Stop inspections plea
• An immediate review of the The Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 (the ‘CARs’) to allow proactive water course management to protecting agricultural land from flooding risks.
• The creation of beaver ‘exclusion zones’ on very productive agricultural land protected by floodbanks.
In the medium term, NFUS is asking for:
• The return of £46m of still outstanding uncommitted funds to the Agriculture and Rural Economy (ARE) portfolio.
• Of which, £40m be returned as resource via a top up to Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) and Greening payments - equating to a pro rata top up of approximately 9.5% which could be delivered as part of the BPS 2024 payments schedule.
• The remaining £6 million to be spent as capital through a grant scheme open to all agricultural businesses to build resilience to weather extremes.
In the letter, president Martin Kennedy writes: “Farming and croing have always been at the mercy of the weather, and it is obvious that every agricultural business must adapt and build resilience in the face of more extreme and less predictable weather.
“We consider that the Scottish Government can and should act in the short and medium term to protect then enhance our unique role in the provision of food and public goods.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said:
“We recognise the challenging weather conditions that many farmers and land managers have faced this Spring – conditions that are sadly a direct result of climate change. That’s why it is critical that we continue to support Scotland’s farmers and producers to cut emissions whilst improving resilience and help maintain high quality food production within the sector. The Scottish Government continues to take a pragmatic and proportionate approach to agricultural regulations.
“This year we are investing over a billion pounds in the
Rural budget for Scotland. We are providing the same levels of support through direct payments that was available pre-Brexit, and additional funding to support farmers, croers and land managers to transition to a new future support framework. We have done this despite a damaging real-terms funding cut from the UK Government who continue to o¡er little clarity on future rural funding aer 2025.
“This week Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie met with NFU Scotland representatives to discuss their requests and also attended a summit on water management in Scotland. The union’s requests will now be considered and a response will be provided shortly.”