Policy paper

Environmental Land Management (ELM) update: how government will pay for land-based environment and climate goods and services

Updated 21 June 2023

This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government

Applies to England

The Agricultural Transition – what we are aiming to achieve

We are undertaking the most significant reform of agricultural policy and spending in England in decades as we move from the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to our Environmental Land Management schemes, designed for our countryside and environment. While the CAP was never supposed to be a food production subsidy, it was in effect based on how much land was owned or managed.

We are taking the opportunity of leaving the EU to phase out subsidies for land ownership and tenure and radically improve our services to farmers. Through the Agricultural Transition, we are expanding our schemes to pay farmers and land managers to provide environmental goods and services alongside food production; and providing one-off grants to support farm productivity, innovation, research and development in a way that also helps us to achieve these goals.

These reforms are essential to help us grow and maintain a resilient, productive agriculture sector over the long term and at the same time achieve our ambitious targets for the environment and climate, playing our role in tackling these huge, global challenges.

While we have long relied on farmers to produce the healthy, high-quality food for which they are so well known, too often production methods have been at the expense of nature rather than being symbiotic. We need farmers and other land managers to improve the natural environment, alongside food production, with environmental goods and services playing a key role in all farm businesses.

Through our farming reforms, we intend to work with farmers and land managers to deliver significant elements of our statutory environment and climate targets. Our Environmental Improvement Plan, to be published in January 2023, will provide more detail.

Improving our services for farmers and land managers

Some of the most important work we have to do is improving our services for farmers and land managers. Without this, we cannot expect people to engage in our schemes to achieve the key outcomes of our policies on food, environment and welfare.

We are reforming our approach to farm regulation to make it clearer, fairer and more effective where it matters. We have increased our Catchment Sensitive Farming offer, which supports farmers to protect water, air and soil through tailored advice, support and grants, to cover the whole country. This offer gives farmers advice about regulatory compliance and grants and payments to help improve water quality. We have also increased funding for the Environment Agency (EA) to strengthen its capacity to enforce water quality regulations. The EA is trialling new approaches to tackle breaches and pollution in a more targeted and effective way.

As we progress through the agricultural transition, we will be making sure that effective regulation to prevent harm dovetails with our incentives and payments for farmers to go beyond regulatory requirements to deliver environmental services and goods alongside food production. Our regulatory baseline will continue to evolve over time, so that we can target our payments towards the goods and services that really make a difference.

We have reformed our approach to controls and penalties so that they are clear, fair and proportionate. Leaving behind excessively bureaucratic, punitive controls, we are now taking a partnership-based approach, respecting that most farmers are trying in good faith to do the right things but taking seriously those cases that do not carry out necessary improvement actions or cause significant harm. Where we find breaches, where appropriate we will look to provide advice and give farmers the opportunity to put things right. In an area, just one person not playing their part can create widespread damage to nature and their neighbours, so when people let the side down with wilful or negligent behaviour, causing harm to our countryside, water supply and wildlife, we will respond strongly and effectively.

Payments for environmental goods and services

As we go through the transition with direct payments gradually falling, we will increase the funding and roll out of our Environmental Land Management schemes.

We will have three schemes to pay for environmental and climate goods and services:

• the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) will pay farmers to adopt and maintain sustainable farming practices that can protect and enhance the natural environment alongside food production, and also support farm productivity (including by improving animal health and welfare, optimising the use of inputs and making better use of natural resources)
• Countryside Stewardship (CS) will pay for more targeted actions relating to specific locations, features and habitats. There will be an extra incentive through CS Plus for land managers to join up across local areas to deliver bigger and better results
• Landscape Recovery will pay for bespoke, longer-term, larger scale projects to enhance the natural environment

Currently, there are about 40,000 agreements in our Countryside and Environmental Stewardship schemes, covering about 34% of agricultural land. There are 94% more CS agreements now than in January 2020. By 2028, we plan to increase this to at least 70,000 in our schemes, covering 70% of farmed land and 70% of all farms, so that farmers and land managers can collectively deliver our ambitious targets for the environment and climate, alongside food production.

We want all farmers in existing agreements to continue to take part in our new Environmental Land Management schemes and will make it as easy as possible for them to either enter into our new schemes at the right time, or add new offers to their existing agreement (where this is not resulting in double payments for the same action).

The schemes will collectively pay farmers and land managers to deliver, alongside food production, significant and important outcomes for the climate and environment that can only be delivered by farmers and other land managers in the wider countryside. These include:

• creating and restoring a broad range of wildlife-rich habitat, as well as continuing to protect habitat already managed under our existing agri-environment schemes
• improving water quality, by reducing nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollution from agricultural activities, building on our existing Catchment Sensitive Farming approach
• increasing resilience to flooding and drought through nature-based solutions such as natural flood management
• creating more new woodlands and treescapes to increase tree and woodland cover, and encouraging management of existing woodlands, including to increase their resilience to pests and diseases
• reducing carbon emissions, storing carbon and increasing resilience to climate change, for example through management of soils, water, peatland and trees

SFI

SFI offers payments to farmers to carry out farming activities in a more environmentally sustainable way so that they can produce environmental goods and services alongside food.

The actions in the scheme are intended to be universal and straightforward for farmers to undertake in the course of their farming activities. Farmers should be able to apply for and participate in the scheme without needing specialist advice, unless they choose specific actions which may require specialist advice for which we will pay.

Many of the actions we will pay for in SFI will help farmers reduce their costs and improve their efficiency as well as help improve the natural environment and reduce carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions. For example, the nutrient and integrated pest management standards can help farmers optimise their use of inputs, helping them to reduce costs whilst also potentially maintaining or improving yields. The actions in other new SFI standards can enable farmers to generate an income from unproductive corners and edges of fields, using hedgerows to improve productivity (for example as windbreaks or shelterbelts), and improving soil health. The payments in the standards are also intended to support and de-risk the transition for farmers wanting to adopt more sustainable farming approaches.

Building on recommendations from farming organisations and tenant farmers (including early feedback from the Rock Review), agreements last for three years in SFI; tenant farmers do not require landlord consent to take part; and the payments in the scheme go to the farmer who is doing the work. Tenants on shorter tenancy agreements (including licences that operate like tenancies) can enter that land into the scheme if they expect to have management control of it, and they can leave without penalty if they unexpectedly lose management control during the three years. We will build further on this work as we respond to the recommendations of the Rock Review.

So far, we have introduced three SFI standards and an annual health and welfare review. We are also running a pilot with 850 farmers who are testing a wider range of standards with us. We have learned a lot about how the scheme needs to be straightforward but also flexible and less prescriptive, so that it works for the range of different farm types, sizes and locations. This flexibility goes hand in hand with our new approach to controls within schemes, where we are taking a fairer, more pragmatic and proportionate approach. We also want to offer payment rates that are sufficiently attractive for farmers to change their existing practices and maintain sustainable practices.

Based on this learning, the new sets of actions we plan to introduce in 2023 will be accessible and flexible, so that farmers can choose the combination of actions that works for their farm setting.

As we continue to develop the scheme, we plan to incentivise farmers to carry out actions in combinations and at a scale and level of ambition that is more likely to deliver successful, significant results. This is important to ensure that the scheme enables farmers to deliver the goods and services needed to achieve our environment and climate targets.

We want to make this scheme accessible to all farmers – from those who are just starting to get involved with sustainable practices, to those who are already leading the pack. We will enable farmers collectively to increase their activity and level of impact over time. To support this, we are allowing farmers to expand their agreements over time, and building in support and incentives to encourage and enable this.

New SFI standards in 2023

This information has been replaced by the SFI Handbook for the SFI 2023 offer.

Following the recent review of our plans, we are going much further and faster in rolling out the SFI than we originally intended. In 2023, we will add a further six standards to the scheme – three more than we had previously planned. This is so that we can make good progress towards our environment and climate goals and to make sure there is a wide-ranging offer in place across SFI and CS, covering a range of farm types, sizes and locations.

The six standards we will introduce in 2023, are as follows:

• hedgerows standard
• integrated pest management standard
• nutrient management standard
• arable and horticultural land standard
• improved grassland standard
• low input grassland standard

More detailed information on the actions in these six new SFI standards and their payment rates for these is included later in this document.

Those already in SFI agreements will be able to add these actions and more land, if they wish.

By providing the services and goods the actions in these standards will deliver, farmers will, as well as producing food and other goods, be collectively contributing to the government’s priority environmental and climate targets and outcomes to:

• reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the economy to reach net zero by 2050

• halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and to ensure that species abundance in 2042 is greater than in 2022, and at least 10% greater than 2030

• improve the Red List Index for England for species extinction risk by 2042, compared to 2022 levels
• restore or create in excess of 500,000 hectares of a range of wildlife-rich habitat outside protected sites by 2042, compared to 2022 levels
• reduce nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollution from agriculture into the water environment by at least 40% by 2038
• increase total tree and woodland cover to 16.5% by 2050
• adapt to climate change

SFI management payment

In 2023, we will introduce an additional ‘SFI management payment’, to recognise the management costs and time involved for farmers in participating in SFI. This responds to feedback about the management and administrative costs of being in SFI, so that we can make the scheme viable and attractive as part of farm businesses and help accelerate uptake to the levels we need to see to deliver our objectives for farming, the environment and climate change.

We will pay a £20 per hectare (ha) management payment per year, for up to the first 50 hectares entered into SFI actions. This will represent a maximum payment of up to £1,000 per year. We plan to keep this payment under review over the next two years, along with all other elements of scheme design and delivery, to make sure the scheme is working for farmers and delivering value for money and achieving the intended outcomes.

