We're Proud Of Why We Receive Farm Payments: The Government Should Be Too
23/03/05

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) is calling on the Government to trumpet the public benefits delivered by the new payments made under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) - particularly as interest has been heightened by the release of old figures by the Rural Payments Agency today.

Mark Hudson, CLA President said, “Why is the Government silent today? It should be proud of the benefits our farmers and land managers deliver to the country - in terms of landscape, producing good quality food and supporting rural jobs and businesses. As a payment from the public purse, the Government should join with the recipients to explain why this payment is made.

“I'm concerned that the Government in England took a different view on the law relating to Freedom of Information to that of Wales Assembly Government and the Scottish Executive1. In England, I think politics dictated that these figures were published regardless of the usual presumption of privacy.

“This payment is only a part of the overall income and expenditure of a farm business; simply looking at a list of individual payments out of context is meaningless. The bigger estates receive bigger payments because they farm and manage more land with the larger costs in terms of employees and contractors that this involves.

“However, we are where we are and we're certainly proud to fly the flag for farming in this country,” Mark Hudson said.

As is Henry Robinson, who farms in Gloucestershire; he said, "These payments are a legitimate method of ensuring the future of our cherished landscapes and also enabling farmers to adhere to high animal welfare standards and offer consumers the choice of high quality, affordable British food.  I hope that people will take the time to consider the full picture regarding CAP payments and that the British taxpayer is getting a great deal of value back."

Mark Hudson added, “We shall be advising our members of their rights under the data protection legislation.”

So What Does The British Taxpayer Receive From Farmers And Land Managers As Part Of Their Single Farm Payment Contract?

Consumers are used to low prices for food in their supermarkets. But these low prices are only achievable via either making support payments to UK farmers who adhere to animal welfare and environmental standards or by importing cheap food from abroad where there is no guarantee of such farm standards.

The beautiful British countryside, a vital element of our domestic and inbound tourism industry, is created and maintained by farming and land management practices. Without dedicated land management work, the countryside would not turn into a wonderful safari-style wilderness but an expanse of monotonous scrub threatening the survival of many specialised communities of plants and animals and obscuring beautiful views and archaeological features.

As part of their contract for receiving the payment, farmers and land managers undertake activities that maintain the features of our landscape or, indeed, avoid practices that may yield profit but would not support these features and habitats. An example of this is farmers respecting the bird nesting season by not trimming hedges during this period, except for public safety reasons such as ensuring the vision of drivers on rural roads is not obscured. There are also obligations for the way farmers manage the soil on their farms, for example, how often the soil is aerated affects how much carbon is stored in it, whether water sinks back into the local water table or runs off into rivers etc.