Nurturing nature

An independent dose of news, views and insight from the world of farming and food

Viewpoint

A couple of the stories below could be good news for farmers looking to create new income streams from nurturing nature. If the South Downs National Park can attract buyers for its newly announced high-integrity voluntary biodiversity credits it will show there is a market for a new breed of green investments. And if, as looks promising, Rothamsted Research has proved that you can sequester more carbon with novel grazing strategies further credit opportunities could be on the cards. But there is a danger that a myriad of uncoordinated and unregulated credit schemes could emerge to further complicate an already confusing marketplace. A lack of transparency and clarity could turn off potential investors and deny the rural economy much-needed financial support. Something, perhaps, for the political parties vying for the farmer vote to think about. As discussed, their campaigns have been relatively thin gruel so far. ??

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Andrew Shirley, journalist and storyteller

In this week's update:

·?????? Wheat bulls, wool balls

·?????? General election update

·?????? Cell grazing best

·?????? UK bird flu free

·?????? Extra flooding cash

·?????? National Park credits

·?????? Trading places

?Commodity markets

Wheat bulls, wool balls

French 2024 feed wheat futures markets hit their highest levels since November 2022 with Russian production forecasts now 10 million tonnes below current USDA estimates. Not such good news for the UK’s sheep farmers with wool prices on the decline. The average value of a fleece is around 75p/kg, well below the costs of shearing. Meanwhile, barring any significant geopolitical events, analysts are forecasting that oil prices could remain under pressure during the remainder of the year. The oil cartel OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to extend production cuts in an effort to support oil prices in the face of worries about global demand and rising U.S. output, but will begin to phase out some voluntary reductions after the third quarter.

Headlines

General election update

You may well be bored of it already, but here are a few rural snippets from the General Election campaign trail so far.

Red. Labour hasn’t said too much about farming specifically yet, but it has just launched the website for one of its headline projects: Great British Energy. This would be a publicly owned energy company formed within months of Labour taking power that, the party says, would help cut bills, protect the UK from future energy crises and hasten the creation of more renewable and nuclear energy. There is a commitment to fund the generation of at least 8GW of community renewable energy over the course of the next parliament. Landowners will be waiting keenly to see what, if any, the impact will be on rural solar PV and wind schemes, which are getting bogged down in the planning system and are suffering from a lack of grid connectivity.

Orange. The Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey launched a “rescue plan” for farming in Wales the other day by reminding the farming community that his party has pledged an extra ￡1 billion towards the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme and would, if elected, renegotiate the controversial free trade agreements with New Zealand and Australia. He also said farmers would have access to all the seasonal labour that they need.

Blue. Rishi Sunak will be hoping recently announced improvements to SFI options and payments will do the talking for him, but he has also promised a potentially helpful new policy to combat fly tipping, the scourge of many rural property owners. In future, those convicted could receive points on their driving licences while persistent offenders would face unlimited fines and up to five years behind bars. Two of the highest profile Defra ministers of recent times have also revealed their plans for the election. Michael Gove who, like him or not, put a lot of intellectual energy into his time at the ministry has decided to step down as an MP. Liz Truss, who I'm reliably informed by Defra insiders, was never on top of her brief, is soldiering on against a former Tory councillor turned independent who is campaigning on a policy of unseating her. Nice!

Green. The Green party, meanwhile, perhaps realising farmer bashing is not so in vogue these days, has said it will not include previously discussed plans to ration the consumption of meat and dairy products as part of its manifesto.

In brief

Cell grazing best

The four-year results of an ongoing study being conducted by Rothamsted Research comparing cell grazing with traditional pasture usage indicate a number of benefits. Moving livestock to different areas of grass every one to two days increased dry matter production, cut the number of weed species in the sward, supported higher stocking densities and boosted soil carbon levels and potential carbon sequestration. “It’s not the cow, it’s the how,” said study lead Dr Jordana Rivero.

UK bird flu free

Good news for poultry farmers - the government, after review by the World Organisation for Animal Health, has declared that Great Britain has been free of avian influenza since the end of March, with the last case in kept birds reported on February 14th.

Extra flooding cash

More farmers in England affected by the recent heavy rains and flooding will have access to Defra’s Farming Recovery Fund. Previously only those within a certain distance of specific rivers were eligible for compensation, but now it is reckoned as many as 10,000 could benefit from the new ￡50 million pot. Qualifying businesses will be notified by the Rural Payments Agency and receive up to ￡25,000 to help repair affected land.

National Park credits

The South Downs National Park is the first in the country to try and attract environmental funding by creating its own high-integrity biodiversity credits. To begin with the green finance scheme will operate over 500 hectares of selected farmland, but park authorities want to create 13,000 hectares of new habitat and ensure 33% of the 1,6000 square-kilometre park is managed for nature by 2030. The park is already investigating Biodiversity Net Gain and Nutrient Neutrality offsetting schemes. ?

Trading places

Eagle-eyed readers might notice that this newsletter has a new name and that I’m no longer signing off as Head of Rural Research at Knight Frank. After 16 years with the business, I’m going back to my journalistic roots and will, for now, be working as a freelance editorial consultant specialising in rural issues and investments of passion. If you signed up for this newsletter because it was coming from Knight Frank please feel free to unsubscribe, but if you enjoy my weekly witterings do stick around!