SRA Annual Report 2024-25: Somerset Levels and Moors peat trials
One landowner took part in an SRA-funded trial scheme of payments for the preservation and restoration of peat on the Somerset Levels & Moors. The trial was organised by the Farming & Wildlife Advisory Group SouthWest (FWAG SW). It covered nearly 100 acres on Lang Moor near Westonzoyland and ran from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024.
Many other landowners said they would have liked to join in but involvement in other environmental schemes meant they could not.
The SRA agreed to fund this trial because areas of wet low-lying peaty land can act as a buffer against flooding. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) was also keen for lessons to be learned so that Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs) can “reward farmers and land managers for producing public goods”, such as preventing carbon dioxide (CO2) loss from lowland peat.
FWAG SW’s concluding report highlighted various factors and issues such as the need for “a conducive interface” between farmers, Moor Associations, Internal Drainage Boards and the Environment Agency.