{"id":19987,"date":"2024-12-01T08:46:40","date_gmt":"2024-12-01T08:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=19987"},"modified":"2024-12-01T08:46:40","modified_gmt":"2024-12-01T08:46:40","slug":"farming-payment-cuts-will-ruin-our-sons-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=19987","title":{"rendered":"'Farming payment cuts will ruin our sons' dream'"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"BBCBBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Matthew and Liz Staley, pictured with sons Lewis and Luke, have managed the farm for almost five years<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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The Mallerstang Valley on the eastern edge of Cumbria is a spectacular place to live and work. <\/p>\n

Matthew and Liz Staley would not want to be anywhere else. For almost five years, the couple has managed a hill farm on the fellside.<\/p>\n

Like their sheep, they have to be hardy to cope with some tough winters, as well as the demands of farming 1,000ft (304m) up.<\/p>\n

It has yet to put them off, as they are due to become full tenants next year.<\/p>\n

But they also face a financial battle. Hill farming incomes have been falling in recent years.<\/p>\n

To make ends meet, Matthew already has to spend time away from the farm doing freelance dry stone walling work, and Liz runs a full-time business, with another part-time job to keep the family afloat.<\/p>\n

Then came the potential impact of the Labour government\u2019s first Budget.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Scenic<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The family’s farm is nestled in the sprawling Mallerstang Valley on the eastern edge of Cumbria<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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While much of the focus in the industry has been on the impact of changes to inheritance tax, it was another of the chancellor’s announcements that hit the hardest.<\/p>\n

From next year, there will be a big cut to the Basic Payments Scheme – the government support for production on many farms.<\/p>\n

The payments are being phased out, with the previous Conservative government announcing they would be abolished altogether by 2027.<\/p>\n

But Rachel Reeves has accelerated that process. Next year, they will be cut by at least 76%. Any farmer paid up to \u00a330,000 this year will lose 76% of that in 2025, and any money paid beyond that first \u00a330,000 will be cut altogether.<\/p>\n

The Staley’s farm will be hit, and as they are already struggling, it is a big blow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Luke<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The couple’s sons Luke and Lewis hope to become the next generation of hill farmers<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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“It’s a hell of a big drop for farmers,” says Liz. <\/p>\n

“There is an awful lot of anguish out there. It feels like our culture and our industry is going to be taken out of business.”<\/p>\n

The government says there are alternatives. <\/p>\n

Basic payments are being replaced by a range of subsidies under the banner of environmental land management schemes<\/a> (Elms).<\/p>\n

But the Staleys and other smaller farmers say they are struggling to access them, with some not fully up and running.<\/p>\n

“They aren’t working and there isn’t that cross over just yet,” Liz says. <\/p>\n

“They should have been implemented at the same time the Basic Payment Scheme was phased out, but that hasn’t happened.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

‘Farmers face being evicted’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Their MP, Westmorland and Lonsdale Liberal Democrat Tim Farron, who is also the party’s farming and environment spokesman, shares their concerns.<\/p>\n

“The rollout of the environmental schemes has been done too slowly, and they’ve got rid of the old payments too quickly,” he says.<\/p>\n

“This will hit the very poorest of farmers hardest, and in particular tenant farmers who’ll not be able to afford the rent, and within a year we might be seeing people evicted because of that.”<\/p>\n

The government insists that farm support is at a record level.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) says its commitment to farmers “remains steadfast”. <\/p>\n

“It’s why we have committed \u00a35bn to the farming budget over two years – the largest budget for sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history.<\/p>\n

“Over 60,000 agreements for our environmental land management schemes are now live and we will continue to evolve and improve them to support farmers, sustainable food production and nature recovery.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

‘Starmer says he loves Cumbria’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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The Staleys say they are worried about the future of hill farming – not just for themselves but for their sons Lewis, 17, and Luke, 22, who want to be the next generation to enter the industry.<\/p>\n

“I am really proud to see them enjoy what they\u2019re doing on the farm,” Matthew says. <\/p>\n

“They both love the environment and love where they live, but it’s just going to be tough for them.”<\/p>\n

Liz says it “brings a tear” to her eye watching her sons on the farm.<\/p>\n

“The boys love working the land, and it’s really what they want to do. We are being pushed out of business. The government is being really cruel.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"KeirKeir Starmer\/YouTube\/PA Wire<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

During Labour’s general election campaign, Sir Keir Starmer was filmed talking about his love of Cumbria to former footballer Gary Neville<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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She also has a message for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who made a big play of his love of the Lake District landscape during July’s general election. <\/p>\n

In a party political broadcast, he told former England footballer Gary Neville about his affection for his childhood holidays in Langdale.<\/p>\n

“Keir Starmer has spoken of his love of Cumbria, and of Langdale in particular,” Liz says.<\/p>\n

“Can he not see what he’s doing? If he loves coming to these places he needs to see it’s the farmers who make it look that way with their livestock.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Source: <\/em> www.bbc.com\u2026<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BBC Matthew and Liz Staley, pictured with sons Lewis and Luke, have managed the farm for almost five years The Mallerstang Valley on the eastern edge of Cumbria is a spectacular place to live and work. Matthew and Liz Staley would not want to be anywhere else. For almost five years, the couple has managed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19987\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}