With the new Environmental Land Management Schemes being introduced, Julia Aglionby looks at the future of Cumbria's uplands

 Julia Aglionby is an Armathwaite farmer, Executive Director for the Foundation for Common Land and Chair of the Uplands Alliance. She says: "Many of our businesses in Cumbria are linked to the stunning upland landscapes. From tourism and adventurous activities to farming and forestry. And generating work for support services like accountants, suppliers, machinery dealers and lawyers.

Even if your business or job isn’t dependent on the backdrop of mountains and lakes, you may well have chosen to live and work here because you enjoy spending your free time walking, biking or swimming. Many of us are also passionate about the area’s nature and heritage, with 20 million visits a year to the Lakes, much of the nation

feels the same.

So how Cumbria’s moors, dales and valleys are managed is everyone’s business. With our upland farming community having a direct stake and a clear responsibility. These 1,000 upland farms steward our land by running businesses that manage the uplands for multiple outcomes. Half are commoners collaboratively grazing the 16% of Cumbria that is common land. Including iconic places of national repute like Blencathra, Scafell, Catbells, the Langdales and High Street.

Farmers sell the food they produce for ‘cash’, although there is no market for other products like nature, carbon storage, landscape, provision of access and clean water. Also not factored into price are our standards of animal welfare and environmental protection. Higher than many countries we import food from. This is why farming has long been supported to provide affordable food. The cost to the taxpayer for managing 70% of the UK’s land mass in 2019 was a mere 0.4% of government expenditure (£4 billion) per year. In the uplands government payments comprise 40% of business turnover and over 100% of farm business income before paying for family labour.

What of the future? Over the next six years government is phasing out current direct payments that are over 70% of government support (BPS). Replacing them with Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS) and building on existing Stewardship schemes that currently comprise nearly 30% of support payments in the uplands. Most people agree the direction of travel is good. It will provide clarity over what taxpayers are paying for, public payments for public goods. A single set of schemes will also address the twin climate and nature crises - accelerating the journey to net zero. To date agriculture has made limited progress on this target.

For now, the challenge for farm businesses is that Defra has not yet been able to crystalise the ‘Brexit dividend’. Making it difficult for farmers to plan, a cycle is three to five years as a minimum and missing the window for a smooth transition.

What upland farmers do know is that due to BPS phase out they will have lost 30% of farm business income by 2023. That is increasing to a loss of 80% by 2028 (using Defra’s 2020/21 figures). Farmers also know that 'agflation' is running at 23.5%, compared with the consumer price index of

10.1% (July 2022 figures from Andersons Consultancy). Despite livestock price increases, there is a still a significant squeeze. It is difficult to make up lost net income through increasing

production.

What upland farmers don’t know are the details of the new ELMS. The early rollout of one strand, the Sustainable Farming Incentive has low take-up. Many say the payments don’t recompense the actions required. Furthermore if you are already in a stewardship scheme there are constraints on stacking schemes. It is hard to access ‘released’ BPS funds via delivering more. In summary ELMS is based on a sound premise but execution to date falls far short of what is required.

A caveat to all this, is that things may have altered by the time you read this. In October the new Secretary of State for Defra, Ranil Jayawardena, will have reviewed the Agricultural Transition programme.

So what does this all mean for Cumbria, our landscapes, nature and communities? Should we be concerned?

Forty Cumbrian farms feature in an exhibition at Rheged, I highly recommend visiting it. The photos are by Amy Bateman, who with her husband, farms near Kendal. What is clear from her work, is that the farmers are as hefted to the land as their sheep. They also constantly evolve their businesses to respond to new opportunities and challenges. This combination of resilience and entrepreneurship is powerful, and much needed in facing a future that is fragile and uncertain. There is a real commitment to the land, but there is concern about the future and the changes happening.

One project supporting hill farmers through change is ‘Our Upland Commons’. Twenty-five partners, convened by the Foundation for Common Land, are working to enhance collaboration between commoners and the owners of common land. To secure a future for commoning systems, to enhance nature and cultural heritage on this land and increase public understanding and enjoyment of these areas. Projects include buying a remote controlled bracken cutter to improve habitats for flora and butterflies as well as enhance grazing. Developing understanding of England’s highest ‘street’, with an archaeological dig on Bampton’s Roman Road. In Kinniside farmers are being supported to develop a Farm Carbon Audit tool for hill farms, with the target of producing net zero livestock. There are parallel activities in Shropshire, the Dales and Dartmoor, with the £3million project funded largely by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

These projects shine a light on the huge importance of how people manage land. Plus how they could be supported to do more for nature and our climate in tandem with food production. We should not expect farmers and land managers to deliver for society on less than the minimum wage. If we do then farmers may well vote with their feet and the precious landscape, natural and cultural heritage that defines Cumbria will be much the poorer. With knock on impacts for businesses and communities.

On a brighter note this bleak outlook is completely unnecessary and avoidable. We know the steps that are required. They are well set out in several reports, including the National Food Strategy. What we wait to see is if there is the political will to act on them."