’ was unlikely to change before the application window opened in 2022. Actions that were required included the following:

·       Introductory – assess soil; alleviate compaction; establish green cover; add organic matter

·       Intermediate – establish green cover; add organic matter; use min-till or no-till cultivation techniques

·       Advanced – establish green cover; add organic matter; create a soil management plan

With regards to local perspective and opportunities, Charlotte Elliott noted the following to the forum members:

•       One farm in the borough was part of the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot and was thereby helping to design the new scheme.

•       There was a close-knit farming community in the borough capable of working together.

•       There was a desire to understand and work with farmers – The Farming Forum was evidence of that.

•       There was ongoing support through the transition - including from the South East Water/CSF partnership.

•       The largest agricultural holding in the Borough was already in Countryside Stewardship.

•       Other farms which had not applied for Countryside Stewardship before, applied in 2021.

•       Many farmers were already in the process of changing their practices to become more sustainable.

•       The Borough had plenty of opportunities for local nature recovery.

•       There were enthusiastic local community groups, that were well engaged with local farmers.

•       There was plenty of potential for educational access.

Councillor Stimson asked for the presentation used by Charlotte to be distributed to all forum members after the meeting. The clerk confirmed this.

Jefferey Copas said that Reading University monitored 400 farmer’s accounts in England. He said that if the government support was taken away then only very few farmers would be able to make a living. He expressed concern over the long-term continuation of farming and the greenbelt countryside within the borough. He asked for Councillors to provide the costings for Battlemead Common.

Alan Keene expressed his disappointment at local access having not been discussed so far in any visible plans. He said that the borough needed to look at enhancing and maintaining the local access network by incentivising farmers. Charlotte Elliott confirmed that ‘access to the countryside or ‘engagement with the environment’ was amongst the aims of the 25 year Environment Plan.

Councillor Rayner admitted that it was very important as a borough for a focus to be on how things are going to move forward, especially with reference to things such as the greenbelt land and being carbon neutral.

Jeffrey Copas expressed his concerns over the Council’s definitive views over the agricultural community and the greenbelt land in general. Councillor Rayner replied by stating that she believed that the agricultural community was vital to the local economy and added to the vibrancy of the borough. She noted that it was a massive part of the borough’s food, distribution, identity, economy, housing, and employment.

The Co-Chair Councillor Bateson asked Charlotte Elliott about trees. Charlotte Elliott said that there was a strategy for this, however she was unable to elaborate on this and referred the forum members to the government website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/england-trees-action-plan-2021-to-2024

Jeffrey Copas asked for Councillor Rayner’s response prior to be accurately recorded within the minutes. The clerk acknowledged this. He then stated that farmers control around 70% of the borough area, and that in terms of Councillors, this was under-represented.

Jeffrey Copas said that when asking the Council to come to farms to view trees, the response from officers was nil. He asked for tree officers to communicate greatly and work with farmers, and not against them. The Co-Chair Councillor Bateson said that they would attempt to liaise with the tree officers, to see what more could be done.

Nick Philp said that trees were not always the best way forward. He said that trees were not a net carbon import until they were around 40 years old. He added that neighbouring boroughs had also become a lot like London and that it was important to maintain a balance within this borough.

The Co-Chair William Emmett said that there was an existing issue with water being generated by the Syngenta site. He said that all of this excess water would come through Holyport into Bray. Councillor Coppinger stated that he was aware of this issue and that it was in nobody’s interest for it to occur.