Environemtal Schemes
Changes to Agricultural Support
The UK's departure from the EU has opened the doors to a new age of farm support which moves away from the Basic Payment Scheme and towards Payment of Public Money for Public Goods through the new Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS) and Productivity Grants.
Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS)
The CSS was introduced in 2015 and remains open to new applications with plans to merge it with the Sustainable Farming Incentive and re-brand it into Countryside Stewardship Plus.
The Scheme comprises of 3 'Tiers', a base tier consisting of capital only grants, a Mid-Tier covering a range of field parcel options and larger capital grants suitable for most farms, and a Higher Tier aimed at the most sensitive sites.
Capital Only Grants offer funding towards a range of capital options aimed at Water & Air Quality and Boundary improvements. Popular options include fencing, concrete yard renewal, roofing over manure or silage clamps, wall restoration and hedgerow gapping, laying or planting.
Mid-Tier Schemes are suitable for a range of farm types and can incorporate large scale capital grants with annual revenue payments from a large range of options suitable to most farm types.
Higher-Tier Schemes can be complex, often involving vast areas, collaboration between farmers and common land or shared grazing. Specialist advice should be sought at an early stage as schemes often require PA1/2 feasibility studies before an application can be considered.
Applications open in the spring with the following deadlines:
Rolling monthly applications for Capital Only Schemes
Summer (anticipated August 2024) for Mid-Tier
Early summer (anticipated April) for Higher-Tier
Deadlines for 2024 applications are yet to be announced and a move to rolling applications and a merge with the SFI has been proposed.
For a free initial discussion on the suitability of the scheme for your holding contact our office.
Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI)
The SFI is the first level of the new Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS) to be launched, it opened from June 2022. The sustainable farming incentive rewards farmers for enhancing the environment. It is aimed at paying farmers to improve water quality, biodiversity and animal health and welfare while encouraging climate change mitigation. The focus on this initial release is on management options to improve soil health, nutrient management, pest management, hedgerows and farm wildlife.
The original Land Management options were based around Standards and Ambition Levels. These have now been replaced with a menu of Actions/Options available to all farmers. Recent announcements of a further 50 options coming later in 2024 and the combination with CSS Mid-Tier applications will expand the scheme further.
Not all land parcels have to be entered into an action. Different parcels can be entered into different actions depending on land type and some of the actions can overlap existing stewardship schemes where this does not create double funding.. To assist with cashflow this payment will be made quarterly starting three months after the agreement start date.
Contact our team to arrange an initial meeting to discuss how the scheme can work for your farm.
Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS)
The Governments flagship new support scheme which will aim to pay Public Money for Public Goods. Planned to be rolled out in phases from 2022 and comprising a range of levels, the scheme is designed to appeal to all farmers and land managers.
Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI)
The first level of the scheme, open on a rolling monthly basis, is the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2023 and is available to those in receipt of the BPS. It pays for sustainable practices based on the land type and have a range of levels to suit most farm types. Originally launched in 2022 and updated in 2023 with additional options, the SFI 2023 scheme has more actions available with revised payments. SFI 2024 is due to launch later in the year with a further 50 options opening the scheme up to more farmers and landowners.
Countryside Stewardship Plus (formally Local Nature Recovery)
The mid level of ELMS, will be available from 2024 and provide payments for actions which target local environmental priorities identified by DEFRA. It is described as an improved version of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme with targeted options and capital items. The current system of applications and agreement management will be retained but with additional options and more targeting to achieve better environmental benefit.
Landscape Recovery (LR)
The upper level of the scheme is designed for large scale and long term projects covering multiple holdings or large areas and involving collaboration between farmers. This will be the last part of ELMS to be launched.
Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL)
A scheme to help farmers adapt to the changes in agriculture. This scheme is aimed at upland farmers within a National Park or AONB, it will provide advice and funding for businesses to diversify incomes, prepare for ELMS and create more green jobs.