Farmers are being encouraged to apply for Countryside Stewardship agreements to help them improve the environment as the new scheme opens today.
Farmers can apply for funding to improve their local environment – from restoring wildlife habitats and creating woodlands to managing flood risk.
Changes have been made to the scheme this year to broaden out the options available and make it easier to apply.
New options have been unveiled to help farmers improve air quality, reduce ammonia emissions and improve water quality.
There are new wood pasture options in the uplands, at payment rates suitable for upland application, providing a mosaic habitat of grassland, scrub and trees.
Defra has also unveiled an improved Countryside Stewardship capital grant offer, making 67 options available which can sit alongside a Countryside Stewardship Wildlife offer.
Following feedback, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has simplified the scheme and introduced more functionality to make it easier to apply online.
Defra farming minister, Victoria Prentis said: “We are guaranteeing that anyone who enters a new Countryside Stewardship agreement will be able to leave early in order to join the Environmental Land Management scheme once fully rolled out in 2024.”
RPA chief executive, Paul Caldwell added: “We have worked hard to make CS simpler to apply for and for us to administer, which has seen the number of farmers who enter into agreements improve year on year.
"I’d urge everyone to complete their applications promptly and ensure that they don’t leave things to the last minute."
What has changed this year?
Following feedback from farmers, Defra has announced changes to the available schemes this year, including:
• New options to help improve air quality, reduce ammonia emissions and improve water quality.
• An improved Countryside Stewardship capital grant offer, making 67 options available which can sit alongside a Countryside Stewardship Wildlife offer
• New wood pasture options in the uplands, at payment rates suitable for upland application, providing a mosaic habitat of grassland, scrub and trees
• The Countryside Stewardship capital offer to be available to Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement holders, where the options are compatible
• Improved woodland options, including bringing bracken control and stone wall options into woodland management and combining Woodland Creation and Woodland Maintenance grants
• Increased number of capital items that farmers can apply for using the Rural Payments service, covering water capital, hedgerows and boundaries and air quality
• Expanded eligibility criteria for the upland option UP2 (management of rough grazing for birds), enabling more land managers to access this option and further improve the upland offer
