Western Daily Press (Saturday)
There’s lots of warm words but zero action
Farmers are in limbo waiting for grants that may or may not appear or be helpful, says Ro Collinborn
THE wet weather continues, to everyone’s annoyance. My husband put the cows out today with bated breath. He says he has to take action as there is so much residual (leftover) grass left from the autumn when the cows had to come inside because of wet weather.
One thing that has ironically worked in our favour is that our spring block of calving cows is a month later calving. Ten heifers have calved so far, and are looking good. They are calving to our Friesian bull, Brinkworth Buster, and have a wonderful ability to pop out and get up and suck straight away.
We were recently asked to go on Channel 4. Until the reporter and cameraman arrived, we weren’t sure what we were meant to be talking about. It turned out they wanted us to comment on Rishi Sunak’s speech to the NFU conference. I explained that I would like to comment as well as my husband, so they would have to be aware that it’s often difficult for me to get a word in edgeways.
The speech was late, so we had to give our comments as it was going on. I explained that farmers in England hadn’t yet set up mass protests, as they were waiting to see if the promises were going to materialise.
We have been promised good new grants in the speech, but these haven’t appeared yet, and even the government department Natural England doesn’t seem to know what is happening. It’s rumoured that the Environment Agency is stalking dairy farmers in this area which is causing more angst, as it’s been virtually impossible to get dung out last autumn and winter or this spring so far, due to the waterlogged ground. The Catchment Officer, who should be the person advising on what to do, is too busy to visit, which doesn’t help anxious farmers who are trying to get answers as to how to deal with the situation.
I find it extremely annoying that we don’t yet know when the new uplifted grant offers are coming, or exactly what they are going to be. I applied for a calf housing grant, just in case we could afford it. We were initially approved, then next stage is to fill in a further form by the end of April, presumably followed by another final stage when we get it rejected or approved.
A new calf house would need planning permission and the minimum spend is £37,500 to get £15,000 back. The problem here is that you have to spend the whole £37,500 before you get anything back, though interim payments may be possible. It’s very tempting to do a scaled down project with temporary pens costing £15,000, and avoid all the hassle that the grant involves.
Regarding planning for projects and getting quotes, the long drawnout process is not helpful. A similar operation is going on with the grants to upgrade slurry stores, and there is much mental anguish trying to find enough finance if you do get approved; again you have to pay out the whole amount before you get the grant. If not, you are in danger of that visit from the Environment Agency.
None of this is good for farmers’ mental health.
Farming is long term, all about planning for the future, rather than waiting for grants that may or may not appear and may or may not be helpful. We want to put new cow mattresses in our cubicle shed and we had been waiting for the relevant grant (called FETF) to come in. It has, after a considerable wait, but doesn’t currently include mattresses. It now turns out that following a legal challenge from Mayo Cow Comfort to include higher specification mattresses in this grant, Defra has removed them altogether. Mattresses were previously included, but the grant offer was so low, it was encouraging farmers to buy cheaper, less comfortable mattresses, hence the challenge. Mayo says “they’ve removed the most important thing in the shed that dictates cow welfare standards”.
Defra replied: “Following feedback from the sector in between funding rounds, we took the decision to remove mattresses from the 2024 Farming Equipment and Technology Fund rules. We will continue to consider how we can best support farmers to upgrade cattle housing, to improve comfort and reduce lameness, and whether similar items could be grant-funded in the future.”
You couldn’t make it up. It’s a great illustration as to why farmers are so frustrated with the Government’s and Defra’s approach – lots of warm words, no action. We can’t wait now for possible “grant funding in the future”. For us, it means coughing up an extra £4,000.
We flood badly in this area and were told there would be a Flood Restoration Fund this spring. Either this has not materialised, or it’s not for this area. I have written to WCC, and written to and phoned Defra many times without getting an answer. When you email Defra, you always get an immediate email back, and then you wait and wait – and wait. We’ve been told that there are new grants coming in to combat flooding, but we haven’t been told exactly what they are, or how they will work. It’s all extremely frustrating! Perhaps the only certainty is that there will be a change of government some time this year.
Who’s to know if the new grants will be honoured, or if the savage cutbacks on the Single Farm Payment will be cancelled. Cancelling the grants after we have eventually managed to get them would not be popular either! And are we facing the right to roam, increasing inheritance tax and ending trail hunting?
■ Ro Collingborn is a Wiltshire dairy farmer and has been dairy chairman of the Women’s Food and Farming Union, on the Milk Development Council, the Veterinary Products Committee, the RSPCA Council and a Wiltshire Wildlife Trust director.