'Carbon in the Uplands: Threats & Opportunities' Conference

We have joined forces with the Southern Uplands Partnership and the Crichton Carbon Centre, Dumfries to stage this conference that is aimed at demystifying the issues that surround carbon in the uplands for the benefit of landowners and land managers.

The conference will start at lunchtime on 20 April and finish at tea time on 21 April and it is based on the Moffat House Hotel in the centre of Moffat.

Full details are contained in the flyer that can be downloaded here.  The first session, on 20 April, will be a workshop run by the Sustainable Uplands project team, that forms part of the Rural Economy & Land Use (RELU) programme run by Defra.  I have been part of this project from the beginning and the report of its work has now been published (see the earlier Blog article - 3 March).  The second day of the conference will see several presentations followed by some targeted workshops that we hope will provide some light in the darkness that surrounds carbon issues.

Our recent experience with Scotland's Moorland Forum and the Upland Solutions project has shown that there is a lack of awareness and understanding about carbon within the land management community and I hope that this conference will help to alleviate this.

Sustainable Uplands Project - Call to pay farmers for managing uplands

I have supported the Sustainable Uplands Project that has seen a collaboration of Universities (including Leeds, Aberdeen & Durham) take an academic view of the management of the uplands which has been funded by Defra's Rural Economy & Land Use (RELU) Programme .  The work is now being published and has received a range of press coverage over the last few days.  See the articles in:  The Scotsman, The Yorkshire Post, The Press & Journal and Bioscience Technology.

Is this approach possible and would you support it?

This project will also be featuring as part of the Carbon in the Uplands conference that I am organising with the Southern Uplands Partnership and the Crichton Carbon Centre, Dumfries that will be held in Moffat 20-21 April 2010.  More details will follow.

English & Welsh Wildfire Forum

I attended what was almost an inaugural meeting of this Forum on 23 - 24 February in Northumberland.

The Forum had been established by Essex Fire & Rescue Service (FRS), almost as an offshoot to the Scottish Wildfire Forum(SWF) (of which I am also a member) but progress had faltered.  Northumberland FRS have now taken over and this was the first meeting under their management.   One of the outcomes was that the Forum should encompass Welsh interests and would be referred to as the English & Welsh Wildfire Forum - it remains to be seen whether this will introduce any tensions into the management of the Forum.

I think it important that the Trust has an input to this Forum.  Land management interests are represented by the Moorland Association and the Country Land & Business Association but I think our overview, our links to the SWF and links to other parts of England & Wales means that we can add Heineken value - 'reach the parts that others cannot reach'.

Other important role for the Trust is to provide a link to (prescribed) heather burning.  My involvement with the Moorland Burning Working Group in England is important here and the FRS view that all fire is bad needs to be diluted with experience of using fire as a management tool.

I hope that this reinvention of the Wildfire Forum will be successful.  I believe it has an important role to play.

Moorland Association - Upland Policy Guide

I was pleased to be invited to attend the launch of the Upland Policy Guide in London on 22 February.  I had some input into the draft document along with 5 other organisations.  The Guide provides 21 recommendations about how the next Government should improve policy to safeguard and extend integrated grouse moor management.  Amongst other issues, the recommendations cover:

• regeneration of heather moorland (703 sq mls has been lost);
• land owners and managers should work closely together to achieve an agreed plan with minimal burden and cost on government agencies;
• predator control should be carried out to boost declining bird populations; and
• heather must be managed.

What do you think about this document?  Has it missed anything?

Scotland: Land Use Strategy

The ground breaking Land Use Strategy, which is a requirement under the Climate Change legislation, is reaching the Discussion Workshop phase.  Details of the workshops that will be held around the country are now available on the website.  This is an important process and all those with an interest in the use of land in Scotland should consider contributing to it.  


Not surprisingly, I am concerned that the moorlands &  uplands get a fair representation.  I maintain that there is a policy gap that is in danger of leaving the upland areas without sufficient protection from competing land uses.  Within Scotland's Moorland Forum, we are considering the development of a document to plug this policy gap and this will feed into the Land use strategy process.


