Exmoor's Ambition

40 Pages·2017·2.24 MB·English

by  Robert Deane

Exmoor’s Ambition
Our transformative proposal for sustaining and enhancing
Exmoor’s farmed landscapes and communities after Brexit
Exmoor’s Ambition

Our transformative proposal for sustaining and enhancing
Exmoor’s farmed landscapes and communities after Brexit

In a Nutshell
Brexit provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to forge more
effective ways of protecting our finest landscapes, while revitalising their
communities and economies.
Exmoor is recognised as a test bed for national policy. Together, our
farmers, conservationists and public bodies are up for this challenge.
We are proposing a simpler, more integrated and locally accountable
policy, incentivising all the public benefits provided by the countryside
(such as scenic beauty, healthy food and soils, flourishing nature and
enterprising businesses).
This would be delivered through a single locally-delivered scheme which:
• Has the concept of natural capital at its heart
• Is driven by results and evidence of what works
• Uses trust and co-operation to replace regulation and form-filling
• Encourages new thinking, especially from the next generation
• Is co-designed and delivered by farmers and land managers
These measures would be matched by branding and promotion of goods
and services from our cherished countryside to secure a premium
income for their producers.
Delivery through a team of farm liaison officers, and processes of peer
review and continuous learning, would result in more effective and lower
administrative costs.
We’ve developed a costed proposal. Now we’re asking Government
to help us pilot it and show it works.
Foreword
Exmoor National Park has a distinct and diverse landscape created by centuries of activity.
The deeply rural, sparsely-populated farmed landscapes are home to red deer, Exmoor
ponies, over 250 bird species, 1000+ plant species and a unique cultural heritage in an
environment maintained, conserved and enhanced by farming and its associated activities.
These intrinsic links between farming and the stunning attributes of Exmoor are recognised
both in the National Park’s purposes and the developing Partnership Plan. The beauty of
the landscape, mosaic of habitats and extraordinary cultural heritage do however require
constant management and investment to sustain and enhance their value. The premise
behind this document is that there is no one better to do this than those who live and work
here, with generations of knowledge and a desire to leave it better for every following
generation.
Following the Brexit vote, it is laudable that Exmoor farmers (endorsed through the Hill
Farming Network) and the National Park Authority are proactively examining opportunities
that will be better for Exmoor. Together, they are seeking to improve the reliance and
sustainability of the internationally famous landscapes, nature and culture in ways that
enhance wealth for this area and its people and wellbeing for the whole nation.
The future must involve greater public recognition and purchasing of the high quality
products and services that Exmoor provides. The opportunities for stronger branding and
promotion are addressed in a separate section of this report, contributed by one of the
UK’s leading marketing professionals.
Exmoor has always been at the forefront of developing initiatives from within that provide
exemplars for regional and national policy. ‘Exmoor’s Ambition’ is a timely proposal to
meet today’s challenges. It offers a better way of using public resources more efficiently,
providing Government with a test bed to develop land management support that delivers
what the nation expects. It provides the flexibility to adjust to challenges without
compromising objectives. I feel this should be part of developing a blueprint for the future.
Now is the time to be creative in developing policy for our finest countryside, with Exmoor
farmers and the National Park Authority rising to the challenge of securing its future and
that of Exmoor. ‘Exmoor’s Ambition’ certainly meets that aspiration.
Robin Milton
Chair of the National Park Authority
Contents
Foreword ................................................... 1 6. A Clear Rationale ................................ 8
1. The Brexit Opportunity ......................... 2 7. Our Proposal ....................................... 9
2. Our Goals .............................................. 3 8. Points of Difference .......................... 20
3. Exmoor Innovates ................................. 5 9. Defining Success ............................... 21
4. Ensuring Success ................................... 6 10. Implementation ............................... 23
5. Design Principles .................................. 7 Technical Annex .................................... 25
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1. The Brexit Opportunity
As the Secretary of State, Michael Gove, has made clear, the UK’s departure from the EU
provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity for our countryside and natural environment.
Unshackled from the restrictions and unintended distortions of the Common Agricultural
Policy (CAP), we must forge more effective ways of protecting our finest landscapes while
revitalising their communities and economies. We must be ambitious, learning from the
experience of past policies and bringing together everyone who
We must forge more
has an interest in securing a more beautiful, vibrant, accessible and
effective ways of protecting
life-sustaining countryside.
our finest landscapes while
This paper has been prepared as a joint initiative of Exmoor
revitalising their
National Park Authority and the Exmoor Hill Farming Network1. It
communities and economies
draws on work the two organisations have been doing in recent
years and on our understanding of other projects. It responds to Defra’s 25 Year
Environment Plan and its call for proposals for post-CAP farm and agri-environment schemes.
Securing our world-class rural landscapes through prosperous farming
We want to see farming on Exmoor more viable and enterprising, receiving proper financial
recognition for the public benefits it delivers. We are acutely aware that the opportunities
offered by Brexit also bring uncertainty, particularly over the future of
Brexit presents us with farm and environmental support schemes. Most of the National
the challenge of how to Park’s internationally important but fragile landscapes, wildlife
maintain the farming habitats, soils and archaeology rely on sympathetic livestock grazing
systems that underpin and management by farmers. In turn these farmers, who face
Exmoor’s internationally formidable challenges in this remote upland area, have relied heavily
important but fragile on payments from the CAP to sustain their businesses2.
natural environment

