Managing the farmed landscape to both produce food and deliver for the environment is becoming increasingly important – from a legislation point of view, in terms of meeting government targets for biodiversity, water quality, woodland planting and net zero; from a business point of view with being able to ensure maximum environmental potential from the farm; but also for you and the local community with the joy of seeing a new species flourishing, organic matter levels increasing and your margins buzzing with pollinators.
Every farmer and land manager has a huge amount of knowledge to draw from, in order to manage and enhance the farmed landscape and achieve their own, local and national ambitions. However, do you also work with advisers to learn more, to use their expertise and experience to put together options or manage habitats and to enjoy sharing in the successes from the introduction of new practices?
Working with advisers who have technical environmental knowledge and understanding, along with an appreciation of farm business economics and how to effectively manage integration of practices with production is becoming increasingly integral across the UK. For this reason, BASIS have worked with stakeholders and organisations from across the sector to develop anew Environmental Advisers Register. This Register provides professional recognition of the role these advisers play, in working with farm businesses to achieve environmental outcomes.
The Register has been designed for the breadth of individuals delivering environmental advice with a farm business – from biodiversity, air, climate, energy and productivity knowledge, to effective management of plant health, livestock, nutrients, soil, water, woodland and the historic environment.
Advisers joining the Register will need to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of environmental land management by either completing a qualification to entry, currently the BETA Conservation Management course, or by applying for acquired rights, based on the significant experience they have gained whilst working in the industry. In addition, there will be the requirement to combine this with ongoing continuous professional development each year, which ensures all members of the Register have the up-to-date knowledge and skills to deliver advice which meets the needs of farmers and land managers.Â
Members of the Register will also be able to appear in a public, online directory, which farmers, land managers and advisers can use to find expertise on a particular subject in their local area – perhaps to put together a new agri-environment scheme application, carry out a surveyor create a new management plan. The aspiration of this Register is that it will create an industry standard for integrated advice delivery, raise standards across the industry and support farmers and land managers to enable sustainable productive and profitable, farming businesses, whilst delivering against national environmental ambitions.
For more information, please visit: www.basis-reg.co.uk/environmental-advisers.