CS and CS Plus

Recognising the successful adoption of CS, we will evolve the scheme instead of developing a new ‘Local Nature Recovery’ scheme. We expect to reach the same ambitious destination by a smoother, faster and better route with this evolution taking place over 2023 and 2024. It will include:

• expanding and refining the scope of the scheme, so that it pays for a wider range of targeted, specific actions at the right level of ambition to contribute to our environment and climate goals. The scheme will also continue the offer currently available through the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO), once that scheme has closed
• improving the service over the next two years, so that by 2024 farmers and land managers can: apply quickly to join the scheme alongside SFI as part of a high-quality service; manage their agreements more flexibly, including increasing their activity and ambition over time; more easily access high quality advice; benefit from greater flexibility over when they can apply and get paid more regularly through quarterly payments. We will also improve access for tenants and expand access to Higher Tier options and agreements by better integrating these options into the wider scheme.
• in particular for CS Plus, targeting our funding towards actions in places where they can have the biggest impacts, in ways that are joined up across larger areas, designed to deliver outstanding results

Applying for CS in 2023

From January 2023, payment rates for revenue and capital options in CS have been updated.

We have introduced a number of changes this year to help improve the application process and broaden the scope of the offer.  These include:

• expanding the capital offer to include specific items to help farmers and land managers prepare for habitat creation and restoration (such as feasibility studies, implementation plans or specific capital works) including existing HLS and CS agreement holders. This includes expanding the eligibility of capital on SSSIs for existing agreement holders
• further expanding the Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) offer, with eligibility now covering all catchments
• allowing Higher Level Stewardship (HLS, CS’s predecessor scheme) agreement holders to take up CS revenue agreements alongside their HLS – this will benefit farmers who already have an HLS agreement, including many upland farmers, but want to increase their income from schemes by doing more on more of their land. Those currently in a CS agreement can already apply for another CS agreement if they want to extend their activities and support delivery of Environment Act outcomes

• bringing some Higher Tier options into Mid Tier to support wider take-up of biodiversity-friendly options, and increasing options available in the Wildlife Offers and Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Packages to support 2030 and other biodiversity targets’ delivery

• giving farmers and land managers three years to complete capital works activity and submit claims – we will do this automatically for any new applications we receive after 1 January 2023, and anyone with an existing agreement can request an extension if they wish
• introducing an annual declaration in place of the current burdensome revenue claim process (for all CS agreements)

The Higher Tier and Mid Tier and Wildlife Offer windows will open again in February and March respectively for applications.

We will be evolving CS further in 2023 and 2024 to improve the service, extend the scope of the scheme to include a wider range of options, increase access to Higher Tier options and agreements, and introduce ways to support local join-up, spatial targeting, and rewarding outstanding results.

How SFI and CS will interact

As the schemes evolve over the next two years, we intend to offer SFI and CS in a single, integrated online service, with farmers and land managers able to select a combination of actions in SFI and CS that works for them.

We are working to make the transition as smooth as possible. Where there are similar actions in both SFI and CS, we are maintaining parity of payment rates across both schemes, so that those already doing the actions in CS are not at a disadvantage.

People with a CS agreement can also have a SFI agreement, so long as we are not paying for the same actions twice on the same piece of land, and the actions are compatible.

Landscape Recovery

Landscape Recovery is designed to fund a smaller number of longer-term, larger-scale, bespoke projects to enhance the natural environment and deliver significant benefits. We will award agreements through competitive application rounds focused on the outcomes that are best delivered through these types of projects.

We ran the first competitive round in 2022 and awarded funding to 22 projects collectively covering over 40,000 hectares. The majority of projects involve groups of land managers and farmers, including tenants, working together to deliver a range of environmental benefits across farmland and rural landscapes. They aim to restore over 400 miles of rivers and protect and provide habitat for at least 263 species.

We will open applications for further rounds of Landscape Recovery in spring this year and in 2024.  Round two will focus on net zero, protected sites and habitat creation. This could include landscape scale projects creating and enhancing woodland, peatland, nature reserves and protected sites such as ancient woodlands, wetlands and salt marshes. We will take on up to 25 projects, depending on the quality of applications. We will be providing more information in the coming weeks via a series of webinars, which we will encourage all potential applicants to attend.

Progress in designing and rolling out these schemes

So far, we have:

• launched a pilot of SFI with 850 farmers, who are now in their second year of piloting, and applied the learning to the design and rollout of the main SFI scheme

• launched SFI in June 2022, initially paying for actions to improve soil health and assess the condition of moorlands
• as part of the wider SFI offer, we started rolling out our funded vet-led annual health and welfare review with small numbers of farmers – we will be making this offer available more widely early in 2023
• awarded funding for the first 22 Landscape Recovery projects – longer-term, larger-scale projects to enhance the natural environment – we went beyond our initial commitment of 10-15 projects because we had such a large number of high-quality applications, most from groups of farmers working together
• offered a range of grants to support farm productivity, innovation, research and development and provided free business planning advice for more than 9,000 farmers; through our Farming Investment Fund we made offer to more than 4,000 farmers to invest £46 millionm in equipment and technology. To date over 2,500 have received funding to the value of £26 million.
• simplified and improved the CS scheme, including introducing wildlife, upland wood pasture and lowland peat offers, improving the administration of the service, and improving our approach to scheme controls to make them fairer and more proportionate and focusing our enforcement effort where it really matters
• adjusted our plans in the light of all the feedback, co-design and learning so far, to make the transition smoother, faster and better

Next steps

In 2023, we will continue our work to roll out the additional scope and service improvements to our payment schemes, improve farm regulation, and support farm productivity, innovation, research and development. This will include:

• adding six new standards to SFI and introducing the new SFI management payment
• publishing details of the further new actions that will be made available through SFI and CS, with finalised payment rates
• continuing to develop and test SFI, ahead of introducing the full range of additional SFI standards
• opening a further round of CS Mid Tier and Higher Tier applications in 2023, for agreements starting on 1 January 2024, and CS capital grant applications, including a new Higher Tier capital only grant
• making our existing CS service simpler, clearer and faster, and working towards having a high-quality service offer across our schemes and grants so that farmers and land managers can take part in a simpler, clearer and faster way
• continuing to develop and test our approach to incentivising and rewarding those who join up across larger areas, targeting funding towards the right actions in the right places, and potentially including an element of payment by results
• continuing to improve our approach to controls within schemes
• running a further round of competitive applications for Landscape Recovery projects
• running further rounds of productivity, innovation, research and development grants
• providing free business advice delivered by 17 partners
• concluding a small pilot looking at support for new entrants to the industry
• further one-off grants to support animal health and welfare
• a refreshed Facilitation Fund offer, to pay for services provided by local facilitators to help plan and act in a joined-up way across local areas

In 2024, we plan to:

• make available an additional range of actions through CS and SFI to eligible farmers and land managers through a high-quality service
• continue to offer a range of one-off payments for animal health and welfare, productivity, innovation, research and development and continue to provide free business advice
• start to introduce further ways to support those who join up across local areas, take actions in the right places and deliver outstanding results

The farming budget

The farming budget in England is an average £2.4 billion per year to 2024/2025. We are now two years into our 7-year transition period where we are phasing out farm subsidies and instead investing the money in farming and the environment. The budget available for the sector is the same. We are committed to being transparent about the budget and how it is spent. We included in the Agriculture Act a requirement for government to publish an annual report about the budget, and we did this for the first time in 2022.

All three of our Environmental Land Management schemes will be accessible to farmers. We will manage the budget flexibly so that we can achieve the best value for money and deliver our intended outcomes in ways that best suit farmers and land managers. This means that we do not have a firm allocation of funds to each of our schemes. Instead, we make planning assumptions and adjust them according to the levels of demand we see in each area of the budget.

The full list of grant offers and schemes is available at Funding for farmers and land managers.

So far, the money released from the first two years of phasing out farming subsidies has been redeployed towards:

• funding significantly increased demand for CS agreements – we have 32,000 agreements in the scheme, 94% more than in January 2020 – and increasing payment rates in the scheme to bring them up to date
• free business planning advice for 8,000 farmers, with another round of advice currently underway
• a range of grants to support farm productivity, innovation, research and development, including equipment and technology grants where over 4,000 farmers have already benefited.  Over 160 projects are already underway to support innovation and R&D through the Farming Innovation Programme
• more than 1,800 projects supported through the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, involving nearly 2,000 farmers and land managers. The programme has delivered 5,700m of drystone walls, 78 educational access projects, 200 projects to reduce flood risk, and 88,000m of hedgerow planting.
• 850 farmers taking part in the SFI pilot, and more than 4,000 in tests and trials to help develop our new policies and schemes

In the next two years, as we continue phasing out direct payments as planned, we will continue to redeploy funding towards:

• expanding the scope and uptake of SFI, including funded annual health and welfare reviews for livestock farmers and introducing further standards that pay for environmental goods and services to contribute to our environmental and climate targets
• paying for further increased uptake in CS and a wider range of actions
• further one-off grants to support animal health and welfare, farm productivity, and innovation, research and development and free business advice for those farmers currently in receipt of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).
• awarding funding to more Landscape Recovery projects

Environmental goods and services to be included in SFI and CS

The rest of this document sets out the full range of environmental land management actions we will pay farmers and land managers for through SFI and CS.

As we develop these schemes, we will continue to refine the actions with farmers and land managers to make sure they work on the ground, are good value for money, and deliver the intended outcomes for sustainable domestic food production and the environment.

SFI and CS will offer ongoing payments to farmers and land managers for providing environmental goods and services on their land alongside food production. They will pay for actions which go beyond regulatory requirements to enhance the environment alongside food production.

SFI will pay for standard, universal actions that are needed at scale across the farmed landscape. We pay for actions because this is the clearest, fairest way to reward farmers for the goods and services they are providing, but we provide flexibility within those actions so that farmers can work out the best way to apply them in their farm setting. We want a large majority of farmers to take part in this scheme to deliver significant, large-scale environment and climate outcomes alongside food production.

CS will pay for more locally-targeted actions relating to specific habitats and features that can be done alongside food production. It will appeal to farmers and land managers who want to take care of nature in areas, features and habitats more suited to specific, tailored management.

The document includes all the actions we will provide ongoing payments for through SFI and CS. It also includes some (but not all) of the one-off grant payments for capital investment that are available where these are normally required to carry out the actions.

Funding is also available through private schemes and markets through the sale of services such as natural flood risk management, biodiversity offsets, and nature-based carbon from woodland, peatland or other sources. We aim to support the growth of private funding by designing our schemes to dovetail with these private schemes and markets. We will set out more in the update to the Green Finance Strategy this spring.

