If you have a Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) agri-environment agreement that expires in 2024 or Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement that expires in 2024 or 2025, we want to support you as you transition to our environmental land management (ELM) schemes.
In this post, I’ll share an overview for those with CSHT and HLS agreements.
CSHT agri-environment mirror agreements
If your CSHT agri-environment agreement is expiring or partly expiring in 2024, you’ll be offered a mirror agreement with the same duration of 5 or 10 years.
For example, a 10-year CSHT agri-environment agreement that partly expires will be offered a 10-year mirror agreement covering all eligible land management options.
This will be an exact duplicate of your current agreement, so you can carry on delivering environmental outcomes and receiving funding without any interruption.
If your agreement includes land designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), you’ll need to contact Natural England to get consent up until the end date of your new mirror agreement.
Natural England will issue consents for these agreements following basic checks.
The RPA will start writing to farmers like you who are eligible for mirror agreements soon, so keep an eye on your post or email.
More information about the timing and content of the expanded Higher Tier scheme will be published in December.
HLS extensions
If your HLS agreement has already expired or is due to expire by December 2024, the RPA will soon be in touch to offer you a 2-year extension.
An extension will allow you to continue delivering land management practices in your HLS agreement without interruption to the funding you receive.
Natural England has already approved these agreements for extension, and we’ll only review cases where significant changes have occurred since the extension was approved. If your agreement has already expired, you can only request an extension if you have continued to manage your land in accordance with your agreement.
If your HLS agreement is due to expire in 2025, Natural England will review each case and recommend either a 1-year or 2-year extension.
Those with agreements expiring in 2024 will be contacted first, followed by those with agreements expiring in 2025.
Woodland management
If your CSHT agreement involves woodland, you won’t be eligible for a mirror agreement. This is because many woodland agreements include actions that cannot be repeated on the same area of land and a new agreement may also need an updated or new woodland management plan, licence or consent.
However, you will be able to apply for a new CSHT agreement when this new expanded scheme opens next year.
We’ll write another blog post when you can apply. Subscribe to the blog for the latest updates.
Applying for the expanded SFI offer alongside your existing agreement
If your CS Mid Tier, CSHT, or HLS agreement doesn’t expire soon, you can apply for the expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer if your land meets the eligibility criteria, and the activities you wish to carry out must be compatible with the SFI. You cannot be paid twice for similar activities or outcomes on the same area of land.
Find out how SFI can work for you.
Ending your agreement early
If you choose to extend your HLS agreement or accept a CSHT mirror agreement, over time you’ll have the option to end your extended or mirror agreement early if you want to apply for the new CSHT scheme once it becomes available.
If you end your agreement at the end of its current agreement year, you’ll receive the full payment for that year, provided you meet the requirements of the agreement.
If you decide to end your agreement before the end of the year, any payments for that agreement year will be forfeited. You may submit a request to close your agreement at any time during the calendar year and we’ll provide more information about how to do this soon.
19 comments
Comment by Tim Bevan posted on
Will the CSHT mirror agreement have the updated option payment rates or the rates that were originally signed up to
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Tim,
A CSHT agri-environment mirror agreement will replicate your current agreement, maintaining the same actions, payment rates, and terms and conditions. The RPA will soon begin contacting farmers with agreements that expire or partially expire this year.
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by mick holding posted on
Please can you confirm rules on early terminating an (already extended) ELS/HLS agreement and what I can go into next:
- If I have accepted a 5-year extension but now want to terminate that before its end date, I will be able to do that with no financial penalty, provided I request termination at an annual anniversary?
- And I will be able to enter into SFI (or CSHT when available) agreement to run exactly from the end of the ELS/HLS agreement; with no 'equivalence' rules governing?
- And the RPA have sorted the process to allow the application for SFI on this basis?
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Mick,
Thanks for getting in touch. We’ll provide more information about ending your agreement early soon. This will hopefully give you clarity on the points you’ve raised. Subscribe to the blog to receive updates as soon as they are available: https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/subscribe/
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by Paul posted on
The principal reason that HLS agreement holders wish to exit asap is to attain higher payments available under SFI.
Are these proposed extensions at the old rates or at higher rates?
If HLS rates are not at least at comparable rates to SFI, why on earth would anyone wish to remain in, let alone extend, their HLS?
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Paul,
Thanks for getting in touch. HLS extensions will be an extension of your existing agreement on the same terms and conditions. This means the payment rates will remain at their current level. We will share your views on payment rates with the policy team.
