Uncertainty over payments could see the end for cattle on the open New Forest

CONTINUING uncertainty over future funding could spell the end for many New Forest cattle farmers, a leading commoner has warned.

Describing the ageing commoning population and a lack of transparency over future funding as a “perfect storm”, commoner and cattle breeder Lyndsey Stride has warned many questions still remain about a new subsidy system which will replace the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).

As reported, the scheme was criticised because commoners were paid according to the number of ponies and cattle they turned out onto the New Forest, leading to concern over overgrazing.

In April 2021, the government announced the BPS would be phased out in favour of Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS), which pay commoners according to the environmental benefits they deliver.

However, as the BPS continues to be tapered off, Mrs Stride says that commoners still have no clear details about how subsidies will be paid under its replacement scheme.

The uncertainty grew in January when Defra announced that the mid-level of the ELMS payment would be a continuation of the current Countryside Stewardship Scheme, which pays farmers for delivering environmental good. However, no details have yet emerged on how payments will work for commoners.

Speaking at the Verderers’ Court, Mrs Stride said: “Cattle commoning in the New Forest is important for the maintenance and restoration of habitats which delivers for both biodiversity and carbon storage.

“It takes many years to build a good herd of Forest cattle; we have cows in our herd at home that go back many generations. Over the past few months we have heard of several herds that have been either sold or reduced, as commoners face the reality that it simply won’t pay.”

Mrs Stride warned that without the security of BPS payments, many cattle-keeping commoners are beginning to question their future.

“It’s like a pack of cards has been thrown up in the air and no one knows where or how they will land,” she said. “The problem with commoning and farming is you are always looking two to three years in
the future and we have no answers for what that future holds.”

Further problems are created because many commoners rent their backup grazing land on short-term annual agreements, so it is difficult for them to demonstrate that they have management control of the land and makes them ineligible for the subsidies.

Mrs Stride warned: “Many landlords are not renewing tenancies in anticipation of participating either in new schemes or signing up to private finance mitigation schemes – why would they let land to commoners when they can claim the subsidies themselves?”

Calling on the verderers to do all they can to represent the important role that commoning plays to Defra and other agencies, Ms Stride said: “We are in a perfect storm – an ageing commoning community, rising costs, reduced public funding and the high market value of cull cows, along with the very real challenges of commoning in the New Forest.

“The question is: can the New Forest afford to lose its cattle commoners?”