Refining the goods and services we already pay for in schemes

SFI and CS will continue to include many actions we already pay for through the schemes (as well as other schemes such as Environmental Stewardship and EWCO). These actions remain important as part of the effort towards our environment and climate targets.

We will also add actions currently paid for through other time limited schemes such as EWCO. This means they will be available through a single, straightforward service.

We will improve the actions we already pay for through CS so they are more outcome focused and flexible. We will also make it clearer and easier to understand what to do to achieve the outcomes. We will then continue to review and update the actions we offer to pay for over time, on a planned schedule of regular review, to respond to feedback and learning about how they are working and make sure we are on track to achieve our environment and climate targets.

We will also improve the current CS service so it is simpler, clearer, faster and fairer and to allow more people to do more ambitious and more complex actions. This includes quicker and simpler ways to apply to join and the ability to add land and actions to your agreement each year. We will also make payments quarterly rather than annually.

We have already introduced some changes to CS in recent years in response to feedback. This included amending specific options to reduce complexity and prescription, to make them more workable for farmers and to deliver better environmental outcomes. We have:

• introduced two new options specific for lowland peat related to arable (SW17) and permanent grassland (SW18)
• introduced wood pasture options in the uplands to support creation, restoration and management of these habitats
• expanded the eligibility for management of rough grazing for birds (UP2) to allow for more land managers to access this option and improve the offer for upland farmers
• added stone curlew to the list of species that the threatened species supplement (SP9) can be used to target. SP9 has also been amended so that it no longer requires prior approval when used with turtle doves
• extended Catchment Sensitive Farming supported options and items to both high- and medium-priority areas for water and air pollution management
• introduced two new capital options to improve air quality, reduce ammonia emissions and improve water quality
• brought in improved woodland options, including bringing bracken control and stone wall options into woodland management, and adding four new supplements to the woodland improvement option (WD2)
• updated the specifications for FG1 and FG2 (fencing) to allow for alternative fencepost material
• allowed Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement holders, which includes many upland farmers, to apply for capital only grants, where these options are compatible

Expanding the range of goods and services included in schemes

SFI and CS will also include new actions to cover a wider range of goods and services. These reflect our latest understanding of the actions needed to deliver our environmental and climate ambitions alongside food production.

This will include actions to:

• support the sustainable management of soils and water resources
• provide advice on and adopt more sustainable land management practices, including integrated pest management and nutrient use efficiency
• increase the connectivity of habitats for birds, pollinators and other species and support species recovery
• restore streams and rivers and manage riverside habitats
• establish and maintain agroforestry systems for arable and pastoral farms
• maintain and restore peatland
• support agriculture in its move towards becoming net zero, in line with the government’s net zero commitments

Advice

We want it to be possible to do many of the actions without the need for an adviser. This is to make it as easy as possible for you to take part in the schemes and focus advisory resources on the more specialist actions where advice is really needed.

We will pay for relevant advisory support for certain actions where that is needed. We will provide specialist advice through our delivery agencies where that is the most appropriate form of support. We will also expand our support for local facilitators who can help you work with other farmers and land managers to consider the right actions and develop plans in your area.

Targeting action for maximum impact

As well as paying for a wider range of actions, as we evolve CS we plan to increase the impact of the scheme by adding in more ways to incentivise and reward those who:

• carry out actions in the specific places and situations where they can deliver the greatest benefits
• work together across multiple holdings to deliver specific environmental outcomes relevant to the locality, and join up connecting habitats across local areas
• go beyond what is required to deliver outstanding results

We have already tested different approaches to these forms of targeting in our tests and trials. We will continue to develop and test our approach, in partnership with farmers and other experts, with a view to introducing these features after this.

Payment rates

The annex to this document summarises the payment rates for all of the actions that will be available through SFI and CS. Where payment rates are not yet confirmed they have been included as ranges that we expect the payment rates to fall within or are marked as tbc. We will publish payment rates and specific details of these further new actions over the coming months.

We will set payment rates in line with the Environmental Land Management Payment Principles we published in 2021. For actions we already pay for through CS, we expect payment rates will initially continue broadly in line with the CS rates, subject to any changes resulting from improvements we make to the actions.

When we set payment rates, we aim to make them fair and attractive to farmers while delivering value for public money.  We will regularly review actions and payment rates over time to make sure that they work for farmers and land managers and are delivering the intended outcomes to contribute to the government’s environment, climate and food production goals.

The government previously committed that farmers who entered into environmental schemes during the transition period whilst we design and roll out new schemes would not be disadvantaged. We are meeting this commitment by maintaining parity in payment rates across our schemes. After 2024, when the full and updated scope of the SFI and CS offers are available, we plan to review our schemes and payment rates on a regular, systematic basis so that they continue to deliver the intended outcomes, work for farmers and provide value for money. We will set out our planned approach to this later this year.

How we are presenting the actions

We have set out the actions we will pay for according to different types of land and farming and the different features and habitats that may be present on that land. The sections cover:

• grassland
• arable land
• permanent crops
• moorland and upland peat
• lowland peat
• woodland, trees and agroforestry
• boundaries
• waterbodies
• wetland habitats
• coastal habitats
• lowland heathland
• heritage

There are also cross-cutting sections which include actions relating to:

• species recovery and management
• access and engagement

There is also a section covering the annual health and welfare review of eligible livestock by a vet that is available under SFI.

The annex to this information summarises the list of actions we will pay for in line with these sections, along with when we plan for the actions to be available through the schemes and payment rates where these are available.

We will continue to work with farmers to understand the best ways to present the range of options to make it easy to understand which options are likely to be relevant and attractive for each farm.

Who can take part in the schemes

We are designing our schemes so that a wide range of farmers and land managers can take part.

This includes people who already participate in existing schemes such as CS and Environmental Stewardship, who will also be able to add more land and new actions to their agreement each year.

It also includes people managing and protecting our most precious protected sites, such as National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, and National Nature Reserves.

The schemes will include actions that will be suitable for different farmers and land managers depending on their particular setting. This includes:

• upland farmers – through the actions outlined in the grassland, moorland and upland peat sections, and other actions that may be relevant such as those relating to the annual animal health and welfare review, boundaries, woodland and trees, species recovery and management, heritage, and access and engagement
• lowland grazing livestock farmers – through the actions outlined in the grassland section, and other actions that may be relevant such as those relating to the annual animal health and welfare review, waterbodies, boundaries, woodland, trees, agroforestry, wetlands, species recovery and management and heritage
• arable farmers – through the actions outlined in the arable land section, and other actions that may be relevant such as those relating to boundaries, waterbodies, lowland peat, agroforestry, wetlands and species recovery and management
• horticulture and multi-annual crops – through the actions outlined in the permanent crops and arable land sections, and other actions that may be relevant such as those relating to boundaries, waterbodies, lowland peat, trees and agroforestry, wetlands, species recovery and management, and heritage
• organic farmers – through a continuation of CS organic options, and other actions that may be relevant such as those relating to grassland, arable land, permanent crops, boundaries, waterbodies, and woodland and trees
• farmers on common land – many of the actions will be relevant for farmers on common land, such as those relating to moorland, upland peat and grassland. We are designing the schemes so farmers on common land can take part in the schemes as straightforwardly and positively as possible. We have already designed SFI so eligible single entities can apply for an agreement on common land and made an additional payment available to help with the costs of administering an agreement if there is a group of two or more people. CS also provides payment to support administration of agreements involving shared grazing on common land, and once commons agreements are established there are multiple actions on offer in the scheme applicable to farmers on common land
• small farms – many of the actions will be relevant for small farms dependent on their specific setting and circumstances. We are designing the schemes and the individual actions to be as accessible as possible to small farms
• forestry and other land managers – through the actions outlined in the woodland and trees section and other sections relating to managing different types of habitat

Tenant farmers

Many of the actions will be relevant for tenant farmers and we are designing the schemes to be as accessible as possible for this group. This includes considering the recommendations from the independent Rock Review on the agricultural tenanted sector.

We’ve already designed SFI so that more tenant farmers can access it than has been the case under our previous schemes. This includes farmers with tenancies on a ‘rolling’ year-by-year basis who can enter that land into SFI – if they expect to have ‘management control’ of it for the 3-year duration of their SFI standards agreement.

Some actions need to be delivered over a longer period or require some form of land use change to deliver the intended environmental outcomes.

For the current CS scheme, tenants are required to obtain their landlord’s consent before applying to ensure they not inadvertently sign up for actions which may conflict with the terms of their tenancy agreement or the interests of their landlord. We have made CS more accessible for tenants with a shorter duration of management control by allowing them to enter with their landlord’s countersignature, which commits the landlord to delivering the tenant’s CS agreement if the tenancy agreement ends prior to the completion of the CS agreement. As we evolve CS, we are considering what more we can do to make the scheme accessible for tenants.

For the first round of Landscape Recovery, given the projects will be long term applicants were required to demonstrate management control of the land, or the consent of those with management control, for the duration of the project development and implementation agreements. Applicants were also required to confirm that any tenants within the project area had been engaged prior to application and were supportive of the project moving forward into project development. Around half of the round one projects involve tenants.

