We have a dairy farm in north Derbyshire just inside the SDA area so as the first post already discussed we recieve a lower amount of single farm payment and cannot claim HFA. This puts us at a serious competitive disadvantage to farms in the lowlands before the harsher climate and shorter growing season is even taken into account. Unlike the many farmer surveys would suggest, I'm 26 years old and have an agricultural degree. When I went to university it was with the aim of returning home to run the family farm. Unfortunately I cannot see any way I will be able to continue doing this due to the lack of profitability and the enormous capital investment that will be required to meet the new Nitrogen Vulnerable Zone regualtions.

Helpfully there is no goverment financial support available to get planning permission or build the required slurry storage. This means when the rules are introduced we will be forced to sell our dairy herd. We plan to replace them with a small number of suckler cows and buy in some calves to rear for beef. However EBLEX figures show the average income for suckler cows is approximately MINUS £200 per animal, if we are lucky, so in reality the "business" will be entirely reliant on the single farm payment and ELS (and hopefully the UELS if the EU dont tighten up the current proposals.) To get in these schemes will mean we will have almost no chance of having enough environmental features (points) left to get into HLS. The actual job of farming will be reduced to a hobby with no meaningful role and certainly not able to financially support me and my parents.

To sum up I dont think dairy farming in the uplands has a future without direct government support or a massive shift in global consumer attitudes towards food production - and I dont belive this will happen until the global oil supply begins to decrease. In the short term it looks like I will have to go and get a job in manchester (if I can find one) and take my skills with me. I'm sure one day in the not too distant future someone will want/need us to produce food again and all the red tape, EU directives and burocracy will binned. The irony is once we have packed up milking it would take a massive injection of government money to simply return our farm to what it does now - and it looks like this money will have to come from a government saddled with debt and on the verge of bankrupcy thanks to the finanical fiasco! Good luck everyone.

http://www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk/items/4310