Is there enough protection for our moorland and upland areas or are we in danger of losing these areas to other land uses?  The expansion of the upland forestry to meet the governments aspiration to increase the amount of cover from 17% to 25% is a threat.  FCS are currently projecting the use of up to 10% of the existing heather ground for this purpose.  Does this make sense?

Scotland's Moorland Forum - Upland Solutions project

With the support of members of the Forum, we have been developing the Upland Solutions project which seeks to work with people on the ground in two study areas (Muirkirk & Upper Findhorn).  The Forum seeks to establish people's views about the opportunities for their areas in two workshops.  The Forum will contribute to the discussions and apply the experience that the 30 member organisations can provide.  We also hope to identify any blockages to progress and we will report the findings to contributors, other people in the areas, agencies and government.

The workshops will be held in the Muirkirk area on 25 February and in the Upper Findhorn area on 4 March.  More details are available to download from the Moorland Forum website.

Scotland's Wild Places

A two-day conference and discussion forum on Scotland's Wild Places will take place on 13th and 14th May 2010 at the SNH Battleby Conference Centre.   The event is organised by the Centre for Mountain Studies in collaboration with Leeds University (Wild Land Research Institute),  Lochaber College,  Scottish Wild Land Group,  SNH,  the Cairngorms National Park Authority and the John Muir Trust.  More information from Scotland's National Rural Network site.

Scotland - Sheep Tagging

New details of how the scheme will be introduced and the funding that is on offer can be obtained from the SG website.

Whatever your views on Sheep tagging (EID) at least the measures are not being introduced without support.

Sheep Ticks

As part of my work for Scotland's Moorland Forum, I have been liaising with the Scottish Government about the work of the Sheep Tick Group that was established by the former Minister for Environment, Mike Russell MSP.  The work of this Group has not progressed beyond the issue of a Tick Factsheet in April, last year.  This factsheet was aimed at raising awareness of the general public to tick issues and from a land management perspective it is of limited value.

The Government's proposal is to split the Sheep Tick Group into two: one subgroup to consider human health issues and the other deal with animal health, and clearly it is this second group that would be of most interest to us and hopefully this will encourage progress.

The Health Protection Service website includes data on the number of Lyme disease cases and the increase from 3 in 1999 to a provisional figure of 285 in 2008 is a clear indication of why the Scottish Government is showing an interest in this disease.

I will continue to 'bang the drum' to keep tick issues as high up the agenda as possible, but are we doing enough to respond to their increasing range and abundance?  If not, what else should we be doing?

Scotland - Future of Farming Support - Interim Inquiry Report

For those interested in the future of farming in Scotland this Interim report from the Pack Inquiry is important reading.  It is available to download from the Scottish Government's website.

The direction the Inquiry is taking appears to be to support the continuation of direct farming support (Pillar 1) but be moving towards increased accountability to the public and an increasing level of justification.  The Rural Development Programme will continue to provide public goods and an additional mechanism will be required for disadvantaged areas to maintain the viability of the farm businesses in these areas.  A direct payment top-up fund is also being considered to fund activities that achieve specified outcomes (see Report p40) or the fund could be used to support particular sectors.

Other issues being considered are a move away from the historic model, more support for new entrants, encouragement for the beef sector and the introduction of minimum grazing levels under GAEC to reduce the impact of destocking.

There will be a series of workshops around the country to obtain views.

Peak District - Vacancy - MoorLIFE Project Manager

The Moors for the Future Partnership has a vacancy for a Project Manager who will be the lead person and main point of contact for the exciting new MoorLIFE project which will restore the most degraded peat landscape in Europe.

For more details see the Moors for the Future website or request a recruitment pack from customer.service@peakdistrict.gov.uk or call 01629 816361.

Closing date: 12 noon, 3 February 2010.  Interviews: 9 February 2010.