Latest analysis from the Agricultural
and Horticultural Development Board
(AHDB)3 shows that the viability of hill
livestock production, particularly
sheep, could be at significant risk
following Brexit from a loss of export
markets and increased competition at
home.
If we are to avoid large-scale and
undesirable changes in upland
landscapes and economies, it is clear
that farming in these areas will need
ongoing financial support that Sarah Eveleigh, West Ilkerton Farm
recognises and rewards the public “Exmoor’s Ambition has created an exciting opportunity
benefits that good management for us to shape our future as Exmoor farmers, giving us the
provides. chance to safeguard not only our careers but also the
unique countryside from which we make our living”

1 The Exmoor Hill Farming Network is a farmer led initiative that provides information, training, demonstrations, grants and opportunities to upland
farmers across Exmoor. It aims to be the ‘Go-to Hub’ for Exmoor’s farming community. www.exmoorhillfarmingnetwork.org.uk/
2 Data from the Farm Business Survey (from Rural Business Research at Newcastle University) show that without these CAP payments in 2015/16,
the average hill farmer in the South West of England would have made a loss of over £4,000 before taking any money from the business for their
own labour. http://farmbusinesssurvey.co.uk/
3 https://ahdb.org.uk/brexit/documents/Horizon_BrexitScenarios_11oct17.pdf
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2. Our Goals
We share the Government’s ambition in its recently published 25 Year Environment Plan to
pass on to the next generation our world class landscape, including its biodiversity, natural
resources, historic environment and culture, in a better state than we received it.
We wish to play our part in delivering the 25 Year Environment Plan on Exmoor. The
proposals put forward in this paper seek to address key areas described in the Government’s
Plan, including:
• Using and managing land sustainably;
• Recovering nature and enhancing the beauty of landscapes;
• Connecting people with the environment to improve health and wellbeing; and
• Increasing resource efficiency, and reducing pollution and waste.
Our goals mirror those stated by the Secretary of State in his Foreword to the 25 Year Plan: “The new
system of support that we will bring in … will have environmental enhancement at its heart. We will
support farmers to turn over fields to meadows rich in herbs and wildflowers, plant more trees, restore
habitats for endangered species, recover soil fertility and attract wildlife back. We will ensure broader
landscapes are transformed by connecting habitats into larger corridors for wildlife”.

To these we would add our aspiration to enhance the natural productivity and public enjoyment of
farmland and woodland, the vitality of farming businesses and the value of their products.
Selected Ambitions from Exmoor’s Partnership Plan
Exmoor’s Partnership Plan
2018-2023
The statutory Management Plan for
For People For Place
Exmoor National Park, which covers • More people enjoy • The natural beauty of
the period 2018 to 2023, sets the Exmoor, are inspired, Exmoor’s landscapes are
vision, objectives and strategic get involved, and learn celebrated, conserved and
actions that will maintain Exmoor’s about its special enhanced.
qualities. • The historic environment is
special qualities.
• Exmoor has a first class better understood, cared
The proposals set out in this rights of way network for and protected.
document are intended to provide a offering more and • Exmoor is richer in wildlife.
key means to deliver many of these better experiences for Habitats are in good
people who want to condition, expanded,
objectives (see box).
explore and enjoy the connected, and support
Specific examples of the changes National Park. more species.
that will arise from our proposals
are given on page 21. For Prosperity
• Exmoor’s land-based communities and businesses are
We share the Government’s ambition supported to provide healthy food and good quality
to pass on our world class landscape timber, ensuring that Exmoor’s landscapes are cared for.
• The local economy is more sustainable with increased
to the next generation in a better
innovation, entrepreneurship and improved prospects.
state than we received it.

