Defra has published further details surrounding its ‘expanded Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier’ scheme, with a controlled rollout due to start in 2025. Initially, applications will be by invitation on a rolling monthly basis.
The department said it had invested more than £343 million into the rural economy in the first week of December. This is not new money. It is payments made to agreement holders, including £223 million to Countryside Stewardship revenue customers, £39 million under SFI and £74 million to Environmental Stewardship agreements.
However, the NFU has expressed its frustration that the CSHT (Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier) offer will not fully open until next year – months later than what was originally promised.
Natural England and the Forestry Commission will work with farmers and land managers to develop an application. This will include farmers and land managers in existing agreements as well as new.
The RPA will then contact these customers directly, from 6 January 2025 to start the pre-application process with first applications submitted in summer 2025.
NFU Deputy President David Exwood said: “With a crisis of confidence hanging over the industry particularly with cashflow, we need government to make these schemes available much earlier and work for all.
“The reality for farmers on the ground will feel very different to the vision set out by Defra and we urge them to recognise the challenges rather than gloss over them.
“The uptake will be limited by the capacity of the RPA, Natural England and the IT infrastructure to process applications. The payments are welcome, but this is previously committed money, and payments are due to farmers who have already delivered public goods.”
“With a crisis of confidence hanging over the industry particularly with cashflow, we need government to make these schemes available much earlier and work for all.”
NFU Deputy President David Exwood
There will be 132 CS HT actions with 59 of those containing some of the same features as SFI, allowing these actions to be tailored in the CS HT agreement. The offer will also include 151 capital items to protect and enhance the environment, including sensitive sites like SSSIs (sites of special scientific interest).
Flexibility
The scheme will provide quarterly payments to help improve cashflow and will have monthly agreement start dates, rather than a single, annual date.
Farmers whose CSHT agreements expire in 2024 will be offered mirror agreements lasting five or ten years. Those with HLS agreements expiring in 2024 will be offered two-year extensions, while those expiring in 2025 will be offered one or two-year extensions.
Defra has published 14 draft endorsed SFI actions that will be available from summer 2025.
The news follows the sudden closure of 76 capital grant items, a move which the NFU branded “a real blow to members”.
Defra has also said the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund, another key scheme which helps farmers improving productivity, manage slurry and improve animal health and welfare will see no new rounds in 2024. This is set against the backdrop of an acceleration to the phasing out of direct payments, with farmers set to receive a maximum payment of £7,200 in 2025.
There was no mention of payment uplifts for HLS – a key NFU ask.
David added: “For farmers already holding existing agreements, such as HLS, many in the English uplands, this announcement fails to address the injustice of payments that haven’t been reviewed for a decade.
“The NFU is calling on Defra, the RPA and Natural England to ensure they work smarter to reduce application delays and meet farm business demand for these new offers. Farmers are looking for help to support business cashflow and create more certainty so they can plan for 2025 and beyond.”
