DARTMOOR National Park Authority has welcomed the announcement by Hilary Benn, secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, of DEFRA's new Upland Entry Level Stewardship scheme (UELS).
The scheme will make available up to £31-million within the existing Rural Development budget to support upland farming.
The announcement is a welcome recognition of the role farmers continue to play in the uplands, and is a direct response to lobbying by stake-holders including the DNPA, the hill farming community and the Dartmoor Pre-servation Association.
Good uptake by farmers will be fundamental to the success of the scheme.
Nigel Hoskin, chairman of DNPA, said: 'We must move quickly to develop an efficient and robust delivery mechanism and in this respect Dartmoor National Park Authority will be exploring ways in which it can assist the Natural England delivery team.
'We will also continue to engage with Defra on other outstanding issues such as the Single Payment Scheme, which impact upon the future viability of hill farming and upland environmental management.'