Cuckoos, tree bumblebees, grey wagtails and Atlantic grey seals: Our nature conservation projects are making Exmoor
even more of a haven for wildlife Photo credits: John Bridges RSPB Images, Ian Grier RSPB Images, Adam Cuerden Wikimedia Commons
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Exmoor’s Ambition
We are calling our Brexit opportunity ‘Exmoor’s Ambition’. This ambition is three-fold:
• To build on the productive working relationships that exist on Exmoor to develop a locally-
delivered mechanism that secures and enhances the many benefits that Exmoor’s farmed
countryside gives to our communities and the nation;
• To deliver key parts of the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan on Exmoor and the
National Park Partnership Plan, leaving Exmoor’s special qualities in a significantly better state;
• To demonstrate to others the value of approaches piloted on Exmoor. We expect that these
can be adopted equally well in other parts of England’s uplands, in other protected landscapes
and more widely.
Photo credit: Brian Westcott

Brian Westcott, West Ley Farm
“We support Exmoor’s Ambition because it will give the farmers, local and national government the chance to
work together, making a sustainable upland farming industry, also taking care of the environment and the local
community. A farmer led system, with the enthusiastic support and backing of government, will make a strong
and progressive rural economy.”
Martin and Celia Ryall, Hollacombe Farm
“A small (63 acre) farm like ours has to be run on commercial lines if it is to survive. Therefore, because the BPS
and UELS give no credit for our County Wildlife Site, our species-rich flower meadows and our 4 or 5 km of
traditional hedges, our ambitions to conserve and protect those features have to be balanced against their
inevitable impact on our bottom line. Adoption of Exmoor’s Ambition would have a significant and positive
effect across the board. It would be grand to be able to manage our hedges by traditional methods rather than
flailing with our tractor.”
Bill Geen, Great Combeshead Farm
“Exmoor’s Ambition is a positive reaction to a rapidly changing farming world. Led by the farmer-driven Hill
Farming Network, which furthers knowledge exchange and innovation working particularly with young people
and women, a strategy has been developed which offers balanced and optimistic solutions to the challenges and
opportunities which Exmoor and the wider farming community face.”
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3. Exmoor Innovates
Exmoor has an outstanding track record as a test bed for national policy which we believe
makes us well-suited to the challenges now facing the English countryside.
At the cutting edge of policy development
During the middle of the 20th century, the tensions between environmental protection and
commercial farming interests were played out on Exmoor’s moorlands, culminating in 1977
with the influential Porchester Report. Acting on this report, the
National Park Authority pioneered the use of management Exmoor pioneered the use
agreements with landowners using the new powers available in the of management
1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act. During the 1990s Exmoor was agreements that have
one of England’s Environmentally Sensitive Areas, developing an since been adopted in agri-
approach to working with farmers that has since been adopted environment schemes
across Europe. During the 2000s Exmoor saw a high uptake of the across Europe
agreements under the Environmental Stewardship scheme,
avoiding the more severe overgrazing problems that affected some other upland areas.
Recent advances
In the past few years, Exmoor’s farmers and landowners have worked with Defra’s agencies,
the National Park Authority, businesses such as South West Water and the voluntary sector
on nationally innovative projects. These include the Exmoor Mires Partnership and the
Headwaters of the Exe and Graze the Moor Projects, as well as the outcomes-focussed agri-
environment pilot led by Natural England. Looking to the future, the Exmoor Society (the
charity that champions Exmoor’s National Park designation) has commissioned research to
pilot a register of natural and cultural capital on Exmoor’s farms. The National Park Authority
is also working with the team at the University of Exeter, led by Professor Ian Bateman, to
develop the natural capital approach on Exmoor and Dartmoor.
The Exmoor Hill Farming Network is one of the leading farmer led initiatives in the UK’s
uplands, supported since 2014 by the Prince’s Countryside Fund and encompassing over 300
farmer members. In 2017, it published its ‘Exmoor Ask’ to explain the benefits that Exmoor
farmers provide to the nation and its vision for a prosperous rural economy4.
Last autumn, the University of Exeter published research undertaken by the retiring Chief
Executive of the National Park Authority on what Exmoor farmers would wish to see from a
new form of farm support, based on interviews with 23 farming businesses5. This has
provided us with a strong understanding of the potential for a locally-based scheme.
Once more unto the breach
Exmoor is keen once again to be a national test bed. We believe we are
Exmoor is uniquely
uniquely qualified to develop a new locally led approach to farm and
qualified for this task
environmental support. This is because of the strong partnership that
because of its strong
continues to develop between the National Park Authority and the
partnership approach
farming community, and also because of the evidence base that is
and the shared local
being generated from research and pilot projects on Exmoor. Both of
evidence base
these factors provide a solid foundation for our proposals.