Grassland

We want to improve the health and functionality of our grassland soils to deliver multiple ecosystem service benefits and outcomes. We also want to increase grassland biodiversity by supporting the management of grassland in a way that:

• improves and increases the diversity and abundance of species above and below ground, including by encouraging a variety of wildflowers and grasses to grow and complete their life cycles and maintaining habitat for farmland wildlife
• creates, connects, restores and maintains grassland priority habitats, such as lowland calcareous grassland and upland hay meadows
• creates, connects, restores and maintains other important grassland habitats, such as wet grasslands and grasslands with substantial areas of scrub
• provides additional benefits for climate change mitigation and adaptation through soil health
• improves water quality and resources, and protects waterbodies
• supports flood risk mitigation
• minimises the risks and impacts of herbicides on the natural environment through integrated pest management, to promote sustainable weed management, benefit soil health, enhance biodiversity, increase diversity of non-target plant species, and improve water quality
• ensures effective nutrient management and planning, to help reduce production costs, maximise efficient use of nutrients, and deliver a range of environmental benefits including water and air quality

What we will pay for

Under CS, we already pay for the following actions that support a variety of grassland types and features:

• protecting in-field trees on intensive grassland (BE2)
• taking field corners out of management (GS1)
• managing permanent grassland outside Severely Disadvantaged Areas (SDAs) with very low inputs (GS2)
• using ryegrass seed-set as winter food for birds (GS3)
• establishing and maintaining legume and herb-rich swards (GS4)
• managing permanent grassland in SDAs with very low inputs (GS5)
• managing species-rich grassland (GS6)
• restoring grassland towards species-rich grassland (GS7)
• creating species-rich grassland (GS8)
• creating wet grassland for breeding waders (GS11) and managing it (GS9)
• creating wet grassland for wintering waders and wildfowl (GS12) and managing it (GS10)
• creating grassland for target features (GS14) and managing it (GS13)
• a supplement for haymaking (GS15)
• a supplement for rush control (GS16)
• a supplement for lightly grazing to produce habitats for insects and birds (GS17)
• a supplement for threatened species (SP9)
• a supplement to control invasive plant species (SP4)
• creating and managing 4 to 6m buffer strips on intensive grassland (SW2)
• managing intensive grassland adjacent to a watercourse (SW8)
• removing livestock from intensive grassland at particular times of year (SW9)
• removing livestock on grassland in SDAs next to streams, rivers and lakes (SW10)
• applying very low nitrogen input to slow or reverse nutrient levels in groundwaters (SW13)
• a supplement to apply no fertiliser or manure (SW14)
• creating successional areas and scrub (WD8 and WD9)
• managing rough grazing for birds (UP2)
• a supplement for raised water level (SP2)
• introduction of cattle grazing on the Isles of Scilly (SP7)

We also pay for the following actions on land that is registered organic or ‘in conversion’:

• supplementary feeding for farmland birds (OP3)
• establishing and managing a multi-species herbal ley (OP4)
• converting improved permanent grassland from conventional management to organic management (OR1)
• converting rotational land from conventional management to organic management (OR3)
• maintaining improved permanent grassland under organic management (OT1)
• maintaining rotation land under organic management (OT3)
• converting unimproved permanent grassland from conventional management to organic management (OR2)
• maintaining unimproved permanent grassland (OT2) and enclosed rough grazing (OT6) under organic management

We will improve these existing actions where possible as we evolve CS by making them more outcome focused, less prescriptive and more flexible about how to achieve the intended outcomes. We will also look at specific rules about these options where we know there are questions and concerns, such as where and how they can be applied.

We plan to make improved versions of the actions (where required) available in 2024 for agreements starting from 2025. We will publish these, along with payment rates, later in 2023. We will also make some of these actions available through SFI, which offers shorter agreement lengths and more flexibility. We have published more details on the actions we will be adding to SFI in 2023 alongside this information.

We also already pay for actions to support the sustainable management of soils through the SFI improved grassland soils standard. These actions are:

• completing a soil assessment and producing a soil management plan
• testing soil organic matter
• minimising bare ground by having no more than 5% of the total area of land entered into the standard left bare over winter
• establishing and maintaining herbal leys on at least 15% of land in the intermediate level of the standard

In addition to what is already available in CS and SFI, we plan to pay for new actions on grassland covering:

• an adviser visit to assess and advise on integrated pest management (for weed management) and help to produce a plan
• an adviser visit to review and improve nutrient use efficiency
• establishing and maintaining legumes in an existing grass sward
• managing floodplain meadows
• managing scrapes and gutters for waders and wintering waterfowl

We are also exploring how we can pay for using precision farming approaches.

A number of these actions will be available through SFI. More detailed information on the actions we will be adding to SFI in 2023 is included later in this document.

There are also other actions likely to be relevant to those managing grassland. This includes those covered in the sections on the annual animal health and welfare review, waterbodies, boundaries, moorland, woodland, trees and agroforestry, wetlands, species recovery and management and heritage.

Arable land

As well as being critical to sustainable food production, arable land has the potential to provide important habitats and food sources for wildlife. It can also be managed to improve soil health and water quality, and reduce emissions associated with farming on the land. There are also heritage and archaeological features which can be protected.

What we will pay for

We want to improve the health and functionality of our soil to deliver multiple ecosystem services benefits and outcomes, including long-term climate resilience, increased biodiversity, as well as sustainable food production.

We also want to support management of arable land to:

• improve and increase the species above and below ground that arable land can support, including by maintaining habitat for farmland wildlife
• provides additional benefits for climate change mitigation and adaptation through soil health
• improve water quality and resources, and protect waterbodies
• support flood risk mitigation
• minimise the risks and impacts of pesticides through integrated pest management, to promote sustainable crop pest, weed and disease management, benefit soil health, enhance biodiversity, increase diversity of non-target plant and animal species, and improve water quality
• ensure effective nutrient management and planning, to help reduce production costs, maximise efficient use of nutrients, and deliver a range of environmental benefits including water and air quality

Under CS, we already pay for the following options on arable land:

• establishing and maintaining a nectar flower mix (AB1), flower rich margins and plots (AB8), winter bird mix (AB9) or autumn sown bumblebird seed mix (AB16)
• having basic overwinter stubbles (AB2) or enhanced overwinter stubbles (AB6)
• establishing beetle banks (AB3)
• creating skylark plots (AB4) and creating nesting plots for lapwing and stone curlew (AB5)
• establishing spring cereal crops and harvesting as a whole crop (AB7)
• leaving cereal headlands unharvested (AB10)
• having cultivated areas for arable plants (AB11)
• providing supplementary winter feed for farmland birds (AB12)
• grow a low input harvested cereal (AB14)
• establishing two-year sown legume fallow (AB15)
• a supplement to control invasive plant species (SP4)
• a supplement for threatened species (SP9)
• protecting in-field trees on arable land (BE1)
• establishing and maintaining legume and herb-rich swards (GS4)
• creating and managing 4 to 6m buffer strips on cultivated land (SW1)
• having in-field grass strips (SW3)
• carrying out enhanced management of maize crops (SW5)
• establishing winter cover crops (SW6)
• reverting arable land to grassland with low fertiliser input (SW7)
• managing woodland edges on arable land (WD3)
• creating successional areas and scrub (WD8) or managing them (WD7)

We also pay for the following actions on land that is registered organic or ‘in conversion’:

• leaving stubbles overwinter (OP1)
• sowing wild bird seed mixture on land that is registered organic or ‘in conversion’ (OP2)
• supplementary feeding for farmland birds (OP3)
• establishing and managing a multi-species herbal ley (OP4)
• undersowing cereals (OP5)
• converting arable land (OR3) or horticultural land (OR4) from conventional management to organic management
• maintaining arable land (OT3) that is registered organic (OT3) or horticultural land (OT4) under organic management

We will improve these existing actions where possible as we evolve CS, by making them more outcome focused, less prescriptive and more flexible about how to achieve the intended outcomes. We will also look at specific rules about these actions where we know there are questions and concerns, such as where and how they can be applied.

We plan to make improved versions of the actions (where required) available in 2024 for agreements starting from 2025. We will publish these, along with payment rates, later in 2023. We will make some of these actions available through SFI which offers shorter agreement lengths and more flexibility.

We also already pay for actions to support the sustainable management of soils through the SFI arable and horticultural soils standard. These actions are:

• completing a soil assessment and producing a soil management plan
• testing soil organic matter
• adding organic matter
• having green cover on at least 70% of the land in the standard over winter (with the 70% including 20% multi-species cover crops at the intermediate level)

In addition to what is already available, we plan to pay for new actions in SFI on arable land covering:

• an adviser visit to assess and advise on integrated pest management and help to produce a plan
• an adviser visit to review and improve nutrient use efficiency
• establishing and maintaining in-field flower-rich strips, which will provide habitat for natural pest enemies
• establishing and maintaining grassy field corners and blocks
• establishing a companion crop for integrated pest management
• no use of insecticide

More detailed information on the actions we will be adding to SFI in 2023 is included later in this document. We are also exploring how we can pay for actions covering:

• tillage practices, including no till and direct drilling
• using precision farming approaches

There are also other actions likely to be relevant to those managing arable land. This includes those covered in the sections on waterbodies, boundaries, lowland peat, woodland, trees and agroforestry, wetlands, species recovery and management and heritage.

Permanent crops

Permanent crops are non-rotational crops that usually occupy the land for 5 years or more (other than permanent grassland) and provide repeated harvests.

There is a wide range of permanent crops grown in England, including:

• horticultural multi-annual crops grown on cultivated land, such as commercial orchards, bush fruits, hops and vines
• non-horticultural multi-annual crops, such as miscanthus
• nursery crops grown in the open air, on soil, in greenhouses, or under polytunnels for later transplantation, such as vine and root stock nurseries, fruit tree and berry nurseries, ornamental nurseries and commercial nurseries of forest trees
• short rotation coppice, which includes woody crops that rootstock or stools remain in the ground after harvesting with new shoots emerging in the following season

As well as being critical to sustainable food production and important for bioenergy, permanent crops have the potential to provide important habitats and food sources for wildlife. The land they are grown on can also be managed to improve soil health and water quality.

What we will pay for

We want to improve the health and functionality of the soil to deliver multiple benefits and outcomes, including:

• long-term climate resilience
• increased biodiversity
• sustainable food production
• improved water quality

We also want to support management of land used to grow permanent crops to:

• improve and increase the species above and below ground that arable land can support, including by maintaining habitat for farmland wildlife
• provide additional benefits for climate change mitigation and adaptation through soil health
• improve water quality and resources, and protect waterbodies
• support flood risk mitigation
• minimise the risks and impacts of pesticides through integrated pest management, to promote sustainable crop pest, weed and disease management, benefit soil health, enhance biodiversity, increase diversity of non-target plant and animal species, and improve water quality
• ensure effective nutrient management and planning, to help reduce production costs, maximise efficient use of nutrients, and deliver a range of environmental benefits including water and air quality

Under CS, we already pay for the following options which can be undertaken on some land used to grow permanent crops:

• establishing and maintaining nectar flower mix (AB1)
• flower rich margins and plots (AB8)
• winter bird mix (AB9)
• autumn sown bumblebird seed mix (AB16)
• providing supplementary winter feed for farmland birds (AB12)
• a supplement for threatened species (SP9)
• creating successional areas and scrub (WD8) or managing them (WD7)

We also pay for the following actions on land that is registered organic or ‘in conversion’:

• sowing wild bird seed mixture (OP2)
• supplementary feeding for farmland birds (OP3)
• converting land used to produce top fruit or permanent bush crops from conventional management to organic management (OR5)
• maintaining such land under organic management (OT5)

We will improve these existing actions where possible as we evolve CS, by making them more outcome focused, less prescriptive and more flexible about how to achieve the intended outcomes. We will also look at specific rules about these actions where we know there are questions and concerns, such as where and how they can be applied.

