Exmoor's Ambition





Is this an example of the shape of things to come?  If nothing else it comes as a relief to see some common sense thinking about how support for upland farming could, and perhaps should, be shaped in the new era that will follow departure from the EU.







Extract from the Exmoor NPA website:

During 2017, the Government, through Defra, encouraged the people of Exmoor to develop new ideas for incentivising the wide range of public benefits provided by farming and other land management. In response to this, and to a clear appetite from the Exmoor farming community to influence future policy and investment, a steering group was set up to explore the potential for a locally designed scheme.

The steering group comprises the Exmoor Hill Farming Network, ENPA, Exmoor Society, Natural England, RSPB and private landowners. Robin Milton, the Authority Chairman is chair.

In a Nutshell (from the Exmoor Ambition Report)

Brexit provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to forge more effective ways of protecting our finest landscapes, while revitalising their communities and economies. 

Exmoor is recognised as a test bed for national policy. Together, our farmers, conservationists and public bodies are up for this challenge. 

We are proposing a simpler, more integrated and locally accountable policy, incentivising all the public benefits provided by the countryside (such as scenic beauty, healthy food and soils, flourishing nature and enterprising businesses). 

This would be delivered through a single locally-delivered scheme which: 
  • Has the concept of natural capital at its heart,
  • Is driven by results and evidence of what works, 
  • Uses trust and co-operation to replace regulation and form-filling, 
  • Encourages new thinking, especially from the next generation, 
  • Is co-designed and delivered by farmers and land managers, 
These measures would be matched by branding and promotion of goods and services from our cherished countryside to secure a premium income for their producers. 

Delivery through a team of farm liaison officers, and processes of peer review and continuous learning, would result in more effective and lower administrative costs. 
A costed proposal has been developed and Government is being asked to help pilot the scheme and show that it works.

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