4 The ‘Exmoor Ask’ was produced with Professor Janet Dwyer at the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) at the University of
Gloucestershire. http://www.exmoorhillfarmingnetwork.org.uk/assets/ehfn_exmoor_delivers_for_people_and_the_environment_v3_1.pdf. It
follows research by CCRI (2015) The State of Farming on Exmoor 2015.
5 Stone N.M. (2017) Beyond 2020: Views of farmers in Exmoor National Park about farm funding after the United Kingdom exits the European Union.
Report to Exmoor National Park Authority. Centre for Rural Policy Research, University of Exeter.
http://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/research/centres/crpr/research/publications/researchreports/
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4. Ensuring Success
How can we make our scheme the best it can be? In the UK, we can draw on over 60 years of
experience of active agricultural policy and over 30 years of incentivising environmental
management in the countryside. There are also many examples of alternative approaches
from other countries. It is essential that we learn from these experiences, taking account of
what has proved successful and what has failed.
We have taken particular note of Dartmoor’s Farming Futures scheme, which is a farmer led
experimental pilot project that uses an outcomes-focused approach to design the agricultural
management of moorland. We are also interested in the Burren Scheme on the west coast of
Ireland (where the farmers nominate and co-fund conservation actions on their farms, giving
them the freedom to farm) and Dutch results-based agreements (in which agricultural
cooperatives broker agreements with farmers). Based on a review of these and other
schemes, we have identified the following pointers that should lead us to success.

One size does not fit all Personal contact builds trust
Experience of the CAP, and of England’s agri- Schemes are most effective where high levels of
environment schemes, shows that having flexible confidence are generated, placing the emphasis on
approaches and objectives produces better results joint learning and cooperation rather than rules
than trying to impose a uniform structure. and regulations.
What works in the uplands of Cumbria or the Agreements made around the kitchen table will
Pennines does not always work on Exmoor, and work better than those set out in impersonal
vice versa. Systems of management, the way letters. Employing Farm Liaison Officers to
businesses and communities work, and develop regular and long-term relationships with
environmental objectives all vary. participants is the best way to develop this trust
Schemes are more effective when they are and confidence.
designed around the needs and opportunities of
each area, requiring local devolution to the
Consistent long-term objectives give certainty
setting of objectives and delivery of activities.
Businesses are able to operate best when they can plan over
long timescales. They need certainty of what public policy is
Pride is a powerful motive
asking them to do over the length of business, rather than
Participants in schemes need to believe political, cycles.
in and celebrate the benefits they are Nature also operates over long timescales, often requiring
providing. Schemes work best when decades for habitats and landscape character to become
farmers are enthusiastic advocates established.
rather than reluctant contractors.
Schemes should set objectives which remain in place,
adequately resourced, over periods of decades, not years.
Dovetailed delivery avoids
unforeseen conflicts
Language is important
Experience with the CAP has demonstrated
that public money is wasted and policy falls Farmers, and the public at large, dislike and mistrust
into disrepute when programmes are not the jargon that is widely use in the environmental and
coordinated. In this situation one scheme other policy areas. Plain English (‘what it says on the
often needs to correct problems created by tin’) aids communication and builds trust.
another. Nevertheless, phrases such as ‘ecosystem services’,
Instead, public policies and programmes need ‘natural capital’ and ‘outcomes-focused’ provide a
to work together. This can happen most short-hand way of referring to relatively complex
effectively where coordination takes place at concepts. They should be clearly defined and used
the point of delivery. sparingly.
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5. Design Principles
What are the core principles that have guided our thinking? We have reviewed the position
statements and policy papers published by environmental and farming / landowning
organisations describing what they want to happen following Brexit. These contain many
common themes and there is a developing consensus which we share with other National
Parks in England6. We propose the following ‘anchor points’ that will underpin our scheme.
ü Public benefits ü Innovative
. The sole . We must encourage new
justification and over-riding imperative for thinking, especially from the next
publicly funded programmes must be that generation, and try new approaches,
they benefit society as a whole. These learning as we go.
benefits must be at the heart of future
ü Evidenced
farm and environment support schemes. . Schemes should be
We describe this further on page 8. informed by knowledge of what is
important and what works, drawing on
ü Transformational
. The challenges the experience of those delivering the
facing our rural landscapes are significant, scheme as well as those designing and
including the impacts of the changing overseeing it.
climate, the fragile condition of many
ü Place-based
agricultural soils and low profitability of . The objectives of
agriculture. Schemes must be ambitious schemes should take account of local, as
about the scale of action needed to well as national, needs and opportunities.
address these issues and opportunities. This will be best achieved through
governance and administration that
ü Filling gaps involves local interests and knowledge.
. Public money should be
used to complement not replace the ü Cost-effective
. All the running costs
goods and services that can be provided
and administrative processes of schemes
through private enterprise and voluntary
must add value to their outcomes, taking
action. This means that our scheme
account of public exchequer funding and
would sit alongside and add value to
also the impacts on participants.
assurance schemes and quality marks that
are run by the supply chain.
The features that will make our scheme
ü Freedom to decide different from what has gone before are
. Decisions
described on page 20
taken voluntarily are adopted more
enthusiastically than those that are
imposed. Farmers know the pressures on
their businesses better than anyone else
and should be free to shape their future.
ü Joined-up
. Pursuing single objectives
in isolation frequently leads to perverse
effects and wasted effort. Instead,
schemes must bring together broad
objectives that recognise all the public
benefits (environmental, economic and
The Two Moors Way across Exmoor has been
social) that can be provided by well- invigorated by £40,000, carefully spent by the
managed farmland and woodland. National Park Authority
Photo credit: Dan James, ENPA