We plan to make improved versions of the actions (where required) available in 2024 for agreements starting from 2025. We will publish these, along with payment rates, later in 2023.

We also already pay for actions to support the sustainable management of soils on cultivated land used to grow multi-annual horticultural crops through the SFI arable and horticultural soils standard. These actions are:

• completing a soil assessment and producing a soil management plan
• testing soil organic matter
• adding organic matter
• having green cover on at least 70% of the land in the standard over winter (with the 70% including 20% multi-species cover crops at the intermediate level)

In addition to what is already available, we plan to pay for new actions in SFI on land used to grow permanent crops covering:

• an adviser visit to assess and advise on integrated pest management and help to produce a plan
• an adviser visit to review and improve nutrient use efficiency
• establishing and maintaining in-field flower-rich strips, which will provide habitat for natural pest enemies
• no use of insecticide

More detailed information on the actions we will be adding to SFI in 2023 is included later in this document .

We are also exploring how we can pay for actions covering:

• tillage practices, including no till and direct drilling
• using precision farming approaches

There are also other actions likely to be relevant to those managing permanent crops. This includes those covered in the sections on waterbodies, boundaries, lowland peat, woodland, trees and agroforestry, wetlands, species recovery and management and heritage.

Moorland and upland peat

Moorlands provide the largest reserve of semi-natural terrestrial habitat in England, including wildlife habitats of international importance like blanket bog and upland heathland. Other semi-natural moorland habitats include rough acid grasslands, rushy flushes, swamps, mires, as well as upland calcareous grassland. The extent and variety of vegetation within these areas can support many plants and animal species, including some of conservation concern such as curlew and hen harrier.

Peat has developed under many of these areas and forms a crucial store of carbon. Healthy blanket bog stores greater volumes of water, important for mitigating flood risk.

Healthy peatland also provides a sustainable supply of high-quality drinking water. The Office for National Statistics estimates the annual value of the water supply from UK peatlands at between £208 million and £888 million. Conversely, degraded peatland releases dissolved organic carbon, causing discolouration to water supplies which costs millions of pounds to remove.

Moorlands support a unique cultural heritage. This is evident in the regionally distinctive landscapes, historic features and cultural traditions of the uplands. They also provide vital open space for outdoor recreation, with visitors playing a vital role within the rural economies.

When in healthy and well-functioning condition, moorland vegetation and the peat soil underneath can provide a range of benefits, including:

• climate change mitigation, through reduced emissions and protected carbon store
• a rich and varied mosaic of wildlife habitats, of high conservation value
• flood risk mitigation, increased catchment wide drought resilience and increased resilience to fire
• high-quality drinking water
• enhanced public enjoyment
• preservation of heritage sites

What we will pay for

Under CS, we already pay for the following options on moorland and upland areas:

• enclosed rough grazing (UP1)
• managing rough grazing for birds (UP2)
• managing moorland (UP3)
• a supplement for managing moorland vegetation (UP4)
• a supplement for re-wetting moorland (UP5)
• a supplement for upland livestock exclusion (UP6)
• a supplement for grazing cattle (SP6)
• other supplements such as bracken (SP3, SB4, SB5), rush infestation (GS16) and invasive plant species (SP4) control that also support management and restoration of moorland and upland peat. Additionally, supplements are available for shepherding (SP5) and the administration of group managed agreements on common land (SP10)

We also already pay for actions to assess the condition of moorland through the SFI moorland standard. These actions are:

• identify and record the soil and vegetation types and condition, and presence of historic and archaeological features
• assess the public goods the moorland is already providing
• identify opportunities to maintain or enhance the public goods provided by the moorland

We plan to extend the current offer to pay for the following outcome-focused actions so that farmers and land managers can use their expertise and knowledge to manage the land in a way that achieves its potential:

• minimising bare ground for carbon storage, biodiversity, water quality and to protect historic features
• increasing or maintaining roughness of ground to slow the flow of water
• maintaining sphagnum moss for carbon capture and to slow the flow of water
• managing grassy vegetation so it has a varied sward and dwarf shrubs have a range of heights, including tall woody vegetation
• retaining and managing individual or scattered trees and scrub to allow for succession

In addition, we plan to pay for new actions covering:

• restoring degraded peatland
• maintaining restored peatland
• managing moorland to support particular species and water features

We are using learning from the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme in order to develop these new actions. The Environmenatal Land Mangement schemes will provide the main delivery mechanism for peatland restoration after 2024-2025 with the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme acting as an important precursor.

There are also other actions likely to be relevant to those managing moorland. This includes those covered in the sections on grasslands, boundaries, woodland and trees, species recovery and management, access and engagement and heritage.

Lowland peat

England’s healthy, functioning peatland ecosystems provide our biggest terrestrial carbon store. However, due to their drainage and degraded condition, lowland peat soil that is in agricultural use is responsible for 3% of all UK emissions.

England’s lowland peat provides habitats for wildlife of international significance, such as raised bog.

Peatlands are also living historic landscapes which hold vast arrays of archaeological and heritage features.

Similar to moorland and upland peatlands, lowland peatlands which are in healthy and well-functioning condition can provide a wide range of benefits, including:

• climate change mitigation, through reduced emissions and protected carbon store
• rich and varied habitats for rare and endangered wildlife and plants with unique biodiversity
• preservation of heritage sites

Agriculture on drained lowland peat soils, mainly in the east of England, includes areas of high cropping value for our most important horticultural crops. However, when drained to support agriculture such as arable crops or intensive grassland, peatlands become a significant source of carbon emissions, releasing stored carbon into the atmosphere.

The vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions from England’s peatlands comes from the lowlands. As well as releasing carbon, activities such as draining and ploughing result in peat soil wastage, meaning these vital peat soil assets for farming are gradually being lost over time.

Ditches are covered separately in the section on Waterbodies.

What we will pay for

We want to improve the quality and management of lowland peatlands to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase biodiversity, by providing support to manage lowland peat in a way that:

• slows emissions of carbon dioxide that is otherwise released when peat soils are broken down
• creates and maintains habitat for wildlife and plants that thrive in healthy, functioning lowland peat soils

Under CS, we already pay for the following options on lowland peatland:

• creating fen, where this takes place on lowland peat soils (WT9)
• managing reedbed (WT6), fen (WT8) or raised bog (WT10)
• raising water levels on cropped or arable land on peat soils (SW17) or on grassland on peat soils (SW18)

We plan to continue and expand our offer for restoring and maintaining lowland peat soils and habitat in our new schemes.

We will improve these existing actions where possible as we evolve CS, by making them more outcome focused, less prescriptive and more flexible about how to achieve the intended outcomes. We plan to make improved versions of the actions (where required) available in 2024 for agreements starting from 2025. We will publish these, along with payment rates, later in 2023.

Since early 2021 the Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force has been looking at ways to improve the condition of England’s farmed lowland peat, including long-term opportunities for paludiculture (wet agriculture).

We are using the work of the Task Force to inform improvements to our existing offers and the development of new actions and are exploring how we can pay for actions to support paludiculture using crops such as watercress, bilberry, and sphagnum.

Support for trialling commercial paludiculture will also be available separately through the Paludiculture Exploration Fund, a new £5 million fund to promote the use of peatlands for sustainable farming, launched in August 2022.

Some actions to improve the quality of lowland peatlands can usually only be done together with supporting capital items. Under CS, we already pay for capital items where appropriate, such as where natural hydrological function is not, or cannot be restored. For example to create ditches, dykes, rhines, sluices, scrapes and gutters, water penning structures, piped culverts in ditches, earth banks and soil bunds. We plan for this to continue in our new schemes and are exploring how we can expand what is available.

There are also other actions likely to be relevant to those managing lowland agricultural peat. This includes those covered in the sections on arable land, grasslands, waterbodies, boundaries, wetlands, species recovery and management (including management of non-native invasive species) and heritage.

Woodland, Trees and Agroforestry

Woodland and trees can provide huge benefits for people, nature, climate and the economy.

We will support land managers to establish new woodland systems and treescapes, expand existing ones, and manage them sustainably. This will:

• significantly contribute towards meeting England’s net zero and environmental targets
• improve the UK’s timber security and rural economy through providing increased productivity in the forestry sector
• support nature recovery by providing important habitat for many species, including red squirrels
• support habitat diversity through offering a range of opportunities for tree establishment including woodlands, agroforestry, in-field trees and trees in hedgerows
• increase the resilience of our trees and woodlands to climate change, including building resilience to increased risk from pests, diseases, wildfire and long-term changes to growing conditions
• improve air quality, water quality and flood alleviation
• help connect people to nature by providing public access, and educational and recreational opportunities
• protect heritage assets and landscape character

Well-designed and well-managed woodlands and treescapes can support the foundations of food production: healthy soil, cleaner water, and biodiverse ecosystems. Many trees grow well in less productive soils and can be used with food production in agroforestry systems. Trees and woodlands can also help businesses become more diverse and economically and ecologically resilient. They can provide new income streams from timber, carbon units, and through recreation opportunities.

Ancient woodlands, wood pastures, parkland and trees (including veteran trees) are key habitats which need to be protected due to both their biodiversity and cultural significance. Ancient and veteran trees may be located within or outside woodlands, with those on farmland sometimes needing protection from agricultural operations.

