Farming and crofting have a vital role to play in halting and reversing biodiversity loss in Scotland. In this blog Gabija Dragunaite, RSPB Scotland’s Policy Assistant, and Andrew Midgley, Senior Land Use Policy Officer, emphasise this point by outlining some of the RSPB’s own farming activity.
When people think about the RSPB, farming might not be the first thing that comes to mind – but we do farm, just like any other farmer.
Although public debates often frame environmental groups and farmers as opponents, that framing is too simplistic. Just as there are many farmers delivering positive conservation outcomes, we are a conservation organisation that is also farming.
We firmly believe that farming and crofting have a vital role to play in restoring Scotland’s biodiversity and when we acquired the farms referred to below, we did not stop the farming activity, we continued with it. We farm because the farming helps us help nature.
So, let’s look at our farming operations. We have four ‘in-hand’ farms (farms managed by us), where livestock and crop production support conservation efforts.
Chough by Jake Stephen
Oronsay
On the tidal island of Oronsay we farm under agreement with the owners, Oronsay Estate, for the benefit of Corncrake, Chough and other wildlife. Our flock of hill sheep and our herd of Luing Cattle effectively carry out the habitat management for us. The livestock grazing keeps the grass at an optimum height for birds like Chough to forage and the fields are managed in such a way that corncrake have enough time to breed. We can also try different approaches to see if they help, such as encouraging nettles in many areas to provide early cover for Corncrakes, which tend to arrive before the grass grows tall.
Having a healthy flock of sheep to graze the grass on Oronsay is vital for Chough to flourish, but recently, like many farmers, we have been trying to become much more precise in our livestock management. Since some veterinary medicines can reduce invertebrate populations associated with dung, we have been targeting the use of these medicines more effectively to try and ensure that species like the Chough have enough invertebrates on which to feed.
Barnacle Geese by Chris Gomersall
Loch Gruinart
Our Loch Gruinart nature reserve on Islay extends to 1700ha (including a large area of hill ground) and supports an array of priority species. Many of the species thrive on farmed habitats and so we run a traditional farming enterprise with 200 suckler cows and 200 breeding ewes.
The livestock are managed in such a way that they deliver a variety of grassland and arable habitats that benefit species like the Chough or the Barnacle and White-fronted geese which arrive each autumn or the large numbers of wading birds that breed on the wetter areas.
But our farming operation is not only about delivering conservation objectives; we strive to produce the best quality livestock we can and to be as profitable as possible. We are continually adapting and trying out new ideas to find the best balance between sustainable livestock farming and effective conservation land management. In recent years we have reduced the size of our cattle to make our operation more efficient and we have been reducing the amounts of expensive chemicals needed to treat our sheep, which also helps wildlife at the same time.
Highland Cattle by Andy Hay
The Oa
Our Oa nature reserve is also on Islay. We manage 2000ha of wild landscape that is important for Chough, Golden Eagle, Hen Harrier and Twite. We farm 350 sheep and 120 cows to improve the habitats for these species. Here we rear hardier breeds such as Highland Cattle and Scottish Blackface sheep, which thrive on the open hill, crossed with more commercial breeds such as Shorthorn and Cheviot to maximise profits. But we are trying to improve the grazing conditions for the animals as well as refining habitat for Chough, Hen Harriers and invertebrates. Our Highland Cattle are now the owners of ‘no fence collars’. This new method of virtual fencing (the GPS collars alert cows when they reach a boundary) allows us to target areas and is an easy way to monitor cattle movements. In a similar way to the work on our other reserves, we’ve also been working with partners to use technology to reduce our veterinary medicine inputs, which should help protect dung invertebrates.
Great Yellow Bumblebee by Patrick Cashman
Onziebust
On Onziebust, which is on the island of Egilsay in Orkney, we are very much at the beginning of our farming journey, having taken control of the farming operation in 2017. Starting with 22 cattle, numbers have grown to a herd of 40 breeding cows alongside a flock of 150 ewes. With complete control over our own grazing, we are able to deliver and adjust the habitat management work we want to see.
We have some stunning semi-natural wetland habitats, which we keep in good shape with the cattle and some rotational topping. In 2024, across the nature reserve, we recorded 250 pairs of breeding waders including 80 pairs of Lapwing, 49 pairs of Curlew and a single pair of Black-tailed Godwits. We also manage large areas of the farm for wildflowers and bumblebees including the very rare Great Yellow Bumblebee. After 8 years, we are pleased with the progress made so far.
Wider farming activity in Scotland
We also work with other farmers right across the country because our nature reserves span over 70,000 ha of land and some of this can be farmed where it fits with reserve management objectives. Each year we enter into agreements with other farmers to allow grazing on our nature reserves. We currently offer grazing lets to around 50 farmers and we are also involved in partnership arrangements, and we have farming tenants.
Hope Farm in England
Outside Scotland, we also manage Hope Farm in England. Established as a demonstration farm, Hope Farm demonstrates how nature-friendly farming can be profitable and has seen a steady rise in breeding arable birds since 2000. For more details, visit Hope Farm.
