Smarter land management
This is a research project for National Trust, which was undertaken between January and April 2009 and led by Jane Mills, with assistance from Janet Dwyer, Matt Read and James Taylor. The main aim of this project was to obtain a ‘view from the ground’ as to how farmers perceive and are coping with the body of legislation and funding mechanisms that currently seek to achieve environmental land management on farms, and to make recommendations as to how the policy mix might be redesigned in a more coherent way, so that it becomes easier to understand and implement and thus provides better value for public money.
To meet the research objectives in a rapid and cost-effective way, the study drew particularly upon the prior research and expert knowledge of the team. It involved eleven face-to-face, in-depth, semi-structured interviews with National Trust tenant farmers, which were designed and contextualised to recent, relevant research. The criteria used for selecting tenants to interview was to cover a broad range of farm types with a wide geographical distribution and to include a mix of National Trust farmers characterised in respect of their management styles and thus their probable grasp of policy frameworks and detailed obligations. Recommendations were made in respect of dealing with policy conflicts and inspections; influencing decision-making, and offering appropriate financial incentives and advice provision.