There is an ever-increasing number of pests and diseases impacting the health of our trees. Climate change is contributing to this, by leaving many of our tree species stressed and more vulnerable to disease. It also means that some pests and diseases are thriving, which could not previously survive. We therefore need to take action to minimise the spread of pests and diseases and increase the resilience of our woodlands.

Agroforestry (including silvoarable and silvopastoral systems) is the integration of trees into productive areas of a farm, while maintaining the farm’s main agricultural output. The practice is currently limited across England, and on-farm trees are generally planted in marginal, unproductive areas. Through agroforestry, the full gamut of benefits trees provide can support a farm’s productive areas, such as improving soil health, providing shade and shelter for livestock, and creating new habitats for birds and insects. Together, these can support the overall resilience of a farming business.

What we will pay for

This information describes what we already pay for and what additional actions we plan to pay for under our new schemes.

Woodland creation

We want to increase woodland creation across England in a way that:

• establishes new and expands existing areas of woodlands where native species, including red squirrels, woodland birds and pollinators can thrive
• reduces flood risk by slowing the flow of water
• protects the freshwater environment by providing shade
• establishes new and expands existing woodlands that are resilient to climate change
• improves air quality and water quality by creating woodlands that intercept pollutants and sediments before they reach watercourses
• provides societal benefits by bringing people closer to nature, allowing long term permissive access for recreation and contributing to the rural economy including through sustainable timber production

Woodland creation will continue to be funded through EWCO, which will transition to become part of the Environmental Land Management schemes as soon as possible to provide simplicity and a single service for farmers and other land managers. If you wish to undertake woodland creation now, please visit EWCO on GOV.UK. You will be able to automatically transition your agreement from a EWCO agreement to an Environmental Land Management scheme agreement without penalty.

We already pay for actions to create woodland under CS and EWCO:

• capital grants, required to create woodland, such as planting trees and allowing natural colonisation of trees. We will continue to do this in our new schemes, as well as offering the wider range of capital items to support woodland
• producing a woodland creation plan to ensure all proposals for new woodland consider any impacts on existing biodiversity, landscape character, water, soil and the historic environment, and that local stakeholders have been consulted
• maintenance payments to support the establishment of young trees

Woodland creation maintenance payments currently exist across multiple schemes including CS (WD1), EWCO and the Tree Health Pilot. We plan to bring these together into a single offer when EWCO transitions into the Environmental Land Management schemes.

We are exploring what improvements we can make to what is already available in response to feedback from farmers and land managers.

Woodland management

We want to support sustainable woodland management in a way that:

• supports land managers to manage a wide range of woodland habitats, including temperate rainforests, and supports the management and restoration of woodland priority habitats, including ancient woodlands
• provides environmental benefits including enhancing biodiversity and expanding the ranges of our threatened native species, and enhancing our woodlands resilience to climate change
• provides societal benefits, including access, recreation opportunities and protecting and enhancing the historic environment
• provides economic benefits, including increasing our national timber security and improving flood risk management

Under CS, we already pay for the following options:

• producing a woodland management plan (PA3)
• woodland improvement (WD2)
• improving access to woodlands (WS4)
• restoring plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites (WS2)
• deer control and management (WS1)
• squirrel control and management (WS3)
• veteran tree surgery (BE6)

We are looking at what improvements we can make to what is already available, including significant expansion of the deer and squirrel management offer (see Species Recovery and Management section). We also plan to pay for new actions to enhance and restore priority woodland habitats, enhance woodland resilience to climate change, wildfires and other stressors, managing woodlands for flood and drought mitigation, and managing historic features in woodlands.

Tree health

We want to minimise the damaging impacts of tree health issues by supporting:

• actions to reduce the spread of tree pests and diseases
• the re-establishment of more resilient trees and woodlands

Under CS, through the CS Woodland Tree Health grants, we already pay for actions to support the management of tree health related issues. The Tree Health Pilot, launched in 2021, is testing the expansion of this offer to cover additional actions, and pests and diseases, as well as supporting trees outside of woodland, and we will use this learning to inform future offers.

In-field trees

We want to support the protection of in-field trees in a way that:

• prevents damage to trees, both above and below ground, from agricultural or other activities
• provides tree and deadwood habitat for a number of species

Under CS, we already pay for actions to support the management of in-field trees (BE1 and BE2). We plan for this to continue in our new schemes.

Agroforestry

We want to encourage the creation and/or maintenance of agroforestry systems by supporting the planting and management of trees on farms to:

• sequester carbon
• support biodiversity and species abundance
• mitigate climate change impact
• improve air quality

We also want to support priority habitat agroforestry systems – traditional orchards, wood pasture and parkland. Parkland is an internationally important heritage landscape.

Under CS, we already pay for the following actions:

• creating traditional orchards (BE5) and managing them (BE4 and BE7)
• creating wood pasture in the lowlands (WD6) or the uplands (WD12)
• restoring lowland wood pasture and parkland (WD5) or managing it (WD4)
• restoring upland wood pasture and parkland (WD11) or managing it (WD10)

We will improve these existing actions where possible as we evolve CS by making them more outcome focused, less prescriptive and more flexible about how to achieve the intended outcomes.

We also already pay for actions under EWCO (which will transition to become part of the Environmental Land Management schemes) that can be used to establish shelterbelts. We are reviewing this offer to make it more flexible to support the establishment and maintenance of shelterbelts and windbreaks, allowing for a broader range of shelterbelt designs which are suited to farmers’ needs, including ammonia capture and flood risk management.

In addition to what we are already paying for, we plan to pay for the establishment and maintenance of silvoarable and silvopastoral agroforestry systems. This means integrating trees into arable fields or grazed grassland. Managing the land under the trees would be paid for through the actions covered in the sections on grassland and arable land.

Hedgerow trees

Hedgerow trees are covered in the Boundaries section.

Boundaries

Field boundaries are important elements of the countryside:

• as landscape and historic features
• for wildlife habitat
• for stock shelter

Boundaries across long, steep slopes may reduce soil erosion as they intercept and slow surface run-off water before it builds into damaging flow.

Hedgerows can link areas of woodland and other habitat so species can move from one habitat to another. They also provide fruit and berries as food for birds and other species and can harbour beneficial insects which predate crop pests to support an integrated pest management approach.

Drystone walls, stone-faced banks and earth banks are important habitats for lichens, mosses and ferns, as well as wildlife, and can be heritage features in their own right.

Ditches are covered separately in the section on waterbodies.

What we will pay for

This information describes what we already pay for and what additional actions we plan to pay for under our new schemes.

Hedgerows

We want to increase the length of hedgerows and optimise the benefits existing hedgerows offer to wildlife, water quality and carbon sequestration.

Under CS, we already pay for the management of hedgerows by rotational cutting and leaving some hedgerows uncut (BE3), restorative pruning of fruit trees (BE7), and capital grants to plant and restore hedgerows.

In addition to what is already available, we want to offer a wider range of actions to manage hedgerows. We plan to do this by paying for new actions covering:

• annual incremental cutting
• leaving hedgerows uncut for longer
• assessing and recording hedgerow condition
• maintaining existing hedgerow trees, or establishing new ones

It will be possible to do these new actions on earth or stone-faced banks, like Cornish or Devon hedges, if there is woody growth on top of the bank.

Drystone walls

We want to protect traditional drystone walls by supporting their ongoing maintenance, and their restoration where they have become derelict.

Under CS, we already offer capital grants to restore drystone walls (BN12).

In addition to what is already available, we plan to pay for a new action to maintain drystone walls in good condition to support the benefits listed above.

Stone-faced hedgebanks

We want to protect traditional stone-faced hedgebanks by supporting their ongoing maintenance, and their restoration where they have become derelict.

Under CS, we already offer capital grants to repair stone-faced hedgebanks (BN1) or restore them (BN2).

In addition to what is already available, we want to support the protection of traditional stone-faced hedgebanks. We plan to do this by paying for a new action to maintain stone-faced hedgebanks in good condition to support the benefits listed above.

Earth banks

We want to protect earth banks by supporting their ongoing maintenance, and their restoration where they have become derelict.

Under CS, we already offer capital grants to create earth banks (BN3) or restore them (BN4).

In addition to what is already available, we want to support the protection of earth banks. We plan to do this by paying for a new action to maintain earth banks in good condition to support the benefits listed above.

Waterbodies

Waterbodies include water stored below the ground (‘groundwater’), rivers, streams, ditches, lakes and ponds. They provide a wide range of benefits including:

• a vital source of fresh water for people, industry, farming and wildlife
• some of England’s most biodiverse habitats, including sensitive and globally rare habitats, like chalk-streams
• improving water storage
• storing and dissipating floodwaters

Many waterbodies flow out to estuaries and the wider marine environment where they impact the health of ecosystems beyond their immediate boundaries, including the productivity of commercial fisheries.

Groundwater is stored in aquifers below the surface of most of the land in England. It provides vital drinking water supplies, as well as supporting surface waterbodies and wetlands.

Rivers, streams and floodplains are natural, albeit in some cases altered, features within the landscape which are a product of the way in which rainwater is processed by the geology, soils and topography of a catchment area. Their main natural function is to convey water and sediment which is critical for creating habitats for plants and wildlife. They are also essential for the many different natural services that they provide to people, such as maintaining good water quality, and supporting recreational activities, such as angling and canoeing.

Ponds and lakes can be natural or man-made. Some ponds and lakes are ancient and have been formed by natural processes, such as glaciers and rivers. Others have been created by humans and form an important part of our historic landscape. They support a wide range of species, and range from small, seasonal ponds which dry out in the summer months, through to large lakes which provide a permanent habitat for plants, native fish, insects and waterbirds.

Ditches (also known as dykes and rhines in some areas) are open channels that usually run along the boundaries of fields. They are man-made features, unlike rivers and streams which were formed by natural processes. They are important for wildlife, often supporting rare wetland species which have been lost from the surrounding fields and form a characteristic part of some of our iconic landscapes, such as the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads and the Somerset Levels.