Our farming work doesn’t stop here…
We think that partnership is key. In our next farming blog we will dive deeper into the practical advice and support we provide to farmers and crofters around Scotland, helping them to adopt more nature-friendly practices that are both sustainable and profitable.
According to the newly published Biodiversity Strategy, “in Scotland, the evidence around the scale and nature of the biodiversity crisis is strong and continues to mount”. Targets to halt biodiversity loss by 2030 and meet net zero ambition need urgent action.
The Scottish Government’s Vision for Agriculture, published in 2022, states a bold ambition for the sector to transform and become a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture.
Current agriculture support is changing through the Agricultural Reform Programme into a four-tiered model of support, but the Scottish Wildlife Trust questions if this is happening quickly enough to meet the Government’s own 2030 biodiversity target.
This briefing explores opportunities under the Base Tier for improving biodiversity through the lens of riverbank management.
We propose that mandatory requirements should be strengthened in the Base Tier, that clarity and purpose should be given on whole farm plans and that a higher proportion of the agriculture budget should be directed towards nature and climate friendly farming.
Introduction
Known across the world for its stunning topography, habitats and wildlife, it comes as a surprise to some that the evidence shows Scotland is amongst the earth’s most nature-depleted countries, with one in nine species at risk of national extinction. The Scottish Government’s commitment to reversing declines in nature by 2030 and restoring nature by 2045, alongside measures in the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and accompanying Delivery Plan 2024 – 2030, recognise this grave situation.
We know agriculture is the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Scotland, and with around 80% of Scotland’s land classified as agricultural, the sector plays a key role in both halting biodiversity loss and meeting the country’s net zero targets. We also know many farmers want support to help achieve these goals.
Farming has been in the headlines since the UK Government’s October budget. Changes to the agriculture budget and to the Inheritance Tax rules that apply to farmers have sparked angry protests from Holyrood and Orkney to Llandudno and London. Farmers and crofters face pressures from all angles, with confusion over taxation changes being the latest in a long line including extreme weather, inflation and changes in agriculture payments.
“Farmers and crofters face pressures from all angles, with confusion over taxation changes being the latest in a long line including extreme weather, inflation and changes in agriculture payments.”
Farming budgets no longer shielded
No longer under the certainty of the EU Common Agricultural Policy’s seven-year funding cycles, the agriculture budget is now subject to the same pressure and scrutiny as other departmental spending – from health and social care to education. Farmers and crofters are threatened by this exposure both directly and indirectly. For example, in 2022-23, before the UK Government’s recent changes to agriculture property relief rules, the Scottish Government had reduced the agriculture budget by £46m.1
There is a tendency when farming’s bottom line is under threat for battlelines to be drawn between farming and nature. The old adage, ‘farmers can’t be green if they’re in the red’, has resurfaced, as it did in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine and inflation soared. Calls then were made by some farming groups for Ecological Focus Areas, part of the Greening requirements in the Basic Payment Scheme, to be ploughed up.
Yet pitting farming and nature as two opposing forces is a false dichotomy: they go hand-in-hand. The Scottish Government recognised this in its Vision for Agriculture to transform how farming and food production is supported in Scotland, so that it becomes a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture.
Farming and crofting can help defend and justify the agriculture budget by delivering more public goods, from nature restoration and emissions reductions to clean water and natural flood management. Yet whilst 85% of the Scottish public want more spending on farming to support methods that restore nature and tackle climate change alongside producing food, current Scottish Government plans for agricultural support do not adequately reflect this.
Developing the future of farm support
Scotland is in the process of pivoting away from the old framework provided by the EU Common Agricultural Policy. The Scottish Government’s Agricultural Reform Programme and Route Map is the programme for implementing the Vision for Agriculture and changes to agriculture policy – and is the replacement for the Common Agricultural Policy. The Route Map sets out the timescales, key dates and support available to farmers, crofters and land managers for implementing change, and the Agricultural Reform Programme is a list of proposed measures. Key proposals of the Agricultural Reform Programme and Route Map are that:
the existing framework of support (i.e., the Common Agricultural Policy) will continue to 2025
future support will be structured around four tiers
from 2025, new conditionality on half of all funding will be delivered through the Base Tier
from 2026, powers from the new Agriculture Bill will be used to launch the new Enhanced Tier
Elective Tier and Complementary Tier will be introduced from 2027 including incarnations of Agri-Environment and Climate Scheme and the Farm Advisory Service.
Direct Payments will be retained in the Base Tier and Enhanced Tier (Tiers 1 and 2) which will take 70% of the farm budget. A further 11% of the budget will sit with the Less Favoured Area Scheme. Just 5% of funding is allocated to the Agri-Environment and Climate Scheme (Tier 3), which is where the big gains for nature and climate sit, with little remaining for key elements such as agroforestry, collaboration, support and advisory services (Tier 4).
There are opportunities across each Tier and across all farming systems for paying farmers and crofters for environmentally sensitive management. We focus on the Base Tier in this briefing.
