All Policy Changes Must Future Proof Smaller Units Against Disproportionate Risks and Costs
NFU Scotland has welcomed the Scottish Government’s intention to protect the country’s smaller suckler herds by exempting them from the new calving interval requirement under the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme (SSBSS).
NFU Scotland is clear that a small claim derogation can safeguard support payments for the hundreds of smaller suckler herds across Scotland - upholding the key socio-economic principle behind coupled support for the suckler beef sector since its introduction in 2005.
Critically, a smaller herd derogation will not dilute the policy rationale for the 410-day calving interval - for the vast majority of suckler herds the calving interval will signal improved technical performance that can help reduce emissions. It is also vital that the full implications of the new 410-day calving interval are fully assessed and understood before there is any suggestion to reduce it further.
NFU Scotland Director of Policy Jonnie Hall said:
“This is a sensible and proportionate step which we’ve asked the Scottish Government to take. While the emissions impact of these smaller and vulnerable herds is negligible, being less than 2 per cent of the national suckler herd, their value in sustaining rural communities, biodiversity, and active land management is very significant, if not critical. This decision rightly reflects that contribution.”
“This is about fairness. The same policy-driven expectations aimed at a herd of 200 suckler cows on a mixed arable and grassland unit simply cannot apply to a crofter or new entrant with five cows on a hillside. We’re pleased to see government recognise that.”
“This move recognises that future support measures cannot be exclusively about emissions reductions and climate ambitions. It’s also about the socio-economic and nature benefits of keeping small suckler herds in what are mostly remote and fragile areas.”
“As we go through the gears of adding greater conditionality to direct support, such as the Whole Farm Plan and Enhanced Greening, there is a clear need to future-proof scheme requirements for smaller producers to ensure they’re not disproportionately impacted”
“Their contribution to the new objectives of support must be measured as much by the rural communities and nature they sustain, alongside the food they produce, as by their contribution to climate targets."
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