Wales - Sheep Tagging

Further to the previous post the welsh Assembly has also issued a press release.  In addition to reporting the introduction of the Regulations the release points out that Welsh lambs under 12 months old that are intended for slaughter in the UK will be allowed to be tagged with a single non electronic identifier.  It also provides details of road shows that are to be held in January.

Scotland - Sheep Tagging

The Scottish Government has issued a press release that provides a useful update on the state of play.

Key points are:

• Tagging regulations came into force on 1 Jan 10, but no immediate action is required
• Regulations apply to lambs born after 31 Dec 09
• Support to be available of up to £1000 per farm for the purchase of electronic reading equipment
• A £3 million research pilot is being set up to find the best solutions for implementing the rules in Scotland
• Failure to comply with the new rules is not an option - farmers would lose 15-50% of their Single Farm Payments

Will this scheme be all pain or will there be some benefits to come out of it in the form of useful management information?

Scotland - Cold Weather Restrictions on Shooting

From 00.01am on Tuesday 5th January, the shooting of certain species of wildfowl is to be suspended in Scotland because of the prolonged spell of snow and ice.  See the Scottish Governments announcement and the BASC website for more the details.  The suspension will last for 14 days but will be reviewed after 7 days.

Christmas and New Year

I wish all followers of this Blog a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.  The Trust will be closed from tonight but we will return bright eyed and bushy tailed to tackle the challenges of 2010 on 5th January.




Alison, Catherine & dogs after our Christmas Lunch, yesterday.

Scotland - Rural Land Use Strategy

If you would like to know more about the development of the Land Use Strategy for Scotland I suggest that you look at the Scottish National Rural Network site which has background details, links to other information and tells you how to get involved.

The Trust will be contributing to this process through Scotland's Moorland Forum but we will supplement this with some input of our own, if I think we can add something extra as an independent view.  I woould be pleased to hear any views from members about the issues that should be addressed.  It is interesting to note that The Climate Change (Scotland) 2009 requires a land use strategy to be introduced by 2011.

Wales - Introduction of Glastir / EID

The latest version of Gwlad, the Welsh Assembly Government's agriculture and rural affairs magazine, has a useful summary of the actions required by farmers who wish to enter the Glastir scheme when it starts on 1 January 2012.  See page 3.  This may seem a long way off but, perhaps surprisingly, actions start now.

This same edition also has a useful summary of the requirements of the Electronic ID Scheme in Wales.  See page 4.

For those with an  interest in encouraging Young Entrants, a link to the details of the key Welsh scheme can be found on page 13.  Should other countries be following the Welsh lead?

The Average Age of Hill Farmers

The perceived wisdom is that the average age of hill farmers is increasing out of control and that they are much older than other farmers.  In doing some research for a paper I am writing I came across the Rural Business Research website that provides average age by farm type.  I reproduce the table here:

Farm Type	Average age
ALL FARM TYPES	53.30
Cropping	54.50
Cereals	54.32
General Cropping	53.99
Horticulture	55.74
Livestock	52.48
Dairy	51.40
Grazing livestock (lowland)	54.06
Grazing lifestock (LFA)	52.15
Mixed and other types	52.63
Pigs	48.75
Poultry	53.93
Mixed	52.84

 I have not researched this in depth and it is possible the detail explains why this is not as it seems (lies, damn lies & statistics).  However, cheer up hill farmers, you may not be as far out on a limb as you thought you were, mind you the figures do not necessarily change how you feel.

Wildfires - California style

This article from BBC News demonstrates that the debate between prescribed burning and wildfires is not confined to the burning of heather.  Much of the content of this article, although describing forest fires, is relevant to heather burning.

The video clip:  It would be good to think we could have helicopters on standby in the UK, although 3 min standby might be a bit OTT!

Hydropower

One Welsh farmer has made hydropower work for him.  See a short video clip.

The costs quoted are: installation £25,000, grant £2,500, income from sale of surplus electricity £900 per month.  On these figures, anyone with a good supply of water and a steep hill should be queuing up.