Fighting for the future of Teesdale's hills

HILL farming in places like Teesdale wouldn’t survive without EU payments. And so it goes that neither would Teesdale as we know it.
Environment secretary Andrea Leadsom has guaranteed the same level of financial support for agriculture until 2020 but after that it is anyone’s guess.
NFU uplands forum chairman Robin Milton recently said: “It is unlikely that the domestic government will continue the £430million per year support so the farming sector has to be creative in looking at the way a replacement funding system is structured.”
So if you are a land manager in the uplands of England, it’s time to fight your corner.
That’s exactly what they’re about to do. The Uplands Alliance was formed to bring together those who look after the hills with researchers and policy makers.
The organisation has been holding events across the country to gather people’s views, before beginning an awareness campaign to “celebrate and support” the uplands.
The aim is to show politicians and the public the importance of this landscape, which makes up 12 per cent of England, contributes £2billion in tourism each year and includes our national parks, lakes, rare wildlife, and of course, the whitewashed farmsteads here in Teesdale.
“Beautiful places like upper Teesdale wouldn’t exist the way they do without farmers,” says Dr Julia Aglionby, chairwoman of the Uplands Alliance.
“No one is asking for money for farmers just to exist or money to be handed over to landowners. We’re not about subsidising a failing business.
“We are paying for public benefits in the same way teachers get paid because society has decided not charge for education.
“Free access to the countryside is a fundamental right but the countryside that people cherish has to be delivered; it has to be paid for,” said Dr Aglionby, who is also a land agent based in the Eden Valley, as well as a farmer and executive director of the charity The Foundation for Common Land.
If it’s not paid for, the landscape loved by so many locals and visitors will be lost. The miles of drystone walls would slowly collapse, and scrub and bracken would take over the hills and fields.
“It would be a very different environment,” adds Dr Aglionby, who is keen to stress the health and wellbeing benefits of people going out into the countryside.
The Uplands Alliance has set up links with Defra and the results of four workshops are now being collated before the next steps are taken.
It’s clear that those involved at grassroots farming believe livestock should remain at the heart of the hills.
It’s also clear that championing the environmental benefits of traditional land management could be a way of securing the future for these precious areas after 2020.
Dr Aglionby says: “The cultural heritage of places like Teesdale and the pride farmers take in their stock is critical. But it’s also about recognising what farmers are doing alongside that.
“For example, Teesdale’s haymeadows are renowned, so are the black grouse and spring gentians. It’s not a case of either/or, it’s a case of both/and.”
She adds: “After Brexit, there will be changes and support will be different but it can still be positive. We need to be proud of the benefits being provided to society.”
She says the word ‘custodian’ is a good one to describe those who work the land in the uplands. The future could see more emphasis on the importance of the landscape and the tourism it brings, not forgetting the environmental benefits. An info-graphic has been produced by the Uplands Alliance to show the richness of what’s at stake.
There’s an array of facts to show how the uplands support Mother Nature. It explains how 28 out of our 38 dragonfly species live in upland bogs and how 1000ha of traditional hay meadow are in upland areas, for example. Biodiversity and climate change mitigation of peat bogs are also highlighted.
However, it also gives the worrying fact that upland farms have an average net agricultural income of just £6,424. In the past, sheep farmers have been at odds with bodies such as Natural England about policies that demand de-stocking upland landscapes to protect the rich habitat from sheep grazing. In exchange, they have been given access to vital money from agri-schemes.
However, Dr Aglionby has a different view. She says: “Most schemes pay people to reduce their sheep numbers but that’s a negative way of looking at things. It would be much better to be paid for delivering outcomes – something positive.”
The National Trust’s Helen Ghosh spoke at an Uplands Alliance workshop at Newton Rigg College in January. She said there was an unprecedented opportunity for the uplands in post-Brexit Britain.
“If we work together we can grab the chance to make [farmers’] future more sustainable than it has ever been,” she said.
She added: “Farmers should receive a proper price for the food they produce, and we need to develop new payments for other services which land management provides: water management, public access, health, clean energy or carbon storage.
“A better economic future will depend on developing more diverse revenue streams and skills within upland farming, alongside producing high quality food.”
Ms Ghosh added: “There is change coming and we need to face this together. But upland farmers have proved over the centuries that they are resilient and adaptable and those traits will be needed again over the next decade.
“If we work together, with a clear sense of our common goals, there is a bright future for farming, landscapes and nature.”
More information on the Uplands Alliance can be found at www.uplandsalliance.wordpress.com