Agricultural Reform Programme: Base Tier
The Base Tier is almost identical to the existing main payment scheme, the Basic Payment Scheme, and will remain in place until at least the end of 2027 with some additional requirements. Under the Basic Payment Scheme, in exchange for a payment based on the area of land which is actively farmed, farmers and crofters must comply with certain laws around animal and plant health and sustainable agricultural practices. These rules, called cross compliance, require meeting two sets of requirements: Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC) which aim to safeguard soils, habitats and landscape features, and Standard Management Practices which include practices on animal welfare and traceability, biosecurity, the use of pesticides and fertilisers, and conservation of designated sites.
‘Greening’ is another requirement of the Basic Payment Scheme and includes:
protecting permanent grassland designated as environmentally sensitive grassland
growing a minimum number of crops
farming 5% of the farm’s arable area in a manner that promotes biodiversity – known as an Ecological Focus Area.
Around three quarters of payments to farmers are through the Basic Payment Scheme, with over 17,300 claimants covering around half of all Scotland’s land. As a ‘broad and shallow’ scheme it dwarfs the targeted Agri-Environment and Climate Scheme which receives just 6-8% of the farming budget. Evidence is clear that the direct payments made through the Basic Payment Scheme are an inequitable and inefficient use of public funds, including the Scottish Government’s own assessment, which found that direct payments made under the Common Agricultural Policy over 2014-2020 reduced innovation, development and growth and had little environmental benefit and in some cases a negative impact. This is despite the inclusion of Greening requirements.
Given the above it is astonishing that direct payments look like they are here to stay. We will continue to argue for a more sensible approach, but in the meantime, the Base Tier must work a lot harder than it does at present for nature and for climate. Tinkering at the edges will not deliver the Scottish Government’s Vision for Agriculture, provide value for money or get public support.
Importance of riparian habitat
Scotland’s streams and rivers cover an amazing 125,000km (12.5 times the length of the country’s coastline), and improving riparian habitat reaps huge benefits for wildlife and people. Riparian zones link land and water by transporting nutrients and supporting food chains, providing vegetation which many species rely on for habitat (e.g. otter, pollinators, osprey), food (e.g. beaver) and spawning (e.g. Atlantic salmon), as well as shelter for grazing livestock.
Healthy river systems can provide a wealth of benefits for wildlife and people.
Besides providing homes for all kinds of species, functioning riparian habitats (from woodlands and hedgerows to heathland, scrub and bogs) help alleviate flooding, store and lock-up carbon, improve freshwater quality, sustain soils and provide health and wellbeing benefits for people. Riverbanks are crucial to meeting Scotland’s water quality targets, yet riparian zones face pressures including from pollution, habitat destruction and invasive species. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency performed a survey of over 44,000 km of riverside habitats and found that 56% of these areas were of ‘poor’ quality, with little to no tree cover or complex vegetation.
Our proposals for making Base Tier more effective
In recognition of their importance in biodiversity and climate change adaptation and mitigation, riparian management and protection is included in existing Scottish regulation and agriculture payment schemes at all levels and looks to be included in future support programmes. As it stands, we believe the Base Tier needs to be strengthened so it works more effectively to improve biodiversity. Below we set out some proposals for how this could happen by strengthening the conditions in cross compliance and greening for improved riparian management, with more general proposals for the Base Tier to improve the whole farmed environment through the Whole Farm Plan and the budget distribution between Tiers.
Conditions: Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions, Standard Management Practicesand Greening
As direct payments for the area of farmed land are staying to 2027 and possibly beyond through the Basic Payment Scheme and then the Base Tier, conditionality (i.e. the requirements that are attached to the payment) should be well upwards from the current proposed 50% to 70% of payments. Additional changes can and should be made to Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions, for example, to make them achieve more for climate and nature.
A precedent has been set for expanding and improving Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions with the addition to GAEC 6 (maintenance of soil organic matter) on wetlands and peatlands from 2025 which will prohibit certain activities from being carried out on peatland and wetland areas. Our suggestions for strengthening the conditions of the Base Tier draw on and expand the conditions we proposed in our Land Stewardship Policy.
Greening requirements, including Ecological Focus Areas, could also be better designed. For example, rather than equal weightings across all hectares there could be higher weightings to incentivise actions for nature and climate and regenerative farming across all farming systems.
Specifically for riparian management, we propose making GAEC 1 (buffer strips along water courses) more effective by expanding the requirement for the uncultivated area from its current 2 metres upwards. There is a substantial and growing body of evidence that creating three-dimensional riparian buffer zones which include more complex vegetation, height (i.e., through trees) and width (to at least six metres) improves almost all ecosystem functions, from soil health to reducing thermal stress to aquatic life – as well as improving farm business.
We called for an increase to six metres in our Land Stewardship Policy and maintain that view. Indeed, in England’s basic tier scheme, the Sustainable Farm Incentive, buffer strips must be between 4-12 metres. Beyond this, for managing nutrient pollution of water courses, a recent assessment of nutrient retention in buffer strips suggests a 10 metres minimum width. Likewise, for wildlife habitat, a minimum of at least 10 metres is suggested.
