The window for Countryside Stewardship opened lasy week, and farmers who have avoided the scheme so far are encouraged to look at it again in light of increased option payment rates, as it could provide a much-needed cushion from the loss of the BPS payments.
Mid Tier has proved a useful tool in providing additional annual revenue to farms but crucially combined with funding for various capital works subject to the area in which the farm is situated.
Farms that are located in a high priority area for water quality (this still includes most of Herefordshire) may be eligible for support from the local Catchment Sensitive Farming Officers (CSFOs) for various capital items to reduce pollution including concrete farmyard renewal, covered roofing over livestock handling and gathering areas, muck stores and pesticide covers and livestock and machinery tracks. It is acknowledged that the support from CSFOs has been trickier to achieve since the start of the COVID pandemic, which is why early, and continued engagement is vital to ensure where your farm is eligible for that extra support it is still being delivered appropriately.
Capital Grants
Capital Grants has replaced the old Water Capital Grants and are now subject to a maximum of £20,000 per category:
- Boundaries, Trees and Orchards – formally the Hedgerows & Boundaries grant
- Water Quality – this includes the aforementioned farmyard works & fencing next to water courses
- Air Quality
These applications are now open with no end date announced at this time, they will now be subject to a rolling application period, and consequently a rolling start date. Therefore, this scheme will no longer be tied to agreements commencing in January, you will potentially be able to submit an application in April, with an agreement issued some months later, say August, and it would then be in place for you to commence works in the same year you applied.
If you are interested in pursuing any of the capital grant schemes, please do not hesitate to contact us, because it is our understanding those farms who have never engaged with the programme before will be subject to visits from CSFOs and associated bodies, when we know there is already significant delays in conducting visits, the earlier the engagement the better.
Mid Tier
A Mid Tier scheme involves a combination of options on the land parcels such as permanent grassland with very low inputs, nectar flower mix etc and combined with any capital works such as fencing against environmental features the applicant might be interested in. You can have option only agreements, but you cannot have agreements with just capital works. This can include farmyard capital works if supported up to a limit of £120,000 plus an additional £50,000 towards boundary works (fencing, hedging etc).
You do not have to include the whole farm in the agreement, just select parcels, and the remaining farm would be unaffected by the agreement. You can also run two mid tiers concurrently providing they are over different land areas. The majority of option payment rates have now increased from previous years. The below table outlines the increased rates:
| Revenue Option | Revenue Option Title | Old Rate | Rate for existing agreements up to 01.01.2022 | Rate for new agreements from 01.01.2023 |
| AB1 | Nectar Flower Mix | £511 | £579 | £579 |
| AB2 | Overwinter Stubble | £84 | £84 | £58 |
| AB8 | Flower rich margins and plots | £539 | £628 | £628 |
| AB9 | Winter bird food | £640 | £640 | £640 |
| AB12 | Supplementary winter feeding for farmland birds | £632 | £657 | £657 |
| AB13 | Brassica fodder crop* | £100 | £100 | N/A* |
| BE3 | Management of hedgerows | £8 | £9 | £9 |
| GS1 | Take field corners and small areas out of management | £365 | £365 | £333 |
| GS2 | Permanent grassland with very low inputs (outside SDAs) | £95 | £132 | £132 |
| GS4 | Legume and herb-rich swards | £309 | £358 | £358 |
| GS5 | Permanent grassland with very low inputs in SDAs | £16 | £71 | £71 |
| HS1 | Maintenance of weatherproof traditional farm buildings | £3.25/m2 | £4.03/m3 | £4.03/m3 |
| SW1 | 4-6m buffer strip on cultivated land | £353 | £419 | £419 |
| SW2 | 4-6m buffer strip on intensive grassland | £170 | £213 | £213 |
| SW4 | 12-24m watercourse buffer strip on cultivated land | £512 | £578 | £578 |
| SW11 | Riparian management strip | £440 | £480 | £480 |
| WT2 | Buffering in-field ponds and ditches on arable land | £501 | £563 | £563 |
If you are considering Mid Tier, capital grants or any other kind of scheme, please do not hesitate to contact Ellie for a confidential discussion about what is available and how it might fit on your farm. Please note the below deadlines for applications to be submitted, but it is important to stress early engagement for these schemes is crucial.
Deadlines
Mid Tier 29th July 2022
Higher Tier 29th April 2022
Capital Grants Now open all year round
Ellie Watkins
Tels: 01432 656545 or 07495 006808