DEFRA confirms moorland payment rise

The article in Farmers Weekly records the good news for moorland farmers in England of an increase of £26/ha in the moorland payment under CAP from 1 January 2015.

Exmoor - The Graze the Moor project

Our bid, on behalf of the Molland Estate, for project funding from the Exmoor National Park has been successful.

I have been working on Molland Moor on the south side of Exmoor since 2002, and during the last 2 years I have been supporting a case study to look at the grazing management of the moor, particularly the controlled re-introduction of cattle grazing over the winter.   The case study has shown that a longer trial would be beneficial and the successful application to the Partnership Fund of ENPA will provide 5 years of funding  for the continuation and development of the case study work.

The work will include controlled grazing management of the moor throughout the year, stock disease monitoring, vegetation monitoring by Natural England and an independent ecologist, an economic comparison between farms that use the moor and those that do not, and dissemination of the findings to a range of interest groups on Exmoor.

There may be opportunities to use this work to bolt on additional activity and the Trust will be working with Molland Estate, Exmoor National Park Authority, a local firm of Chartered Surveyors and Natural England to make the most of this opportunity.

Stalking in Scotland - 'Time on the Hill' video

This message arrived in my inbox today from Will Clarkson.  It struck me as a job very well done and well worth 9:22 of your time.

"Just wanted to announce that I have recently finished a short film about stalking in Scotland. If you are interested in the subject, have a look at the link below.  NOTE - stalking has graphic elements and the film reflects that. Just a warning for people who do not wish to see the more gruesome end of things. 

http://vimeo.com/86719402

Will Clarkson
+447919408502
willclarkson.co.uk"