The Options in Brief
Applicants to the Land Management Contract Menu Scheme will be able to select from the various options. These are listed below, and clicking on an option's name will take you to a brief outline of it. To view more in-depth information on the options, please visit the Option Details Page.
Animal health and welfare management programme- Membership of quality assurance schemes
- Training
- Farm visits
- Off farm talks
- Buffer areas
- Management of linear features
- Management of moorland grazing
Management of rush pasture- Biodiversity cropping on in-bye
- Retention of winter stubble
- Wild bird seed mixture
- Summer grazing of unenclosed land by cattle
- Nutrient management on in-bye improved land
- Improving access
- Farm woodland planning
- Farm woodland management
1. Animal health and welfare management programme
Measure: A five-year Animal Health and Welfare Management Programme which will involve farmers taking a proactive approach to raising standards on the basis of individual veterinary advice and forward planning. Includes compulsory actions on disease prevention and control, along with possible actions on benchmarking, safe integration of new stock and other biosecurity measures, disease testing and assessment of home-grown feed. Maximum payment of £1135 if all available options are carried out.
Outcome: This will raise standards of animal health and welfare across Scotland and help achieve strategic objectives whilst at the same time enhancing the profitability of the livestock sector.
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2. Membership of quality assurance schemes
Measure: Encouraging membership of quality assurance schemes and organic certification schemes. Such schemes set standards for elements of the production process including food safety, stock handling and environmental protection. All the eligible schemes are certified to EN45011 standards. Payment of 50% of membership costs up to a maximum of £150 per scheme.
Outcome: Encourage farmers to recognise the importance of quality and understanding consumer needs in order that they can maximise the opportunities offered by decoupling and CAP Reform.
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3. Training
Measure: Training to equip farmers, foresters and land managers with a range of skills for sustainable land management, business development, and diversification. Information on courses is available from Lantra (the Sector Skills Council for Land Based Industries). Payment will part cover the cost of training up to a maximum of £500 per year.
Outcome: A highly skilled, well trained rural workforce prepared and equipped to deal with future challenges.
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4. Farm visits
Measure: Organise and host visits to the farm from a variety of local and community groups. The farmer would have to produce a pack containing educational information about the farm, its activities, and the local environment. Payment of £100 per visit.
Outcome: Increased public awareness of land management, helping to reconnect farming with local communities and the general public.
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5. Off farm talks
Measure: Give talks to various public groups away from the farm, again producing an information pack. Payment of £50 per talk.
Outcome: Improved understanding and awareness in the general public about land management and the role of farming in maintaining the countryside.
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6. Buffer areas
Measure: Establish a buffer area in arable fields or in improved grassland along watercourses, around areas of wetland, species-rich grassland, woodland or archaeological sites. A buffer area around prominent, individual in-field and ancient trees on the landscape can also be established. The payment rate is £200 per hectare per year.
Outcome: The creation of a network of wildlife corridors and habitats for invertebrates, birds and small mammals. Better protection of landscape features such as archaeological sites and a reduction in water pollution.
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7. Management of linear features
Measure: Hedgerows and hedgerow trees . Positive management of hedgerows through a controlled cutting regime, development of hedgerow trees at intervals in the hedge and planting native species to fill gaps in hedges. Payment rate £0.10 per running metre per year.
Ditches and streams. Positive management of ditches through a controlled clearing regime. Payment rate £1 per running metre per year.
Drystone/flagstone dykes and walls. Maintenance, repair and reinstatement of drystone walls. Payment rate £0.10 per square metre per year.
Outcome: A more attractive landscape for the general public. Improved biodiversity through an increase in nesting sites for birds and improved habitats for invertebrates, small mammals and a range of plants.
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8. Management of moorland grazing
Measure: Improve management practices on moorland. Prepare and carry out a grazing plan, including shepherding, stock management and feeding practices to benefit the conservation interest of the moorland. Payment rate is £1 per hectare per year.
Outcome: Improved biodiversity on moorland areas through management practices benefiting birds, mammals, invertebrates and plants. A more attractive landscape through managed grazing of livestock on the hills.
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9. Management of rush pasture
Measure: Management of areas of dense rushes through grazing and cutting. Creating an open, variable mix of rushes and grass pasture. Payment rate will be £125 per hectare per year.
Outcome: Creates a mixed rush and grassland habitat which benefits birds, mammals, invertebrates and plants by opening up dense areas of rushes.
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10. Biodiversity cropping on inbye
Measure: Sowing plots of spring cereals, fodder root crops or fodder rape on inbye land. A higher payment will be made available when a cereal crop is harvested by binder and stooks gathered into stacks. The payment rate is £40 per hectare per year and a higher rate of £150 per hectare per year for stooking.
Outcome: An increase in traditional cropping rotations in Less Favoured Areas creating a more attractive landscape and improved biodiversity, particularly bird populations.
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11. Retention of winter stubble
Measure: Following harvest of spring-sown crops, stubbles must be retained until end February. The payment rate is £40 per hectare per year.
Outcome: An improvement in water quality and soil structure through a reduction in erosion and sediment loss over the winter months. Improvement in seed eating bird populations through the maintenance of breeding and feeding areas.
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12. Wild bird seed mixture
Measure: Create patches or plots of bird seed and bird cover, through sowing mixtures of seed-bearing crops. The payment rate is £329 per hectare per year.
Outcome: Improvement in seed eating bird populations by the provision of food sources over the winter months.
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13. Summer grazing of unenclosed land by cattle
Measure: Turn cattle out onto unenclosed or hill land on or before 1 June and keep there for at least 3 months. The payment rate is £1 per hectare per year.
Outcome: Landscape benefits through the presence of cattle on the hills. Improvement in the biodiversity of unenclosed or hill ground by maintaining and restoring the balance between dwarf shrubs and the courser moorland grasses.
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14. Nutrient management on inbye improved land
Measure: Carry out regular soil analysis, assess crop nutrient requirements, identify no-spread zones, time fertiliser applications and keep records of applications. Payment rate is £2 per hectare per year.
Outcome: A decrease in diffuse pollution from agricultural land through matching applications of inorganic and organic fertiliser with crop requirements.
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15. Improving access
Measure: Identify suitable routes offering continued access across the holding, provide directional signposting at entry points to the holding, and maintain paths. The payment rate will be £2.75 per running metre per year of path maintained, which is a 5 year commitment, and 75% of costs up to a maximum of £150 per item for the installation of signposts, way markers, gates, bridges, culverts or stiles as a one-off payment.
Outcome: Improved public access across farmland for rural communities and visitors through maintenance and improvement of paths.
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16. Farm woodland planning
Measure: Prepare a farm woodland plan, identifying opportunities for the management and expansion of existing woodland. The rate of payment will be £10 per hectare, with a minimum payment of £150 if all woodland is entered into the farm woodland management option. There are eligible area requirements.
Outcome: Integration of woodland planning with farm business planning, identifying opportunities for woodland management and expansion. Planned approach to increasing the area of Scotland's woodland brought under active sustainable management.
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17. Farm woodland management
Measure: Bring existing farm woodland under active management in accordance with the Woodland Plan and the standard for Sustainable Farm Woodland Management. The rate of payment will be £30 per hectare. This is a 5 year commitment.
Outcome: An increase in the area of farm woodland under active sustainable management improving the aesthetic value, the biodiversity and profitability of Scotland's privately owned woodlands.
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