Riparian buffer strips can qualify as Ecological Focus Areas under greening requirements, yet grazing is not permitted due to Ecological Focus Area specifications at the EU level not enabling management prescriptions to have additional restrictions (e.g. to only permit grazing outside of the bathing season). Restricted grazing can increase the biodiversity value of buffer strips by enhancing plant diversity and preventing scrub encroachment and should therefore be allowed within the Base Tier.
Strengthening the Base Tier requirements on riparian management would require actions from a greater number of farmers than the current Ecological Focus Areas do, for example by ensuring that low ground dairy farms do more than they do currently.
A requirement could also be added to GAEC 4 (minimum soil cover) that winter stubbles must be left unsprayed to improve value for wildlife.
We propose reinstating Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions requirements to:
prevent wind erosion and soil capping
manage use of manures and slurries to meet crop needs
use machinery on land appropriately (e.g. not when water standing on surface or soil saturated)
avoid overgrazing
prevent application of lime on semi-natural habitats used for rough grazing.
There are several codes which we suggest could be appraised and potentially included in the Base Tier conditionality including:
The purpose of Whole Farm Plans and how they will be used in future in agriculture payment schemes is unclear. Whilst we support the principle of having a holistic management plan for the whole farm or croft, at the basic entry level there are many management actions which can be applied without detailed ecological knowledge or the need for a detailed biodiversity audit, from riparian buffers and hedgerow maintenance to appropriate grazing regimes.
There needs to be a clearer articulation of the purpose and intended outcomes of Whole Farm Plans to bring industry alongside, and with that intent, a more purposeful timeline. The requirement to have only completed a basic habitat map by May 2028, just 18 months from the deadline of halting of biodiversity loss by 2030, is sending a weak message. It is not coherent with the new Biodiversity Strategy which states “Delivering a nature positive future for Scotland requires a multi-sectoral, whole of society approach.”
Budget
A recent analysis of how much funding is needed across the UK to deliver nature and climate commitments through the management of farmland puts the figure for Scotland at £1.8 billion per annum for the next 10 years. We want to see the Scottish Government rethink its decision on the funding allocation of 70% for the Base Tier and Enhanced Tier so that the weighting is moved upwards into Tiers 3 and 4.
We would also like to see an increase in funding for the Agri-Environment and Climate Scheme to £55 million, equivalent to its peak in 2017 (the current budget is around £25 million) and ring fence a multi-year budget for farm support in Scotland. By 2028, at least 75% of the farm budget should be spent supporting nature and climate friendly farming if the Scottish Government’s Vision for Agriculture is to be achieved.
This briefing provides some suggestions for how the Base Tier could work harder for riparian zones and wider biodiversity. As a broad and shallow scheme, it is the way most farmers interact with agriculture policy and payments and has the lion’s share of the budget. In our next briefing we will turn our focus towards the Enhanced Tier and the Elective Tier. This will dig deeper into riparian management through the current agri-environment scheme, Agri-Environment and Climate Scheme, and the proposed measures for its successor. It will include a spotlight on managing invasive species in riparian zones, as well as looking at riparian woodlands through the Forestry Grant Scheme.
This briefing was written by Ellie Brodie in collaboration with the Scottish Wildlife Trust.
Ellie Brodie is a policy analyst and researcher with a background in environment, agriculture and rural development policy. She is the Director of Grounded Insight and is currently working with colleagues at Scottish Wildlife Trust to provide insight on developments in agriculture policy in Scotland.
As the UK government’s budget announcement draws close, RSPB Scotland director Anne McCall sets out why it’s vital that Chancellor Rachel Reeves invests in nature friendly farming and ensures Scotland has the funds it needs.
Back in July, my colleague Andrew Midgley wrote about the scale of need for farm funding. It has been estimated that £5.9 billion needs to be spent each year supporting nature and climate friendly farming across the UK as a whole, with £1.8 billion of that spent in Scotland.
Almost all decisions affecting farming and nature are devolved to Scotland and are the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government. However, decisions about the size of the UK farming budget are made by the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, with this budget shared in different proportions between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Budget announcements on the 30th October will set out what money is available for farming in Scotland for the coming financial year with longer term spending plans announced next Spring. We have a chance to make sure the Chancellor makes the right decisions. Please ask her to invest in nature friendly farming and ensure Scotland has the funds it needs, by signing this petition now.
This funding is essential if we are to respond to the nature and climate crisis. Farming has a critical role to play in this. Agriculture is a significant source of climate warming greenhouse gas emissions and a contributor to declines in nature. We know it’s possible though to farm and produce food in ways that minimise climate impacts and are better for birds and a host of other wildlife that lives on farmland. With farming occupying 75% of Scotland’s land, it is critical that our farmers and crofters are helped to do this.
Government funding is needed to help farmers and crofters across Scotland continue with nature and climate friendly farming where it is already happening and to make sure that everyone else is on the journey towards it. Farm support payments need to be designed to achieve this and be able to deliver at scale.
It is vitally important that Scotland receives the funds it needs now so it can increase investment in nature and climate friendly farming. With rumours circulating about possible cuts to the UK farm budget, and hence for Scotland, we are worried about what the future holds. That’s why we need to speak up now.
