Farmer Nature Reporting Process Guidance for farms in Scotland or Wales

Step 1: Creating a Land App account

Create a FREE Land App account by registering here.

Step 2: Creating a map

If you have created a new account we automatically take you into a new map called New Map - Please ensure you change the name to be “FarmName_Surname_SupplierName”, this guidance shows how.

If you are already have a Land App account you will need to create a new map in your Land App account (guidance here). ENSURE you follow the correct naming structure for your map “FarmName_Surname_SupplierName”.

Step 3: Downloading your Field Parcel Data

Download your Field Parcel data from Rural Payments Wales (guidance here) or from Rural Payments Scotland (guidance here).

Please note that if you already have parcel data in Land App or in a GeoJSON format there is a tool in the Creating your baseline habitat assessment section point 2 below.

Step 4: Creating your Baseline Habitat Assessment

If you have received parcel data from RPW or RPS use this web page to create your initial Baseline Habitat Assessment which will be sent to you as a file to download.
Or if you have your parcel data from Land App or in a GeoJSON format use this web page to to create your initial Baseline Habitat Assessment which will be sent to you as a file to download.

Import your Baseline Habitat Assessment file using the Import Data feature in Land App (guidance here). ENSURE you import the data to the “Baseline Habitat Assessment V2” template and ENSURE you follow the correct naming structure “BHA_FarmName_SupplierName”.

If your map is missing parcels, you can draw new features using the “Area” tool (guidance here).

Data Download - Vegetation Data

By incorporating vegetation boundaries from the Environment Agency, World Resources Institute, and Meta into your plans, you can integrate these important features into your baseline habitat assessments. To do this please follow the guidance located here.

Once the vegetation data plan has created copy all the features into your Baseline Habitat Assessment plan.

To do this click on the three vertical dots nest to the plan name and Select All.

On the pop up screen select done.

All of the data in that plan will now be selected and you can now click on Copy to a plan.

Select the baseline plan that you want to copy to and the click on Copy features to plan.

The copied features will still be highlighted once copied, now click on the Buffer tool.

Ignore the buffer settings and toggle on subtract and click on OK.

This will have subtracted the vegetation data from your baseline plan so that you have no overlapping features.

Increase the accuracy of your baseline

Increase the accuracy of your baseline by:

Changing the habitats by assigning a different land use to your fields (guidance here).
Adding more detailed features to the map including linear features such as hedgerows (guidance here), drawing field corner or plots such as wildflower patches, scrub or bird cover (guidance here) and creating margins or buffers (guidance here).

Step 5: Creating a Land Management Plan (NOT ESSENTIAL FOR ALL PROJECTS)

If you would like to/or are required to also create a Land Management Plan, you will need to create a new plan (guidance here) and select the “Land Management Plan V2” template. You can then copy fields where you are planning land management changes to this plan (guidance here) and edit and assign habitats to these features using the same tools as for you Baseline Habitat Assessment. ENSURE you follow the correct naming structure “LMP_FarmName_SupplierName”.

Step 6: Submit you plans

Once you are happy with your plans, you can share the maps with the required Nature Reporting Organisation. To do this select the leaf icon at the top of the screen.

And on the Farm info tab select Start Sharing.

On the following screen select Add Farm Details.

Complete the information on this screen and select Submit.

Next, in the plans selection click on Select Baseline.

You will now be presented with a list of one or more Baseline plans. Select the plan that you wish to submit and click on Submit.

Please note the following steps are Not essential for all projects. If required for your process now click on Select Land Management Plan.

You will now be presented with a list of one or more Land Management plans. Select the plan that you wish to submit and click on Submit.

The next step is to click on Publish.

Select who (which retailer) you want to publish the data to from the dropdown.

Then select the Produce type/s and Processor(s), multiple are allowed, and click on Publish.

This completes the steps for submitting your plan(s).

What happens next

Now that you have submitted your data, your bespoke farm report will be shared with you. It will provide insights into your farm's impact on biodiversity, suggest where changes could have the greatest effect, and highlight key risks and opportunities.