Report published on ‘Greening’ rules

A report into the impact of new ‘Greening’ rules on the Orkney agricultural sector has been published. 

The Scottish Rural College (SRUC) study was commissioned by Orkney’s Community Led Local Development Team (CLLD) with funding from Scottish Government (Scottish Rural Network).

The report – which follows on from a wider 2024 report into the island implications of the Scottish Government's new Agriculture Bill - explores in more detail, specific changes to Ecological Focus Area (EFA) requirements and their potential impacts on Orkney’s farming and crofting sectors.

From 2026, the Scottish Government will remove long-standing derogations that have exempted most Orkney businesses from at least some EFA obligations. These changes, aligned with the transition to a four-tier agricultural support framework, are expected to substantially affect land management practices locally.

An Ecological Focus Area (EFA) is an area of land upon which you carry out agricultural practices that are beneficial for the climate and the environment.

The main aim of an EFA is to improve biodiversity and there are seven EFA options that can be used on their own or in combination to meet the EFA requirement - fallow land, margins, catch crops, green cover, nitrogen-fixing crops, hedges and agro-forestry. 

The report describes a significant projected rise in Orkney farms requiring to comply with EFA requirements and will now inform further local guidance for farmers as they consider what options to adopt in relation to the revised subsidy regime going forward.

A roadshow drawing on the findings of the report - led by the SRUC in partnership with the local NFUS and funded by CLLD – is being planned to take place around Orkney in the coming months to help inform farmers of their best choices relating to the new policy.

The findings of the report have been welcomed by stakeholders including NFUS and the Scottish Government as it provides expert analysis of the implications of the new guidance for Orkney agriculture.  

Professor Steven Thomson from SRUC, co-author of the report, said: “Greening support payments accounted for 18% of support payments in 2021, and limited ‘green’ rules have been attached to those payments due to various derogations.  

“The announced removal of ‘arable’ EFA derogations for livestock-dominated support claimants means a large change in the number of businesses that will have to consider which of the various EFA options will best fit their system from 2026.

“‘Arable’ land includes grass up to five years old, so it draws in many Orkney businesses to the new rules. The Scottish Government has introduced new EFA measures to aid compliance, but has also changed its requirements on existing measures.   

“Farmers and crofters should familiarise themselves with the new rules over the winter months in preparation for the 2026 claim year.   

“The Scottish Government has also signalled that it is examining options for similar environmental conditionality rules for permanent grassland in the future, and the report shows how most Orkney businesses would need to adapt and comply if those conditions are introduced.”

The report has been published following the recent visit by Jim Fairlie MSP (Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity of Scotland) to Orkney where some of the main issues were discussed.   

The report is available on the SRUC’s Rural Exchange website https://ruralexchange.scot/policy/orkney-greening-support/