Higher Level Stewardship: increased payment rates now available
To bring HLS payment rates closer to those offered under CSHT and SFI, we’re investing £30 million to increase payments for most HLS options. The rates are now on GOV.UK.
A standard to support fair and transparent nature markets
Nature markets allow individuals and businesses to pay for the benefits that nature provides, often supporting environmental conservation and restoration efforts. A new standard aims to bring clarity and confidence to nature markets.
An update on Capital Grants
Posted by:
Sarah Blatchford, Posted on:
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Categories:
Farming and Countryside Team, Grants, Things we're doing
Following the temporary closure of the Capital Grants scheme in November 2024, we’re pleased to share that we’ve secured sufficient funding for Capital Grants for 2025/26. This means we can now process the 4,040 completed Capital Grants applications that were on hold.
Watch: Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier webinar
Earlier this month, we hosted a webinar for farmers and land managers in England to learn more about Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) and the pre-application process. In this post, you’ll find a recording of the webinar and a summary of the information in the session, reflecting the questions put to the team.
Guidance now available for improved Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier offer
Ahead of the improved Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) scheme opening for applications, we’ve published the new scheme guidance on GOV.UK. In this post, we share a summary and a recording of a webinar held on 8 January.
An update on capital grants
Posted by:
The Team, Posted on:
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Categories:
Countryside Stewardship, environmental land management schemes, Grants
As a result of unprecedented demand, some of the capital grant offers for farmers has temporarily closed to new applications. In this post, we summarise the changes to capital grants.
An update on SFI and our agri-environment schemes
Posted by:
The Team, Posted on:
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Categories:
environmental land management schemes, Sustainable Farming Incentive
It's been a while since our last post. We’re glad to be back! Over the past month, we've been welcoming Defra's new ministerial team, who are fully committed to environmental land management schemes. We've been working with them to optimise our schemes and grants for farmers, food security and nature recovery. In this post, we’ll …
The Sustainable Farming Incentive: stats to know
Today, we updated the data showing the uptake of actions in Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and the uptake of options in Countryside Stewardship (CS) and Environmental Stewardship (CS). In this post, I’ll share an overview of the data for the Sustainable Farming Offer in 2023. I’ll also include some findings from research we conducted with …
Webinar follow up: uplands
Posted by:
Becky Briggs, Posted on:
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Categories:
Countryside Stewardship, Sustainable Farming Incentive, Webinars
On Wednesday 27 March, we held a webinar on the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and Countryside Stewardship (CS) schemes for upland farmers. In this post, we summarise what we covered and include links for you to learn more.
A test and trials spotlight: Weald to Waves
Posted by:
Joe Tilbury and Graham Higgins, Posted on:
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Categories:
environmental land management schemes
Farmers and land managers participating in Weald to Waves share their experiences of taking part in tests and trials. The test is part of a wider project, led by Knepp Estate, which aims to build a wildlife corridor stretching from Ashdown Forest to the Sussex coast. Along the way, they share with us how they …
Related content and links
New: Nutrient Management Planning Tool
Agricultural property relief
From 6 April 2026, full inheritance tax relief will apply to the first £2.5 million of qualifying agricultural and business assets, with lower relief applying to any value above this. Learn more
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The Farming Advice Service (FAS) provides free, confidential advice to farmers and advisers.
Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) helps farmers in England protect water, air and soil. CSF advisers can provide advice on best practices and specific actions that will benefit your farm business and the environment.
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