Upland sheep farmers could be offered up to £240,000 to integrate new woodland areas on their farms thanks to new funding from Forestry Commission Scotland.
The forestry quango has launched a special funding package under the Forestry Grant Scheme to help hill and upland sheep farmers integrate between 25 and 125 acres (10 and 50 hectares) of new woodlands on their farm.
The Sheep and Trees Forestry Grants Package will enable producers to apply for a woodland creation grant and the forest infrastructure grant for the same area at the same time – for a typical 125-acre woodland, this would mean up to £200,000 in support for woodland creation and up to £40,000 in infrastructure grant aid.
“It is vital that farmers can continue to keep their sheep on the hills. Our new grants package can support this through helping them integrate woodlands into their business, increasing its commercial viability,” said head of Forestry Commission Scotland, Jo O’Hara.
“Carefully managed woodlands can increase farm productivity and provide many other benefits too. The funding package creates an excellent opportunity to diversify and take advantage of land previously not considered possible due to a lack of access.”
She said benefits of creating new woodland can include providing important shelter and extended outwintering periods, improved farm business productivity, and significantly improved on-farm access through well-planned roads.
National Sheep Association Scotland chairman John Fyall said the funding could be suitable for large upland hill farms.
He said: “The whole scheme has to be targeted at folk who will continue to keep livestock. It’s not designed to replace anything.
“It’s looking at integrated planting with active livestock businesses, to ensure the continuing viability of the livestock businesses.”
NFU Scotland direct of policy, Jonnie Hall, said the funding presented an opportunity to “plant the right trees in the right place”.
He said: “There is an important role for forestry within the Scottish agricultural sector and this scheme shows that woodlands can be better integrated into agricultural land use, without compromising our ability to produce livestock and crops or the significance of those activities to local economies, biodiversity and communities.
“Future land use should not be a stark choice between farming or forestry, renewables or conservation. While food production must be the priority, all can be accommodated if the policy framework that drives land use decisions can be more coherent and better integrated.”
Applications for the funding are welcome all year round further information is available online at www.forestry.gov.uk/scotlandgrants
