Date of Article – Summer 2006

A new web-based system designed to save farmers’ time and money was launched recently by DEFRA under the banner of Whole Farm Approach. The initiative is open to the country’s 120,000 farms and should help reduce the amount of red tape affecting the industry.

The Whole Farm Approach should cut down the amount of time farmers need to spend filling in forms because data only needs to be entered into the system once and should reduce the chances of being selected for inspections as information gained on earlier inspections is available to other government departments.

Additionally, the scheme gives farmers the opportunity to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their own businesses and gain access to a range of information on farming practices.

If the scheme works it will be a welcome relief to all those in the bureaucracy of the Rural Payments Agency.

For further information contact Andrew Wright at the Milton Keynes office.

See also Whole Farm Approach Update article