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On the ongoing monitoring questionnaire (sent on the 15 Feb), section 3 refers to ‘land not within any agri-environment scheme’. This is causing some confusion with farmers and land managers since ELS and HLS agreements are ‘whole farm’ and so all ‘land’ will be contained within them, although all environmental activity is not necessarily being paid for through the schemes.
We therefore need to urgently get the message out to farmers that section three actually refers to ‘land being managed for environmental outcomes, whereby the management is not explicitly being paid for under an agri-environment scheme grant’. For example, if a farmer has a game cover, former long term set aside or overwinter stubble being maintained until the end of February, and the management of this option/options is not being paid for by an agri-environment scheme, then the activity will count towards the Campaign and should be declared in section 3 of the questionnaire.
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