Waterbodies on or adjacent to farmed land are vulnerable to pollution caused by ‘runoff’ from agricultural practices including sediment, herbicides, pesticides, inorganic fertilisers and manure. The sustainable management of this land will help to improve water quality and increase resilience to floods and droughts. This can be achieved by using natural features and approaches to:

• slow ‘runoff’ through flow pathways following rainfall
• enable more water to filter into the ground so sediment and nutrients are retained on the land, rather than entering watercourses

What we will pay for

This information describes what we already pay for and what additional actions we plan to pay for under our new schemes. As in other areas, we will not pay farmers to comply with regulatory requirements, but to go beyond them.

Surface and groundwater

We want to increase biodiversity and water quality by supporting management of the land to:

• control excess silt and nutrients from entering surface and groundwater

• reduce the quantity of pesticides entering surface and groundwater
• slow down the flow of water through the landscape, contributing to drought and flood resilience
• enable the recharge of aquifers
• provide water storage within floodplains

Under CS, we already pay for the following actions:

• creating and managing 4 to 6m buffer strips on cultivated land (SW1) or intensive grassland (SW2)
• creating and managing in-field grass strips (SW3)
• creating and managing 12 to 24m watercourse buffer strips on cultivated land (SW4)
• creating and managing a riparian management strip to prevent livestock accessing the watercourse and to provide a buffer (SW11)
• flood mitigation on arable reversion to grassland (SW15) or on permanent grassland (SW16)
• managing intensive grassland adjacent to a watercourse (SW8)
• removing livestock from intensive grassland at particular times of year (SW9)
• removing livestock on grassland in Severely Disadvantaged Areas (SDAs) next to streams, rivers and lakes (SW10)
• applying very low nitrogen input to slow or reverse nutrient levels in groundwaters (SW13)
• a supplement to apply no fertiliser or manure (SW14)
• managing permanent grassland outside SDAs with very low inputs (GS2)
• managing permanent grassland in SDAs with very low inputs (GS5)
• buffering in-field ponds and ditches on improved grassland (WT1) or on arable land (WT2)

We will improve these existing actions where possible as we evolve CS, by making them more ambitious and outcome focused, less prescriptive and more flexible about how to achieve the intended outcomes.

In addition to what is already available, we plan to pay for new actions covering:

• creating and managing engineered three-dimensional (i.e.for example, including raised ridges, scrapes and mini-wetlands) buffer strips in order to buffer waterbodies more effectively than grass strips
• managing grassland for water quality, flood and drought resilience
• managing features (available to establish as capital items in CS, such as swales, bunds, silt traps and constructed wetlands to intercept and slow surface runoff
• enhancing floodwater storage.

Rivers, streams and floodplains

We want to support the management of rivers, streams and floodplains in a way that:

• enhances and restores their natural function
• increases habitat diversity and populations of native species (including by managing invasive non-native species)
• enhances water quality
• better manages and reduces flood and drought risk
• increases the resilience of our rivers and streams to the impacts of our changing climate

Under CS, we already pay for actions to manage rivers, such as making space for water to flow in a winding course across floodplains, flooding temporarily to restore river and wetland habitats (SW12).

We will improve these existing actions where possible as we evolve CS, by making them more ambitious and outcome focused, less prescriptive and more flexible about how to achieve the intended outcomes.

In addition to what is already available, we plan to pay for new actions covering:

• managing riparian and water edge habitats to provide varied vegetation, including grasses, wildflowers, scrub and trees
• managing enhanced river and floodplain habitat connectivity, allowing the development of a variety of naturally changing floodplain habitats
• enhancing floodplain floodwater storage

Ponds and lakes

We want to maintain or increase pond and lake biodiversity by supporting the creation, restoration or management of ponds and lakes to:

• increase the number of good quality water bodies in the landscape so that species including rare and threatened species can thrive
• improve or maintain water quality
• restore natural hydrological connectivity and water levels or manage them in a way that mimics a natural regime for the benefit of nature
• create, manage or restore gently sloping shorelines and transitions between water and terrestrial habitat that can support a range of species
• restore native species assemblages and control non-native animal and plant species
• maintain and restore historic water features

Under CS, we already pay for actions to manage ponds, such as managing ponds up to 100 square metres (WT4) or more than 100 square metres (WT5).

In addition to what is already available, we are aware that we do not currently offer support for the creation and management of lakes so we are exploring how we can pay for new actions covering:

• establishing more natural shorelines and edges
• managing water levels
• protecting and supporting natural populations of native fish species

Ditches

We want to increase biodiversity by supporting the management of ditches in a way that:

• provides suitable open water habitat for ditch plants and associated wildlife, such as dragonflies, fish and water voles
• provide suitable water quality and quantity (water levels) to support both the ditches and adjacent habitats, such as wet grasslands and wetlands

Under CS, we already pay for actions to buffer ditches (WT1 and WT2) and manage ditches (for example management of their vegetation) of high environmental value (WT3). We plan for this to continue in our new schemes.

Species recovery and management

Our new schemes will play a vital role in improving species abundance.

A range of actions are needed to do this, including:

• restoring and creating habitats, increasing their extent and connectivity
• more targeted action for our rarest species
• tackling pressures, including the management of species that present a threat to threatened native species or habitats such as invasive non-native species

What we will pay for

This information describes what we already pay for and what additional actions we plan to pay for under our new schemes.

In addition to the actions described below, there are other actions in other categories in this document to manage, restore and create specific habitats, including scrub, which can also support species recovery and management. These other actions are in the following categories:

• grassland
• arable land
• grassland
• waterbodies
• wetland habitats
• coastal habitats
• lowland heathland
• lowland peat
• moorland and upland peat
• woodland and trees, including wood pasture

We recognise that species recovery and species management benefit from a coordinated landscape-scale approach. We are therefore exploring how we support farmers and other land managers to collaborate with one another by reviewing the existing Facilitation Fund offer within CS as well as looking into other mechanisms to support land managers to collaborate.

Species recovery

We want to support a network of connected and diverse habitats. These are important for species movement and migration, to provide for feeding, resting and breeding, and to support different stages of lifecycle.

Under CS, we already pay for the following actions to support species protection and recovery:

• a supplement for threatened species, including Turtle Dove, Brown Hairstreak, Corn Bunting and Stone Curlew (SP9)
• a supplement to graze land using native breeds at risk (SP8)

There are also actions which can be done on arable and horticultural land, grassland and woodland, including sward variation, establishing and maintaining pollen and nectar sources, and increasing scrub.

We will improve these existing actions where possible as we evolve CS to give more flexibility. This includes expanding the threatened species supplement to cover a wider range of species and species assemblages (for example, groups of species that are characteristic to a specific site or habitat). We are also looking into how to support land managers to connect and expand habitats on their holdings.

We are exploring how we can pay for new actions such as supporting species reintroductions and conservation translocation (such as curlew) where these have clear benefits for nature recovery, ecosystem services and landscape transformation.

Some species have requirements that will need more specific and tailored management, including managing predatory species when those species are impacting threatened species recovery, and we are considering how these bespoke actions will be made available.

Species management

Non-native invasive species are a key threat to ecosystems. While there are already existing statutory obligations on landowners on such species, their management is vital to supporting some of the actions in our new schemes, such as habitat restoration and management. We want to support invasive species management to:

• help minimise the harm these species cause
• promote the recovery of threatened native species.

We also want to support management of other species, for example deer, where they present a threat to threatened native species or habitats.

Under CS, we already pay for the following actions to manage species:

• managing and controlling deer (WS1), grey squirrel (WS3) and rhododendron (SB6)
• controlling bracken using chemical means (SB4) or by mechanical means (SB5), and a supplement to control bracken (SP3)
• a supplement to control invasive plant species (SP4)

In addition to what is already available, we plan to pay for new actions covering:

• managing invasive non-native animals
• managing other invasive non-native plants beyond those whose management is already funded under existing CS actions (noting that we will not pay for land managers to manage any species that they have an obligation to manage, for example species included within the Weeds Act).

Wetland habitats

Wetland habitats include reedbeds, fen and mosaic of wetland habitat types including wet grasslands, scrub, rivers, ponds and lakes. Wetland can support rare plant communities and provide a valuable habitat for birds, insects and small mammals, including species such as Bittern, Water Vole and Swallowtail butterflies.

Peat has developed under many of these habitats and forms an important store of carbon. When wetlands are in a healthy state, they will continue to build up deeper peat deposits. The waterlogged soils in wetlands protect archaeological sites, particularly organic remains, from decomposition.

Wetlands may also help to maintain or improve water quality and water infiltration and benefit water resources and flood risk management. They may contribute to drought resilience and coastal adaptation. They have cultural significance and support traditional industries by producing reed and sedge for thatching.

Wetland habitats vary greatly in character, depending on their size, degree of wetness and dryness, soil type, water chemistry and quality, position in the landscape and historical management.

What we will pay for

We want to maintain and increase wetland biodiversity by supporting the management of wetland habitats to:

• provide open fen, reedbed and mosaic habitat for the rare and special plants, insects, birds and mammals that rely on wetlands to complete their lifecycles
• support the wider benefits that wetlands can provide, such as storing carbon and protecting archaeological sites

Under CS, we already pay for the following actions to support wetland habitats:

• creating reedbed (WT7) and managing it (WT6)
• creating fen (WT9) and managing it (WT8)
• a supplement for wetland cutting (WT11) and wetland grazing (WT12)

We plan for this to continue in our new schemes. We will improve these existing actions where possible as we evolve CS, by making them more outcome focused, less prescriptive and more flexible about how to achieve the intended outcomes.

Coastal habitats

Coastal habitats are located on open coasts or within estuaries. This influences the type of habitat, vegetation and species present.

Many vascular plant species of dune, saltmarsh, shingle and cliff habitats are highly adapted to maritime environments, tolerant of salinity, tidal inundation, exposure to sea spray, nutrient stress and drought.

Mosaics and transitions are common between coastal habitats and with other maritime, terrestrial and freshwater systems, such as intertidal mudflats, coastal grazing marsh, grassland or heathland, and to wider coastal landscapes including embanked coastal grazing marshes on estuary fringes.