We all know that public finances are stretched and governments face competing demands for funds. So why is this call for investment so important? One clear answer that affects us all is that without taking care of nature and tackling climate change, growing food will become increasingly difficult. More extreme weather events such as droughts and floods and declines in insects which pollinate crops are already impacting food production. We can turn the tide but Scotland’s farmers and crofters – and the wildlife that depends on them – need support. Please make your voice heard and ask the Chancellor to invest now.
A coalition of environmental charities are calling for the Scottish government to allocate the money in its new farm funding system in a way which encourages farmers and crofters to adopt climate and nature-friendly practices. This comes in response to a consultation from the Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board (ARIOB), a Scottish government group supporting the reform of agricultural policy.
The charities, part of the coalition Scottish Environment LINK, have argued consistently for 75% of the farming budget to be allocated to Tiers 2, 3 and 4 of its new funding system. They argue that this will be more effective in driving forward the profitability and sustainability of the sector than the current budget, which does not encourage enough environmentally friendly agriculture practices.
Given that the Scottish government has decided to allocate 70% of the budget to direct support in Tiers 1 and 2, it’s essential that at least 50% of that budget now goes to Tier 2 to support climate and nature friendly practices, as set out in the SNP’s 2021 election manifesto.
Scottish Environment LINK supports NFU Scotland’s call for a larger farm budget to support Scotland’s farmers and crofters to do more for nature and climate while still producing as much food for people.
Chair of Scottish Environment LINK’s Food and Farming group, Pete Ritchie, said:
“Farmers and crofters want to do more for nature and climate. Making at least 50% of the direct support payment conditional on good environmental practices would reward those farmers and crofters who are already doing the right thing. And it would provide a strong incentive for those farmers who haven’t yet made the transition to more environmentally friendly practices to step up to the plate and deliver more for climate and nature with the public money they receive.”
“The government’s own analysis shows the current funding system is not an effective use of public money, so it needs to change. That means targeting payments towards measures that we know can help to deliver on the headline policy objectives to mitigate and adapt to a changing climate, restore nature, improve animal health and welfare and produce high quality food.”
Vicki Swales, Head of Land Use Policy at RSPB Scotland said:
“Farmers and crofters are in the front-line of climate change and nature loss and many are already experiencing the impacts of these on food production and their livelihoods. Without using a larger share of farm funding to support a shift to nature and climate friendly farming methods, many more farm businesses will become increasingly vulnerable to present and future shocks.”
In the summer of 2022, leading environment charities joined together with farmers’ groups to launch the Farm for Scotland’s Future campaign, calling on the Scottish government to make farming work for nature, climate and people.
The organisations involved – many of them members of Scottish Environment LINK – have been advocating for years for changes to government support and funding for farming, to better help and encourage farmers and crofters to produce food in harmony with nature and the climate. We want to ensure we have a vibrant and successful agriculture sector that looks after our environment, which in turn will underpin our food security for generations to come.
With the Scottish government developing new farming legislation following the UK’s departure from the European Union, we saw a unique opportunity to change the system for the better.
Two years later, in June 2024, the Scottish government’s Agriculture and Rural Communities Bill was approved by parliament. So, let’s take a look at what our campaign achieved, what this new legislation means, and what still needs to change to help Scotland’s farmers and crofters to farm sustainably.
Farming is Scotland’s second biggest source of climate emissions after transport, and it’s also a major cause of biodiversity loss. Yet our current farm funding system, a legacy of the EU Common Agricultural Policy, does very little for nature or the climate. Most of the money is spent on area-based ‘direct payments’, for which farmers are required to meet very few environmental conditions, and which disproportionately benefit a small number of large landowners while smaller scale farmers and crofters lose out.
The Farm for Scotland’s Future campaign had three overarching ‘asks’ of the Scottish government:
Replace the decades-old farm funding system with one that works for nature, climate and people.
Ensure at least three quarters of public spending on farming supports methods that restore nature and tackle climate change.
Support all farmers and crofters in the transition to sustainable farming.
Over the two years of the campaign, we produced a report making the case for change, held a reception for MSPs in the Scottish parliament, held meetings at political party conferences, ran webinars, published dozens of blogs and videos on some of the many ways in which farming and our natural environment are intertwined, and generated a steady stream of media coverage putting across the evidence and the arguments for a better system.
Through thousands of petition signatures, emails to MSPs, letters and powerful personal messages to Cabinet Secretary Mairi Gougeon, campaign supporters in every part of the country made it clear that farming, and its interaction with nature and the climate, matter to Scotland’s people.
And the environment, farming and food organisations backing the campaign met with MSPs, government ministers and civil servants working on agriculture policy, presenting our case and putting forward proposals on the detail of the new legislation.
The Agriculture and Rural Communities Bill is a ‘framework’ bill giving government ministers powers or duties to bring in more detailed legislation, and so the bulk of policies, guidance and legislation will be developed now that the bill has passed. Crucially, it’s not yet clear how funding will be distributed – more about that below.