6 National Parks England (2017). Farming in the English National Parks.
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6. A Clear Rationale
Building a sustainable future for Exmoor’s countryside will require action in three dimensions:
environmental, social and economic. These should be based around the concepts of natural
capital, social foundations and economic resilience.

Natural capital Social foundations

Natural capital can be defined as the world's In rural areas like Exmoor, the knowledge and
stocks of natural assets which include soil, air, skills held by people working on the land, and

water and all living things. It is from this natural their contributions to community life, are an
capital that society derives a wide range of important part of the social fabric. This human
benefits, often called ecosystem services, which capital is worth nurturing and should be one of
make human life possible. the goals of the scheme.
A register of natural and cultural capital on each Exmoor’s future lies in the hands of the next
holding, agreed with the farmer, should generation (under 30) of farmers and land
underpin each agreement and the management managers. It is essential that these people are
actions that will take place. fully engaged and involved.
Economic resilience
The beauty and productivity of our landscape are the twin engines that drive much of Exmoor’s
economy. Farming and woodland management are closely tied to many other businesses and trades,
such as vets, livestock hauliers, auctioneers, fertiliser and machinery suppliers, colleges, processors and
retailers. In addition, there is an essential symbiotic relationship with the tourism, hospitality and
recreation sectors and with inward investment by businesses that are attracted to Exmoor’s high
environmental quality.
We wish to use the scheme to build efficient, value-adding supply chains that support well-paid
employment, using the wealth created to enhance the lives of those living and working locally. A well-
designed farm and environment scheme should seek to stimulate innovation and value-adding activity.
The benefits (‘ecosystem services’) included in Exmoor’s Ambition

Provisioning benefits - Products of the environment

Food and materials ........ Nutritious and affordable food, Water supply ................. Maintaining water in rivers and
timber, wool aquifers
Renewable energy ......... Biomass, small-scale solar etc Genetic diversity ........... In farmed and native species

Regulating benefits Cultural benefits
Support for life-giving processes Enriching people’s lives
Clean water ................... Drinking water, healthy rivers Scenic beauty ............... Distinctive character & features
Healthy soils .................. For food production, biodiversity, Wildlife ........................ Species and habitats

water Historic environment ... Archaeology, buildings and
Carbon storage .............. Locking up carbon in soils and landscape history
vegetation Arts and culture ........... Cultural traditions, literature and art
Cutting GHG emissions . Lowering CH4, N2O and CO2 Vibrant communities .. Employment, local spending, social
emissions capital

Flood protection ........... Reduced risk of flooding Health and wellbeing ... Physical, mental and spiritual access
Pollination ...................... Sustaining populations of insect to nature & landscape
pollinators
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