Agricultural support in Scotland is in a period of transition as post-Brexit policy takes shape, but whatever happens it is certain that grants will have an increasingly important role.Some will encourage increased productivity, some will encourage climate change mitigation and others will boost biodiversity.Ewan Pateexplores the options.
The Scottish Government has set a target of increasing forest and woodland cover by a net 14,000 hectares per year for 2022 and 2023. Some of this will be achieved by large-scale planting, but Forestry Scotland believes 50 per cent will consist of woodland blocks of less than 20ha.
The Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS), open to applications all year round, provides a wide range of options, whether it be for shelter, timber production, improving habitats, sporting use or as a source of wood fuel.
These various grant options include support for conifers, native broadleaf species, native Scots Pine and small farm woodlands.
There is also a Sheep and Trees grants package, which combines woodland creation and infrastructure grants. This package could support building an access road to aid management of newly-created woodland.
The FGS also provides an opportunity for landowners to establish trees on non-productive land currently covered by gorse or bracken by offering a grant rate for clearance, currently 720/ha for gorse and 225/ha for bracken. This is available when applying for woodland creation on the same areas.
Woodland
Woodland
Successful applicants to the Woodland Creation FGS will receive:
- An initial planting payment covering design of scheme, ground prep, trees and planting.
- Annual maintenance payments for up to five years, including weed control and maintaining tree density.
- A capital grant for fencing and tree protection such as rabbit and vole guards.
There is also the possibility of a Farm Advisory Service (FAS) grant of up to 1,000 to pay for a forestry consultant to visit a farm and assess the options.
High application numbers expected in 2022 AECS round
The 2022 round of the Agri Environment and Climate Scheme (AECS) is a great opportunity for any farmers looking to adopt low-carbon farming land management practices and protect the environment, according to Mary Munro, head of agriculture in Scotland for Strutt and Parker.
She said: We are expecting a huge amount of interest from farmers this year because this will be a full round of the scheme with all the options for environmental and habitat management available, which is very welcome after the past two years where only limited funding was offered. The downside is there will be three years worth of applicants in one year for what is a competitive scheme. The important thing is having as many points as possible on the score sheet.
There has been criticism that the AECS application process is too demanding, but Ms Munro rejects that, believing if farmers and agents collaborate closely it is achievable.
Headlands
The scheme, which was first introduced in 2015, offers annual payments for a wide range of management options, ranging from leaving unharvested conservation headlands in arable fields for wildlife through to wetland and bog management.
Farmers can also apply for payments towards the capital costs of one-off activities, such as the installation of livestock tracks or hard standings for troughs and gateways.
The 2022 round of Scotlands AECS opened for applications on January 24 and will close on April 29, with a small number of exceptions.
Storage facilities
Applications for grants to improve slurry storage facilities can be made during the main AECS window, however, the deadline for standalone slurry store applications has been extended to late June.
There is also a slightly later deadline of May 31 for large collaborative applications because of the additional time it can take to pull together submissions involving several businesses.
For up-to-date information on all Scottish Government agricultural grants, visit ruralpayments.org/topics/all-schemes
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"We are expecting a huge amount of interest from farmers"
MARY MUNRO
