'Classics' holders encouraged to consider Environmental Stewardship
Over the next four years almost 15,000 ’classic’ - Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) and Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) - agri-environment agreements will expire, covering over 675,000 ha of agricultural land.
Natural England is continuing to encourage farmers to sign up to the successor programme - Environmental Stewardship ’ and advising whether Entry Level Stewardship or Higher Level Stewardship would be more appropriate for them.
Agriculture Minister Jim Paice said: ’I encourage farmers whose classic schemes are coming to an end to seek advice from Natural England on the best alternative for them to apply for. We have increased the spending for Higher Level Stewardship, which is targeted at delivering the highest possible environmental benefits, by more than 80% by 2014. This will help those whose farms offer very high environmental benefit to transfer into HLS.’
Ian Fugler, Natural England’s Director of Land Management said: ’’It is very encouraging that so far more than 86% of expiring classic scheme agreements have transferred to some form of Environmental Stewardship agreement. Although competition for HLS is high and some applications are inevitably unsuccessful, significant numbers of ’classic’ agreements have been able to join - in 2010/11 approximately 43% of ’classic’ scheme expiries came into HLS and in 2011/12 this is predicted to rise further. Anyone unable to join HLS should consider whether they could benefit from other schemes such as Entry Level Stewardship and we are more than happy to advise them on this’.
Entry Level Stewardship is open to all farmers able to achieve a simple environmental points total. These five year agreements provide support to maintain and enhance the habitats, landscapes and historic features already being protected through CS/ESA. Over 40,000 farmers already in ELS receive a regular income for their business of ’30 per hectare per year, rising to ’62 per hectare in some upland areas. The scheme offers over 70 different management options providing a good level of flexibility to select the measures appropriate to any farm business. In addition, key options within Entry Level Stewardship directly contribute to the objectives of the Campaign for the Farmed Environment.
Natural England is offering free advice and support to anyone considering Entry Level Stewardship, including free farm visits, tailored advice on appropriate options and guidance on the application process including the new web-based portal ELS Online.
A helpline is available for anyone wanting to find out more about the help, advice and training available, call 0300 060 1695 or contact your local adviser. For more information on Environmental Stewardship visit the Natural England website www.naturalengland.org.uk
