17 July 2024
The Agri-Environmental Climate Scheme (AECS), funded by the Scottish Government, is a competitive points-based scheme open to all applicants registered with SGRPID. The scheme provides funding to create and manage diverse habitat features, enhance water quality, and protect vulnerable species through habitat creation and food source provision, but also provides fundamental capital costs for associated management.
Our team at FBRSeed prepare and submit a number of AECS applications annually for a variety of clients, ranging from arable and mixed farms to moorland and sporting Estates. Each application is created based on the management options available to each holding targeted by the Scottish Government and aligned with expectations of the client’s farming practice while providing benefits such as improving water quality or protecting and enhancing biodiversity. We work closely with each client to understand their aims and design the best possible application for their holding.
In 2022, we undertook an AECS application on behalf of Aikengall Farm near Dunbar. The business is a mixed farming enterprise totalling 940 hectares, growing a range of cereals and vegetables on coastal sandy soils and supporting approximately 1,000 cattle and 1,800 breeding ewes and hogs. The holding incorporates a 330-hectare moorland with primarily heather grazing and facilitates a wind farm owned by a third party. Due to planning requirements during its development, the moorland, which is also part of a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), could not be included in the AECS scheme to avoid double funding conflicts, resulting in a large proportion of the holding not being eligible for the scheme.
In preparation for the scheme, the business’s main objectives were:
FBRSeed have an experienced team of professionals, able to explore opportunities and provide advice on how to utilise these less productive areas through shelter and hedge creation, fencing off watercourses and providing alternative watering for livestock, enhancing water quality. The business opted not to include the 100 hectares of arable land in the scheme, with options such as grass margins or overwinter stubbles, and primarily focusing instead on grassland habitats.
Following a successful application, the business received a contract to fund the management of 7,300 metres of existing hedgerows, create an additional 1,460 metres of hedgerows, and erect 2,775 metres of fencing, some of which was to fence off watercourses from livestock. In addition, the business will benefit from £89,750 management income over the five-year contract to manage the diverse habitats such as the dean by controlling stocking rates, creating wild bird seed plots for wader birds and managing areas of species-rich grassland.
These management options coincide with the farm’s existing management, with livestock restrictions often timed during lambing or calving intervals. However, the application provided funding to manage areas that may not have otherwise been achievable, creating a more diverse range of biodiversity habitats while improving water quality and livestock wellbeing.
For more information on AECS or support with an application, contact reception@fbrseed.com.