Last week, applications opened for the 2024 Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier scheme, providing grants to farmers and land managers to improve the wildlife potential of their land and enhance their natural capital. The scheme supports a range of enhanced environmental outcomes from restoring wildlife habitats and creating woodlands, to managing flood risk.

The Mid Tier scheme is open to all farmers and land managers, regardless of the size of their holding and is designed to be flexible to meet the specific needs of individual landowners. Farmers apply for grants to protect, restore and create habitats that support key farmland wildlife including birds, mammals, pollinators and natural enemies of crop pests.

There are also one-off capital grants available for a wide range of items such as hedge laying, fencing, planting trees and items to reduce water pollution. There have been some changes made to this year’s scheme following feedback from the farming community. These include:

• removing the limit of £60,000 (20k each for boundaries, water protection and air quality) on the value of capital items
• an additional group of capital items which cover natural flood management
• a more comprehensive offer to support farmers creating scrub, reducing nitrogen inputs in groundwater and providing natural flood management.
• a new online application service for mid tier
• an annual declaration for revenue items instead of the CS claim which reduces the administrative burden.

Revenue payment rates have also increased by an average of 10%, alongside an average 48% increase in for capital payment rates.

The Wildlife Offers

The Wildlife Offers are a part of CS Mid Tier that provide a simpler set of options to help improve wildlife in four different farmed environments (arable, mixed, pastural & upland). These offer a number of benefits to landowners, including:

• Simple online application process
• Non competitive so a scheme is guaranteed.
• Simple set of options which will me more easy to implement for people that are new to the scheme

How to apply

You can apply or request and application pack through the Rural Payments Agency online portal. Most farmers and landowners will already have an account as you need this to claim Basic Payment Scheme but if you do not then you can register with RPA.

The CS grant finder is a tool that helps landowners understand the grants that are available to them. You select the option you are interested in and the aims, requirements, payment rates etc. for that option are detailed.

Get the best possible training

At the GWCT Allerton Project, we run a series of courses aimed at training the farming community in how to deliver effective environmental land management alongside sustainable farming practices.

Our one-day BASIS Principles of Sustainable Land Management course has been designed for farmers, land managers, advisers and agronomists looking for an introduction to agri-environment schemes, habitat management & creation and soil & nutrient management. The aim being to help landowners to maximise their environmental credentials and farm as sustainably as possible.

The next session is on Tuesday 25th April. You can find out more information and book your place here.