The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, in conjunction with the three other protected areas within the Northern Upland Chain Local Nature Partnership (NUCLNP) - Northumberland National Park Authority, Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - has undertaken a series of studies within four pilot areas.
The aim of these studies was to raise awareness to policymakers, the public and the wider rural community about the challenges facing farmers in upland areas, the value they bring to society as a whole, the natural resource that they manage and the potential to deliver a more resilient ecosystem in tangent with a resilient farm business.
Results of the studies
More details about the HNV farming pilot area in the Yorkshire Dales National Park - Buckden parish - and the results of the studies can be found in the Protecting section of this website.
Briefly, however, the study recommended a number of actions that will safeguard High Nature Value farming areas, including:
- Support for the increase in payments to farms within the uplands.
- Continuation of agri-environment scheme support and other rural development grants to help manage these important areas.
- Collaboration between groups of farmers to manage habitats and species at a landscape scale.
- Collaboration between the farmers within the NUCLNP, to give a voice for HNV farming.
Useful documents
- Buckden parish pilot area report
- Summary report of the four pilot areas, produced by the European Forum for Nature Conservation and Pastoralism
Continued support
The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and Local Nature Partnership are continuing to support the farming community within the Northern Upland Chain by:
- Raising awareness of the issues affecting HNV farming areas to Government and pushing for additional support for these areas.
- Working with LEADER and the Local Economic Partnerships within the region to ensure that support for HNV farming features strongly in their economic funding programmes.
- Enabling farmers to co-operate and develop a HNV farmer forum.
- Working with Natural England to improve understanding about HNV farming systems and ensure agri-environment schemes are targeted at HNV farming areas.
Contact us
If you would like to find out more about HNV farming and how we might be able to help you please contact us by:
- phone on 0300 456 0030
- email farming@yorkshiredales.org.uk
