We submitted our response to Defra’s major “Health and Harmony” command paper consultation on deadline day last week.

We think the government’s direction is spot on, but that the plans have serious shortcomings.

Here is a chance to make upland farming pay again, while dramatically improving the state of the environment.

If we get the transition to a new system of farm support wrong, rural poverty could increase and communities and environmental gains could be lost.

The most important point we have made is that the proposed new Environmental Land Management scheme must avoid a system of national prescription that prevents local flexibility.

Broad parameters could be set nationally – and we are delighted with the suggestion that we move towards an outcome-based scheme that makes ‘public payments for public goods’.

It is vital that large amounts of discretion are granted to those who will implement the scheme with farmers and landowners at a local level.

All the experience and the knowledge of the land that farmers have must be utilised.

As our response to government says, we believe an outcome-based approach – such as the one we’re piloting in Wensleydale – should be a fundamental underlying principle for the new scheme.

This means changing to a culture of positive reward for delivering environmental outcomes rather than compensation for loss of production.

Another important point was that the proposal to pay farmers only for environmental ‘enhancements’ could unwittingly penalise those who have been good custodians of the land.

The solution would be to create payments for environmental conservation as well as enhancement.