Minister visits farm of UFU President

Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister Edwin Poots has visited the farm of UFU President, Mr Victor Chestnutt, to see for himself some of the range of positive environmental measures that have been put in place.

Minister Poots is pictured with Victor Chestnutt, President of the Ulster Farmers Union during a visit to Mr Chestnutt’s farm in Bushmills.

The UFU President was delighted to host the visit of the Minister on his farm just outside Bushmills, along with Vice Presidents David Brown and William Irvine.

Victor, who has been an enthusiastic supporter of incorporating environmental measures into his farm business and is a member of his local Environmental Business Development Group facilitated by CAFRE said: “Stock comes first on this farm, but there is always something that can be done to address the environmental challenges facing all of us within the farming industry.  We’ve put in a range of measures to contribute to meeting these challenges, including solar panels, heat exchangers and low emission slurry spreading. These can all help to reduce costs, but other important measures such as planting trees, hedges and protecting water quality come at a price and farmers need to be adequately and flexibly supported to deliver these.”

Welcoming the opportunity to see first-hand the measures introduced at the farm, Minister Poots said: “I’d like to thank Victor and his family for their kind invitation.  It’s really encouraging to see the impressive range of measures he has taken with support from DAERA schemes such as the Small Woodland Grant Scheme, the Environmental Farming Scheme and the Farm Business Improvement Scheme. The fact that he has involved younger members of the family to help plant the trees will provide them with a lasting environmental legacy as well as fond memories in years to come.”

The Minister continued: “I was pleased to see the first positive outcomes from the Small Woodland Grant Scheme which my Department set up last year, as well as the hedging and watercourse fencing delivered by the Environmental Farming Scheme, which were worth over £15m to the industry last year.  The visit allowed the opportunity for important discussion on issues surrounding the payment rates and timing and the flexibility of some schemes.  As I’ve mentioned previously, following Brexit, we now have an opportunity to develop an agricultural support framework portfolio which will be better suited to local needs.  Co-design, involving organisations such as the UFU, farmers and environmental stakeholders will be key in the development process.”

The Minister concluded: “I’m pleased to announce that I have secured funding for a fifth and sixth tranche of the Environmental Farming Scheme, the fifth intake of the Wider Scheme will open on the 16 August for 4 weeks and I’d encourage anyone who hasn’t joined the Scheme to look at the options available and consider making an application. The Small Woodland Grant Scheme is currently open for applications.”

Notes to editors: 

1. The Environmental Farming Scheme (EFS) aims to protect and enhance biodiversity and water quality, and mitigate against climate change.
2. Some 5,000 EFS agreements are in place after 4 intake tranches. Tranche 5 applications for Higher Level closed earlier in 2021 and applications are currently being processed. Tranche 5 of Wider Level is planned to open in August 2021. A sixth tranche for both levels is planned for 2022. 
3. EFS Group Level supports farmers to deliver their EFS agreements, and is delivered by organisations external to DAERA.
4. EFS is a five-year agreement, work claimed for and paid on must remain available for inspection at any time during this period. Failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the scheme may lead to penalties and recovery of any payments made.
5. The Small Woodland Grant Scheme reopened for applications on 22 June 2021 to support new native woodland planting for areas of 0.2 of a hectare (half an acre) and larger. It is based on standard woodland establishment costs with 80% of the payment in year 1 and the remaining 20% in year 5 once the woodland has become established. A fencing grant is available where necessary to secure the new woodland and Annual Premia are payable over a 10-year period where the land to be planted is in agricultural use.
6. Follow DAERA on Twitter and Facebook
7. All media queries should be directed to the DAERA Press Office
8. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

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