New policies for agriculture
THE Scottish Government’s suite of new policies announced at Holyrood in full:
Tier 2 of the agriculture future support framework will be important for delivering outcomes for climate and nature. The
First Minister announced in February that the funding for Tiers 1 and 2 will constitute at least 70% of the overall funding envelope to support farming, croing and land management from 2027. A further announcement about the proportion of funding between Tiers 1 and 2 will be made in June.
New conditions for agriculture support from 2025 include a Whole Farm Plan within which two of five options must be chosen.
Soil testing and Integrated Pest Management plans will form two of those options and Nutrient Management Plans will be added to the Whole Farm Plans by 2028, with the details developed through a co-design approach. Proportionate carbon audits will be required by all farms receiving public support by 2028 at the latest.
A new pilot scheme with some Scottish farms will establish future appropriate uptake of methane suppressing feed products/ additives which is a key measure to reduce emissions from livestock.
This pilot will establish how future support can recognise uptake of these products as well as encouraging pioneering Scottish dairy farms to engage with their potential.
This will help inform and support the roll out of methane suppressing feed products, the first of which has recently received approval, to reduce emissions from livestock.
The initial List of Measures for future agricultural support, published last year, envisages support for use of methane suppressants in the beef and dairy sectors as part of Tier 2. The pilot will help show how the potential of this technology can be harnessed.
Regional Land Use Partnerships (RLUPs) will also be established as an initiative with coverage across Scotland by the end of the next parliamentary term. This is beginning with the recruitment of up to three new areas over the next year.
Investigation of how partial re-wetting can co-exist with continued agricultural
activity and access to agricultural support, with up to £1 million invested in partial rewetting projects. This will inform potentially improved incentives for land managers to manage peatlands for nature and carbon from 2026 onwards.
The current Cairngorms Deer Pilot to develop a national scheme which incentivises increased management and investment in the venison supply chain will be continued.
A consultation on options for a carbon land tax on larger landholdings will begin in the summer, as part of exploring regulatory and fiscal changes.