Upland Entry Level Stewardship Meeting - Sedbergh, Cumbria

THE Hill Farm Allowance (HFA) is coming to an end and the HFA payments received in March 2010 will be the last. The successor to the HFA is Upland Entry Level Stewardship (UELS).

You are invited to a meeting to look at the potential of Upland Entry Level Stewardship (UELS) on your farm and the benefits it can bring to both the environment and farm income.

Time: 7-30pm to 9pm
Where: Bull Hotel, Sedbergh, LA10 5BL
When: Tuesday 10th November

Farmers who enter UELS will receive a total of £62 /ha (£23 /ha for fields which are greater than 15ha above the moorland line). This is a combination of £30/ha (£8 / ha for fields greater than 15ha above the moorland line) from Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) plus an additional £32 / ha (£15 / ha for fields greater that 15ha above the moorland line) from UELS

Upland Entry Level Stewardship is open to all farmers in Severely Disadvantaged Areas. To gain entry in to the scheme farmers will have to achieve a points target by choosing from a wide range of options which best suit their farming practice including some compulsory requirements.

Farmers who are already in an existing Countryside Stewardship Scheme or an ESA agreement will receive a transitional payment similar to HFA until the end of their classic scheme.

Applications for UELS will be available from early 2010 and the first schemes will start from the 1st July 2010.

At the meeting we will provide details on the range of options that are available under UELS and how the scheme can work for you.
The meeting will start at 7.30pm and finish around 9.00pm.

We will begin with an introduction to Environmental Stewardship and Upland Environmental Stewardship (UELS). We will discuss the different features on a farm which can be used to score the points for UELS.

During the evening we will look at and discuss the management of a variety of options available under ELS/UELS.

These will include
• Compulsory requirements
• Cattle Grazing on upland grassland and moorland
• Hay making
• Hedgerow and stonewall restoration
• Management of enclosed rough grazing for birds
• Boundary options. 

Natural England will explain how UELS can fit with modern farming practices.

Contact: Natural England (Event ref NWME307) Tel: 0113 2303753 Email: farmevents@naturalengland.org.uk