However, since it creates a framework, a bill like this is an important opportunity to set a clear direction of travel for farming policy. We worked hard to push for improvements to the bill as it made its way through parliament, liaising with MSPs across political parties. This advocacy resulted in many of our priorities being debated and voted on, and we achieved some significant wins.
We pushed for targets to reduce the impact of agriculture on the environment, and as a result the bill was amended allowing government ministers to set such targets. These could include targets to reduce overall pesticide use, reduce carbon emissions, increase biodiversity and increase organic farming. Unfortunately, the bill says ministers ‘may’ set targets, rather than obligating them to do so. Over the next few months we’ll continue to call for strong targets, and pathways to meeting them, to be included in the government’s Rural Support Plan, which will set out many of the details of farming policy and support over a five year period.
We argued that the bill should contain more detail about what must be included in the Rural Support Plan, including details of financial support schemes. An amendment making this change was also passed, which should help give farmers and crofters greater clarity on the aims of Scottish farming policy, what support is available to them, and what they’ll need to do in order to access it.
We also argued that government ministers should be required to take independent expert advice when preparing the Rural Support Plan, from organisations such as NatureScot, the Climate Change Committee and Food Standards Scotland, as well as representatives from farming, crofting and rural communities. This was partially successful, with requirements to consult some of these bodies – but notably, not the Climate Change Committee – added to the bill.
We called for better monitoring, evaluation and reporting requirements for farm funding schemes. This change also made it into the final bill, which will make the way the Scottish government’s farming budget is spent more transparent, and should, we hope, mean the funding system evolves and improves over time.
We also argued for measures to redistribute funding in order to better support smaller scale farmers and crofters, including by paying them a higher rate of area-based payments on the first few hectares they claim. At present, payments are heavily weighted towards those with the most land – 20% of those claiming payments receive 60% of the overall budget, while the bottom 40% of claimants receive just 5%.
While we want to see a move away from paying farmers based on how much land they have, we suggested these amendments in the knowledge that area-based payments look set to remain part of the system, and with a view to making them fairer and more effective.
Small scale farmers are inherently economically disadvantaged in the current system, and yet they are typically better placed to adopt nature-friendly farming practices. They often have more biodiversity and rely less on chemical inputs. So, better support for these farmers could be good for nature.
Sadly, these amendments did not pass the final vote to be included in the bill. We will continue to call on the Scottish government to introduce redistributive mechanisms within the Rural Support Plan.
Big questions remain on how the money will be spent
Central to the Farm for Scotland’s Future campaign has been the call for a much higher proportion of public spending on farming to support methods that help restore nature and tackle climate change. The Scottish government’s own analysis shows that the way it currently funds farmers is unfair, and doesn’t support those who want to help the environment.
But in February this year, the First Minister announced that under the new system 70% of the budget would be spent on area-based payments, which would leave only 30% for climate and nature initiatives and for things like innovation, advice and cooperation for the farming sector.
Farmers and crofters have a major role to play in restoring Scotland’s nature and reducing climate emissions, and the proposed distribution of funding, although better than what we have at present, simply won’t enable them to make the changes required.
Further announcements are expected on how the money will be spent, and we’re urging the Scottish government to take this 70/30 split as a starting point, and to move over the next few years towards spending a greater proportion of the budget on supporting farmers and crofters to produce food in ways that help nature and the climate.
It’s also not yet clear what conditions will be attached to the area-based payments under the new system. We’re calling on the government to set higher requirements for farmers and crofters to do things to benefit biodiversity and reduce emissions (where they aren’t already doing so) in order to receive these payments.
If they are set with ambition, and are flexible enough to work for the many different kinds of farms and crofts across Scotland and the diverse environments they’re part of, such conditions could make a real difference.
However, there’s another big question mark around UK government spending on farming. The Scottish government’s farming budget is determined by what the UK government allocates to it, and so far there has been no commitment from Westminster on whether current levels of funding will be maintained.
We believe that spending on agriculture across the UK needs to increase in order to help farmers to farm sustainably, and that the proportion of this funding allocated to Scotland should be maintained or increased.
Our campaign, and all of the people who contributed by writing letters, signing petitions and spreading the message, have helped to show that farming, nature and the climate are inextricably linked. Together we’ve shown that farming matters to Scotland’s people, and that people want farmers and crofters to be supported to meet the huge challenges we face in the transition to a more sustainable society.
The Agriculture and Rural Communities Bill makes some important steps in the right direction. And while the questions about how public money will be spent remain unresolved, the debate has shifted. There’s still a long way to go to make farming work for nature, climate and people, but they journey has begun.
Campaigners have renewed calls for the Scottish government to deliver sustainable farming, as MSPs voted to pass the Agriculture and Rural Communities Bill into law yesterday evening.
Members of Scottish Environment LINK want the Scottish government to replace its outdated farm funding system with one that helps farmers and crofters produce food in ways that help tackle climate change and restore nature, and supports them in the transition to sustainable farming.
Farming is currently Scotland’s second biggest source of climate emissions, and a major cause of nature loss.
