Public goods are delivered by active farmers and crofters

We fully agree with the Scottish Government on the need for a four-tier structure for future direct support – designed to reward good practice, drive improvement, and recognise the public value that active farming and crofting brings. But while the Scottish Government’s model focuses on policy outcomes – climate, nature, and a just transition – our proposals, especially on the delivery of direct support in Tier 1 and Tier 2, are all about ‘enabled outcomes’.

Tier 1, Base Direct Support, is designed to provide stability and financial security for active farmers and crofters, ensuring they can continue producing high-quality food and managing land responsibly. Tier 2, Enhanced Direct Support, rewards additional effort in delivering climate, biodiversity, and environmental improvements within active farming systems, encouraging innovation and best practice while maintaining the viability of the business.

Our model is built on a simple but powerful premise: economic, environmental, and social goals must be pursued together.

The experience of the past decade – volatile markets, more extreme weather, political ambitions, and future support uncertainty – has shown how fragile the link can be between government policy aspiration and farming and crofting realities.

Our proposals aim to rebalance that equation. We want to anchor high-quality food production at the centre of the support system, while still delivering clear environmental and community outcomes. Tier 1 Base direct support provides stability for active farmers and crofters, while Tier 2 Enhanced direct support rewards climate and biodiversity gains within active farming systems. It’s not about resisting change – it’s about building a system that supports transition through strength, not decline.

Our proposed structure reflects what members consistently tell us matters most: fairness, simplicity, and the recognition of the real value of active farming and crofting.

We propose a much clearer and stronger definition of who qualifies for direct support, re-defining the ‘active farmer’ principle to ensure payments go to those genuinely farming, crofting, managing land, and bearing production and economic risk. This would help rebuild public confidence in the system while protecting the integrity of the direct support budget.

We’re also advocating for front-loaded payments which would provide higher rates on the first tranche of eligible hectares, targeting smaller and medium-sized farms, new entrants, and family farms. This would also undermine any proposals for arbitrary and blunt capping of payments but ensure a fairer distribution of support, helping sustain a diverse farming base and our next generation of farmers and crofters. Smaller holdings and crofts should not face the same administrative burdens as larger enterprises – and our proposals would simplify compliance and Whole Farm Plan requirements for smaller producers, ensuring they do not face disproportionate costs that could easily force some out of the support system – yet, so often, these units are vital to rural communities and nature.

For sectors like suckler beef and hill sheep, less favoured areas and coupled support remain vital. These elements must be permanent, targeted, and linked to actions, measures, and management - not treated as transitional relics. Less favoured areas and coupled support has been a lifeline for Scotland’s upland and island communities. By making them a structural part of Tier 2 Enhanced support, linked to grazing management and remoteness factors, they can reward efficiency while sustaining production and activity in remote and fragile areas that would otherwise struggle.

We must recognise biodiversity and climate goals, but they can only be met through practical, production-compatible actions by farmers and crofters. We propose integrating biodiversity options directly into Tier 2, replacing rigid Greening rules with flexible, farm-led approaches that deliver measurable benefits without undermining production or productivity.

Our proposals are about ensuring that change works. The coming decade will demand higher standards, lower emissions, and continued world-class food production, and achieving all three requires a system that invests in farmers and crofters as partners, not merely as deliverers of policy outcomes.

Our proposals for future direct support also give the Scottish Government and the people of Scotland a better return on investment: a stable and secure food supply; sustained rural employment and vibrant communities; achievable and credible climate and nature outcomes; and the continuation of strong, diverse, and resilient farm businesses across Scotland. The list of benefits goes on, and all of them rely on active, engaged, and properly supported farmers and crofters.

Scotland’s farmers and crofters are ready to lead the transition to a more sustainable and resilient food system, but they need a framework that reflects the realities of farming in Scotland, recognises the diversity of agricultural profiles, and acknowledges the financial pressures that businesses face on the ground. NFU Scotland’s proposals offer that path – a balanced, fair, and practical structure that keeps farmers and crofters at the centre of Scotland’s vision for climate, nature, and rural vitality.

The message we’ll continue taking to government is simple but powerful - public goods are delivered by active farmers and crofters.

Jonnie Hall is Deputy CEO & Director of Policy at NFU Scotland