On target : 

Environment and Land Use

NFU Scotland – fighting for your interests

• Water Framework Directive
• NFUS is the body that speaks up for farmers in the debate about how to implement EU rules.   Diffuse pollution is currently under close scrutiny.    Water abstraction for irrigation remains a hot topic within the Union’s overall intent to reduce the burden and costs of regulation.
• Lobbying by NFUS resulted in important changes to proposed rules and charges on water abstraction. We won a cut-off rule that excludes most members from registration as well.   NFUS has said firmly that regulatory costs must be minimised.  To help put regulation into a proper local perspective, 13 members serve on the new SEPA Area Advisory Groups.
• A current issue is proposals from SEERAD to introduce controls on diffuse pollution.   NFUS has achieved substantial changes to these proposals.   New General Binding Rules are about to be confirmed, we do not expect that these rules will go much, if at all, beyond what is already required in GAEC and the PEPFAA Code.  In addition, we have secured changes to the Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oils (SSAFO) Regulations to allow ‘dirty water’ to be drained to constructed farm wetlands.
  
  
• Farm Waste
• We won agriculture’s case that farmyard manure and slurry are valuable resources, not waste.  That’s been extended to straw burning as well.  Nor are field stones now classed as waste, thanks to the Union’s argument.   In Scotland, unlike England, real farming waste is classified as commercial waste, not industrial.  As a result, local authorities can pick it up.   Also, farmers can take their own waste to disposal sites.   Guidance on farm waste management has been negotiated with SEPA and published in the Leader.   Also, we’ve won the case for more waste licence exemptions for the industry. Authorisation by the Scottish Parliament has been won for biobeds and higher level of own-material composting
  
  
• Environmental Payments
• We won a withdrawal of initial proposals on reduced payment rates. Also, we got a clear line between those who were in schemes before 2003 and those who joined since.   Most of the former get to keep the old rates and the new rates have been enhanced substantially.  
• The number of awards for the 2006 application round were a huge disappointment but we’ve secured an early review of the whole system.   Further analysis of awards showed that only 13.5 per cent of competitive RSS applicants got awards - because the scheme is underfunded.  We want increased resources for those farmers who undertake conservation projects.  NFUS still campaigns for a non-competitive scheme so that all eligible projects get support.   We also fear that some members may be reducing the scale of potential projects because the points system goes against them.  Because of that, the interest in conservation work on farms is underestimated.

November 2007

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