The bill passed yesterday will enable the Scottish government to create a new system of financial support for farmers and crofters, but lacks detail on how the farming budget will be spent and what it will achieve. The government has said it will produce a Rural Support Plan to set out how it will fund farming.
Campaigners are calling for at least three quarters of farm funding to be spent on helping nature and climate.
Pete Ritchie, convenor of Scottish Environment LINK’s food and farming group and director of Nourish Scotland, said:
“Farming has to change, not only because the climate and nature crisis demands it, but because the market is changing. People want sustainably produced food, retailers are requiring sustainably produced food, and business as usual is no longer a viable option. By failing to set a clear direction of travel in this bill, the Scottish government is failing to help farmers adapt to that changing market.
“The Rural Support Plan must give farmers and crofters the clarity and support they need to act for nature and the climate. And public money for farming has finally to move away from paying people for how much land they have towards paying people for how well that land delivers what we all need – a stable climate and a healthy natural environment that will underpin our food security for generations to come.”
On 2 May, 21 organisations wrote to Mairi Gougeon, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, calling for a marked increase in the pace and scope of change in Scotland’s farm support system, to enable farming to meaningfully contribute to Scotland reaching Net Zero.
To: Mairi Gougeon MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands
Dear Cabinet Secretary,
The weakening of Scotland’s 2030 climate targets is deeply concerning. The impacts of the climate and nature crises are being felt worldwide, including by Scottish farmers and crofters, with many areas of the country having experienced their wettest April on record. We need to step up our efforts to tackle these deeply connected environmental challenges.
With agriculture our second biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions, it is clear that we cannot reach Net Zero without significant changes to the way we farm in Scotland. The Scottish Government must establish, without delay, a support system that enables farmers and crofters to make the transition to sustainable farming.
The recognition in last month’s climate policy statement of the importance of farming in addressing climate change is welcome. It is encouraging that nutrient management planning will be required as part of each farm’s Whole Farm Plan, and that methane suppressing feed additives will be piloted. However, the policies announced to date are not enough to bring about the transformative change we need to see in the agriculture sector. The interventions required to reduce agricultural emissions include:
An increase in the amount of land farmed organically
Increased funding for the integration of native trees and hedges on farms and crofts
Increased funding for the restoration of habitats including peatlands, wetlands and grasslands
Selective breeding for low methane livestock
A faster rollout than has been announced for carbon audit requirements
In particular, we need to see the majority of public funding for farming supporting methods that help restore nature and tackle climate change. Earlier this year the Scottish Government committed to distributing 70% of the farm support budget through the first two tiers of the new payment system. This risks a business as usual continuation of the current funding system, which the Scottish government’s own analysis has shown is unfair, and doesn’t help farmers and crofters who want to tackle climate change and protect nature.
Since Tier 2 funding will be focused on emissions reduction and nature restoration, and Tier 1 will largely replicate the current area-based ‘direct payments’ which have few environmental requirements attached,it is vital that Tier 2 is clearly prioritised in the announcement expected in June on the distribution of this 70%.
The Agriculture and Rural Communities Bill presents a once in a lifetime opportunity to make farming work for nature, climate and people. The Scottish Government must now demonstrate in detail how the changes proposed in this bill will enable Scottish farming to meaningfully contribute to Scotland reaching Net Zero. A marked increase in the pace and scope of change is required.
We urge you to ensure that the new farm support system established by the bill enables ALL farmers and crofters to produce food in ways that reduce emissions, restore nature, promote the highest standards of animal welfare, and revitalise our rural areas for the benefit of everyone. We hope the announcement expected in June on the distribution of funding demonstrates the Scottish Government’s ambition to transform Scottish farming.
Yours sincerely,
Lang Banks, Director, WWF Scotland
Josie Cohen, Head of Policy and Campaigns, PAN UK
Dr Rachael Cooper-Bohannon, Scotland Coordinator, Amphibian and Reptile Conservation
Shivali Fifield, Chief Officer, Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland
Angus Hardie, Director, Scottish Community Alliance
Kat Jones, Director, Action to Protect Rural Scotland (APRS)
Deborah Long, Chief Officer, Scottish Environment LINK
Robin McAlpine, Founder, Common Weal
Anne McCall, Director, RSPB Scotland
David McKay, Co-Director, Soil Association Scotland
Members of Scottish Environment LINK have called on the Scottish government to uphold requirements for farmers to meet environmental regulations, following calls from NFU Scotland to remove or weaken many of those requirements.
NFU Scotland asked the Scottish government this week to suspend, allow derogations from, or review various environmental rules and regulations that apply to farming, citing ‘sustained cold and wet weather’.
In response Pete Ritchie, convenor of Scottish Environment LINK’s food and farming group, has written to Mairi Gougeon, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands:
‘To respond positively to such calls would, in our view, have the effect of undermining, not securing, the future of food production given the dependence of crop and livestock production on a healthy natural environment and a stable climate. It would put your vision of sustainable and regenerative agriculture in jeopardy.’
The Farm for Scotland’s Future campaign, launch by Scottish Environment LINK members and farmers’ groups, calls on the Scottish government to bring in a new farm funding system that helps all farmers and crofters produce food in ways that help restore nature and tackle climate change, and supports them in then transition to sustainable farming.
