Farmers in the UK are being encouraged to plough up some of the most quintessential English landscapes so that they can continue to claim European subsidies, experts have warned. Wildlife-rich pastures - which have made famous the New Forest clearings, the South Downs, the Cotswolds and the Chilterns - are under threat after the EU proposed rule changes to the Common Agricultural Policy. Experts have warned that to escape the penalties, farmers are already mowing down the grassland ahead of the 2014 deadline for registering their permanent pasture - in case they want to plant them later.
Farmers in the UK are being encouraged to plough up some of the most quintessential English landscapes so that they can continue to claim European subsidies, experts have warned.
Wildlife-rich pastures - which have made famous the New Forest clearings, the South Downs, the Cotswolds and the Chilterns - are under threat after the EU proposed rule changes to the Common Agricultural Policy.
Experts have warned that to escape the penalties, farmers are already mowing down the grassland ahead of the 2014 deadline for registering their permanent pasture - in case they want to plant them later.
In a letter to Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Cioloş, the Lords' EU Committee says the Commission is missing the opportunity to redirect money in the 2014-2020 round of funding for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) towards research and innovation. But the letter supports the EU executive's decision to strengthen funding for research in the CAP's second pillar - which provides support for rural development and preservation. The much larger first pillar provides direct payments to farmers.
In a letter to Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Cioloş, the Lords' EU Committee says the Commission is missing the opportunity to redirect money in the 2014-2020 round of funding for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) towards research and innovation.
But the letter supports the EU executive's decision to strengthen funding for research in the CAP's second pillar - which provides support for rural development and preservation. The much larger first pillar provides direct payments to farmers.