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by Jack wallbank posted on
Hi what about HLS agreements ending in 2028 I would like to come out of it early and go onto a sfi
Thanks jack
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Jack,
Thank you for your question. You can already apply for a separate agreement in the expanded SFI offer. You can do this if you and the land you want to enter are eligible, and the activities or outcomes you want to do are compatible: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sustainable-farming-incentive-guidance
If you are unable to apply for an additional expanded SFI agreement, under the terms and conditions of your HLS agreement it is possible for you to end your agreement early to apply for a new SFI agreement. Due to the complexity of closing agreements early, it may take some time to end your agreement and could result in a period of some months between one agreement ending and a new agreement starting. We will provide more information about how to close your agreement soon.
We’ll publish all updates here on the blog.
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by John Hawkins posted on
Any updates on when we can leave Mid Tier extensions and join SFI as promised by DEFRA please? How about a blog to prevent confusion there and give everyone options before they go bankrupt without BPS?😊😊 This affects tenants more than Landowners for the record as our rents remain higher and higher😊🫠
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi John,
Thanks for getting in touch. We would encourage you to look at whether it’s possible to apply for a separate SFI agreement (subject to scheme eligibility) that could run alongside your existing agreement. This could help mitigate the financial impact of BPS reductions, in the short term. Over time, we plan to make it quicker and easier for farmers to end their existing CSMT, CSHT and HLS agreement to move into a new scheme agreement.
Under the Terms and Conditions of your agreement, it is possible for you to end your agreement early, however due to complexity of closing agreement early, it may take some time to end your agreement and could result in a period of some months between one agreement ending and a new agreement starting. We’ll provide more information about how to end your agreement early soon.
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by John Hawkins posted on
Thank you very much.. Appreciated feedback😊
Comment by Andrew Sayer posted on
How can I move out of my HLS agreement before it expires, so that I can enter into SFI? Clearly there are better and more, options under SFI than I can access under HLS. I have been told by the RPA that I can't do that but why? They say we will be able to move "soon" but "soon" never comes. Why are you penalising those farmers who are doing environmental works under HLS by preventing them from joining SFI? You are cutting our BPS - and now accelerating that cut, despite DEFRA's previous statements about BPS reductions - and we were told we could replace our BPS with SFI but you won't let us. Does anybody in DEFRA care?
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Andrew,
Thank you for getting in touch. Under the Terms and Conditions of your HLS agreement it is possible for you to end your agreement early to apply for a new SFI agreement. Due to the complexity of closing agreements early, it may take some time to end your agreement and could result in a period of some months between one agreement ending and a new agreement starting. We will provide more information about how to close your agreement in due course.
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by Paul Pickford posted on
The action that all the farmers I talk with want, is a way to get out of these agreements and into SFI.
Offering an extension is of no benefit to these businesses and is only self service to NE, the RPA and DEFRA
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Paul,
Thanks for sharing your feedback. Over time, we plan to make it quicker and easier for farmers to end their existing CSMT, CSHT and HLS agreement to move into a new scheme agreement. In the meantime, we want to provide farmers and land managers with continuity of payments and maintain environmental outcomes while we roll out the new environmental land management schemes.
These extensions ensure that farmers don’t lose funding while they consider the options available under SFI or other schemes. If you have land that isn’t in an agreement, consider whether SFI could work for these parcels: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sustainable-farming-incentive-guidance
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by Jet Janman posted on
If I take a mirror CSHT agreement on my species rich grassland fields will l be eligible for the uplifted payment rate, equivalent to GRH6 and be eligible to stack haymaking supplement and cattle grazing supplement on as well?
If l need capital items can these be added in too or is my current agreement just extended at old HT option rates?
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Jet,
Thanks for getting in touch. A CSHT agri-environment mirror agreement will replicate your current agreement, maintaining the same actions, payment rates, and terms and conditions. The RPA will soon begin contacting farmers with agreements that expire or partially expire this year.
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by andrew smith posted on
im wanting to end my hls agreement which expires in 2028 early to join sfi scheme i was told this is possible with no clawback of money when is this going to be done
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Andrew,
Thank you for getting in touch. Under the Terms and Conditions of your HLS agreement it is possible for you to end your agreement early to apply for a new SFI agreement. Due to the complexity of closing agreements early, it may take some time to end your agreement and could result in a period of some months between one agreement ending and a new agreement starting.
We will provide more information about how to close your agreement soon. Subscribe to the blog to receive updates as soon as they are available: https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/subscribe/
Best wishes,
The Team