A coalition of leading environment charities has called on the Scottish government to do more to cut emissions from farming following today’s announcement that the government will weaken its 2030 climate targets.
The charities, members of Scottish Environment LINK, say they are deeply concerned by the changes to the targets. They have welcomed the focus on farming in the new climate policies also announced today, but say the Scottish government must now demonstrate how its Agriculture and Rural Communities Bill, currently before parliament, will get farming to Net Zero.
Agriculture is Scotland’s second biggest source of emissions, with only transport contributing more to climate change. The Agriculture and Rural Communities Bill has been widely seen as the key opportunity to reset Scotland’s system of public funding for farming so that it helps farmers and crofters cut emissions and restore natural ecosystems.
The Farm for Scotland’s Future campaign, coordinated by Scottish Environment LINK and backed by more than 40 environment, farming and food organisations, calls on the Scottish government to provide farmers and crofters with financial support to produce food in ways that are better for the climate and for nature.
This could include investing in selective breeding to reduce methane from cattle, reducing the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, increasing land farmed organically, and integrating trees onto farms and crofts.
Campaigners have welcomed the government’s intention, announced today, to explore further options for peatland restoration, expand a Cairngorms community deer management scheme nationally and expand the existing Regional Land Use Partnership network in 2024/25. They also welcome the interventions on methane suppressing feed additives.
But they stressed the need for a more ambitious framework for action on agricultural emissions.
Deborah Long, chief officer of Scottish Environment LINK, said:
“We are deeply concerned by the modification to the Scottish government’s celebrated 2030 climate targets. We are seeing impacts of the nature and climate crises now, right across the globe, and so now is not the time for the government to take its feet off the pedal.
“The Scottish government has been proud to position itself as a world leader on climate. If it really wants to lead the way, it must provide a credible support system for farmers and crofters to reach Net Zero. The measures announced today are a start but they’re not enough.
“People want sustainably produced food, and many farmers and crofters want to work in ways that are better for the planet. We need the Scottish government to do all it can to make farming work for nature, climate and people.
“We also need to speed up action to restore soils, peatlands and woodlands, which can play a hugely important role in sequestering and storing carbon. Nature can be our first line of defence against climate change if we help it recover.”
This week the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee published its report on the Agriculture and Rural Communities Bill. This is an important part of parliamentary scrutiny, where after taking evidence from stakeholders, MSPs make recommendations on how the Bill can be improved before the parliament is asked to vote on it. The report echoed many of the proposals made by Scottish Environment LINK members and shared by other organisations.
The committee found that, while the majority of respondents to consultations and engagement agreed with the principle of the Bill being framework legislation, many felt that there is a need for further clarity and certainty on how the Scottish government would use these powers. LINK members feel that, while the Bill needs to remain somewhat flexible to allow for changing contexts, this Bill needs to set a clearer direction for the future of agricultural policy and support. This is essential in working towards a farming system that works for climate, nature, and people.
The committee encourages the Scottish government to consider amending the wording of the objectives set out in the Bill. LINK members believe that the objectives are currently very narrow, and that a clearer purpose clause for the Bill is needed here. This will strengthen the Bill and give more clarity on the future objectives and goals of the agricultural system.
The Bill introduces a power for the Scottish government to develop 5-year plans for rural policy and support, called the Rural Support Plan. The report noted that several stakeholders felt more detail is needed in terms of what must be included in each Rural Support Plan, and the committee recommends that the Bill be amended to set out requirements for this.
Scottish Environment LINK has called for the Bill to set out in detail what must be included in each Rural Support Plan, including multi-year budgets, details of each payment scheme, the overall rationale of the plan, and detail on how the impact of the plan will be monitored. This will ensure greater consistency between each 5-year plan and will ensure that industry has greater clarity on future policy. As such, we welcome the committee’s conclusion that “the proposed plan would be a more meaningful and useful document with this information included”.
The committee also recommends that the Rural Support Plan be subject to parliamentary scrutiny, and that this scrutiny be completed before secondary legislation is introduced in 2025. LINK members are also advocating for parliamentary scrutiny and approval of each plan. For further certainty on this, and to allow sufficient time for secondary legislation to be developed, LINK is calling for a specified date by which the first Rural Support Plan must be published.
We are also happy to see that the committee agrees with the principle of including a power to cap or redistribute payments and is urging the Scottish government to consider distributional effects, and include details of this thinking, in the Rural Support Plan. The committee notes the concern of some stakeholders, including Scottish Environment LINK, that capping should not be applied to payments for environmental purposes, such as nature restoration.
LINK agrees with the need for capping and redistribution powers and believes that the Bill should introduce a duty on ministers to consider the distributional effects of funding schemes. LINK also believes that the Bill should introduce a power to frontload payments, or give higher rates of funding to the first few hectares, benefitting smaller farmers and crofters.
This report shows support for several of LINK’s proposals for the Bill, which we believe to be a positive step. We will continue to push for amendments to the Bill to ensure it works in the interest of communities, climate, and nature.
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