Conservation at Work

Blog & News
tickerbg

Moorland Association welcomes launch of Defra consultation on the future of UK agricultural policy post Brexit

28th February 2018

Farmers, landowners and food producers have been awarded a once-in-a-generation opportunity to help shape the future of English farming and the environment, with a consultation launched yesterday by Environment Secretary Michael Gove.

Defra’s consultation – Health and harmony: the future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit – gives an indication of the Government’s current thinking on farming policy after Brexit, ahead of the Agriculture Bill, which will be put before parliament later this year.

The government’s proposals will see money redirected in a post-Brexit scenario from direct payments under the Common Agriculture Policy, which are based on the amount of land farmed, to a new system of paying farmers ‘public money for public goods’ – principally their work to maintain and enhance the environment and invest in sustainable food production.

Amanda Anderson, Director of the Moorland Association said: “The Moorland Association welcomes the publication of Defra’s consultation on the future of UK agricultural policy after Brexit.”

“As custodians of over a million acres of upland England open to all to enjoy, Moorland Association members are at the forefront of landscape-scale conservation work including significant peatland restoration initiatives, flood and wildfire mitigation, carbon sequestration, clean water provision and biodiversity gains that buck national trends.”

“We welcome the Government’s commitment to a new environmental land management system which should harness farmers’ and land managers’ passion and motivation to maintain and improve healthy ecosystems that secure their own business objectives and deliver public benefits. This system will have the greatest chance of success if it is designed from the bottom up and is local to each area where priorities and outcomes can be agreed with those actively involved in managing the land.”

“We look forward to contributing to the consultation and working with Defra and our partners in the Uplands Alliance to secure mutually beneficial farming policy outcomes in a post-Brexit environment.”

dog

Did You Know?

75% of Europe’s remaining upland heather moorland is found in the UK – but this area declined alarmingly over the latter part of the last century. The Moorland Association was set up in 1986 to coordinate the efforts of moorland owners and managers to halt this loss, particularly in England and Wales.

Stay in Touch with Us

Sign up to our newsletter

Name(Required)


Read our Blog and News

Time to thank those who have protected some of the rarest habitat on the planet The following letter from Andrew Gilruth was sent to the Telegraph in response to an article calling for grouse shooting and farming to be banned or significantly reduced in the UK’s National Parks. Sir, Chris Moss appears unaware that the American national parks, showcasing nature alone, are an illusion (What our national parks can learn […]

Private Landowners Make Better Conservationists In response to the excellent article by Matt Ridley in the current issue of The Spectator, the following letter was sent to the magazine by Andrew Gilruth, endorsing the key points raised in the article. Sir If the government wishes to meet its legal obligations to halt wildlife declines by 2030 it should spend more […]

Twitter