Coastal habitats are part of our cultural and historic landscape, giving an important link between what happens on the land and the marine environment. They provide a range of benefits, including:

• protection against flooding
• carbon uptake and storage
• supporting habitats for internationally important wintering, breeding and passage birds, as well as other species such as lichens, fungi and invertebrates

It is critical to manage some coastal habitats by grazing, cutting or other management approaches to maintain certain stages of vegetation. Using livestock to graze these habitats can determine their structure and species composition, influencing their relative value for plants, invertebrates and wintering or breeding waterfowl.

The natural form of the coast is altered by erosion, as well as the transportation and deposition of sediment influenced by waves, tides, currents and wind. Some human activity has altered these coastal processes and functions, leading to the loss or deterioration of many important natural coastal habitats, and reducing the benefits that they provide.

Restoring coastal habitats aims to reverse the loss and damage to natural coastal processes and functions. At a local level this may create new mosaics of coastal habitats, restore transitions between coastal systems, and preserve or enhance the important habitats and their resilience to climate change.

What we will pay for

We want to maintain, restore and create coastal habitats to support a healthy functioning coastal system which will increase biodiversity and resilience to climate change by supporting management of coastal habitats in a way that:

• enables natural processes to function, for example enabling sediment movement
• maintains and supports typical specialist plant communities, rare/scarce plants, insects, birds and mammals that rely on our coastal habitats to thrive, including by managing non-native invasive species
• maintains and supports a wide range of habitat types, for example, dune grassland and dune wetland, through measures that provide bare ground, a mosaic of habitat types within the same coastal area and transitions to other habitats, such as lowland grassland
• maintains and improves feature condition, such as saltmarsh
• supports the wider benefits coastal habitats provide, such as flood protection, flood and coastal erosion risk management, carbon storage and regulating water quality

Under CS, we already pay for the following actions to support coastal habitats:

• creating coastal sand dunes and vegetated shingle (CT2) or managing them (CT1)
• managing coastal saltmarsh (CT3) and a supplement to manage coastal vegetation (CT6)
• creating inter-tidal and saline habitat on arable land (CT4), or on intensive grassland (CT7) or by non-intervention (CT5)

We will improve these existing actions where possible as we evolve CS, including to make it clearer that actions on coastal sand dune habitat are only focused on restoration and management and improve flexibility and expand eligibility of intertidal and saline habitat actions.

In addition to what we already pay for, we plan to pay for a new action on managing and restoring coastal cliff habitats.

Lowland heathland

Lowland heathland is heathland from sea-level up to around 300m, usually characterised by heather, gorse or grass.

The habitats found on lowland heathland can vary from dry acid dwarf shrub heath to wet dwarf shrub heath, with some heaths very rich in bryophytes and lichens. It is often found mixed with areas of acid grassland, with areas of bare ground, wetlands and mires, scrub and open water often present.

Heathlands provide a habitat for many species of birds, invertebrates and reptiles, including several rare species such as:

• birds such as nightjar, Dartford warbler and woodlark
• insects such as tiger beetle, silver-studded blue and small heath butterflies
• reptiles such as sand lizard, and amphibians such as natterjack toad

They also provide a range of other benefits, including:

• water and carbon storage
• soil health
• recreational enjoyment
• timber
• energy from use of residues as a biomass feedstock, (for example, bracken, gorse and wood)
• preservation of heritage sites

What we will pay for

We want to support management to allow for a diverse mosaic of vegetation, so all lowland heathland types can flourish. This includes a wide range of heather ages and bare ground, which benefits rarer invertebrates, birds, reptiles and plants.

Under CS, we already pay for the following actions on lowland heathland:

• managing lowland heathland (LH1)
• restoring forestry and woodland to lowland heathland (LH2)
• creating heathland from arable or improved grassland (LH3)

We plan for this to continue in our new schemes. We also plan to expand eligibility for LH3.

Annual health and welfare review

The annual health and welfare review is the first step on the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. It builds on the strong relationships that exist between farmers and vets, and is designed to:

• help reduce endemic diseases such as bovine viral disease (BVD) in beef and dairy cattle, porcine reproductive and respiratory disease (PRRS) in pigs and resistance to parasite treatments in sheep
• improve the health and welfare of the farmer’s livestock
• increase productivity
• improve biosecurity measures
• improve the use of medicines, including antibiotics and vaccinations
• signpost farmers to small and large grants to improve animal health and welfare

What we will pay for

We will pay for a farm visit from a vet to complete an annual review of the health and welfare of a farmer’s livestock. The review will include the vet testing the livestock for the relevant endemic disease or condition and advising on actions to improve their health and welfare. It can also include:

• a check of biosecurity measures and advice on improving them
• recommendations about the use of medicines, including antibiotics and vaccinations

Through the Animal Health and Welfare Grants programme farmers will also be able to access both small and large grants to co-fund investment in equipment, technology, and infrastructure projects. These will enable farmers to achieve higher levels of animal health and welfare, including issues identified as part of the review.

Access and engagement

We want to support access to our countryside, farmland or woodland, so the public can understand and become engaged with farming and the environment. It can also provide recreation opportunities and health benefits.

What we will pay for

Under CS, we already pay for the following actions:

• farmers hosting tours of their farms for school pupils and care farming visitors (ED1)
• providing access maps and signage, and preparing sites for access by providing toilet facilities, shelters, new footpaths, bridges and gates (AC1)
• accreditation for staff carrying out countryside educational access visits (AC2)
• a supplement to enable permissive access across woodland, where access is currently limited (WS4)

We plan for this to continue in our new schemes.

We also already pay for woodland creation and maintenance under the England Woodland Creation Offer there are higher payments if the woodland:

• is located close to settlements within the 40% most deprived areas in England, so it provides social and environmental benefits by being close to people
• will provide new long-term permissive access for recreation

Through our Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, we provide funding to support and improve Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) and National Parks. Under this programme we pay for projects that provide opportunities for people to discover, enjoy and understand the landscape and its cultural heritage, including permissive access.

We are also exploring how we can pay for actions covering:

• permissive access
• managing existing access pressures on land and water
• expanding education access beyond groups of school pupils and care farming visitors

Heritage

The English landscape contains a wealth of physical remains showing how the land was settled and managed in the past.

Heritage features include historic landscapes, archaeological sites and historic buildings and structures. They contribute to local distinctiveness and sense of place in their own right, or when managed alongside other conservation outcomes.

They are often of high ecological value or potential and, where managed in good condition, provide a wide range of benefits, including:

• habitats for wildlife
• slowing water flow
• opportunities for access, recreation and engagement

Historic buildings in the farmed landscape support a range of protected species habitats, providing connectivity, nesting and roosting sites. While many historic buildings are not suited to modern use, they are often valued features in the landscape and make a major contribution to local character. Bringing historic buildings back into farm use reduces the need to invest in new structures while conserving carbon embedded in the original structure.

There is a wide range of historic and archaeological features in England, and how we manage our environment impacts them. Some landscapes remain relatively undisturbed over time, for example, the uplands and other unenclosed land. Upland landscapes contain some of our best preserved and extensive remains, such as prehistoric settlements and industrial complexes.  Elsewhere land under pasture preserves the remains of former land use and settlement patterns, including ridge and furrow, historic parkland and medieval settlement remains.

Other earthwork monuments, such as prehistoric burial mounds or hillforts, are often visible as more isolated features in intensively managed agricultural landscapes. Important archaeological sites can also be preserved as below ground features and deposits in arable landscapes and often revealed through cropmark evidence.

Heritage features suffer damage where their management needs are overlooked and neglected, or where agricultural activity is too intensive. We want to support positive management of the historic landscape to promote a sustainable natural environment.

What we will pay for

This information describes what we plan to pay for under our new schemes.

Historic buildings in the farmed landscape

We want to support the annual active maintenance of non-residential historic buildings in the farmed landscape that were constructed:

• before 1940 for agricultural, industrial or other related purposes
• using traditional methods and materials such as timber, brick, stone, tile and slate

Maintaining these weatherproof non-residential historic buildings in the farmed landscape prevents the onset of serious structural problems that might otherwise need expensive restoration in the future. In instances where buildings have not been actively maintained, they can be at risk of loss or irreversible decay.

Under CS, we already pay for the following actions:

• maintaining weatherproof traditional farm or forestry buildings (HS1)
• maintaining weatherproof traditional farm or forestry buildings in remote areas (HS8)

We also pay for the following capital items:

• historic and archaeological feature protection (HE1)
• historic building restoration (HE2)

We plan for this to continue in our new schemes.

Historic and archaeological features on farmed land

We want to support management that conserves and enhances historic and archaeological features, preventing damage from cultivation, supporting appropriate stocking and addressing inappropriate vegetation such as scrub encroachment.

Under CS, we already pay for the following actions:

• taking historic and archaeological features out of cultivation (HS2)
• using reduced-depth, non-inversion cultivation on historic and archaeological features (HS3)
• controlling scrub on historic and archaeological features (HS4)
• managing historic and archaeological features on grassland (HS5)
• maintaining designed or engineered waterbodies (HS6)
• managing historic water meadows through traditional irrigation (HS7)
• restricting crop establishment depth to protect archaeology under an arable rotation (HS9)
• and actions mentioned in other sections that have benefits for some historic and archaeological features such as raising water levels

We plan for this to continue in our new schemes. We also plan to offer a new action to manage historic features under permanent woodland cover.

Drystone walls, and historic boundaries are important aspects of our historic environment and protected as part of the Boundaries section above.

New SFI standards for 2023

This information has been replaced by the SFI Handbook for the SFI 2023 offer.

As SFI expands each year, we’ll be introducing more standards and actions incrementally, with the full set in place by the start of 2025. This means that each year there will be more that farmers can choose to do, so they can increase their activity and ambition over time, and they will get paid more as a result.

As we add more SFI actions and standards, it will be possible for farmers who already have a 3-year SFI standards agreement to:

• add more actions/standards
• increase levels within standards already in the SFI standards agreement
• add more land

Actions and standards in the 2023 SFI offer

Eligible farmers can already apply for the three SFI standards we launched in June 2022. Those are:

• the arable and horticultural soils standard (introductory and intermediate levels)
• the improved grassland soils standard (introductory and intermediate levels)
• the moorland standard (introductory level)

In addition to these, we will be introducing six new SFI standards in 2023, which include:

• the hedgerows standard
• the integrated pest management standard
• the nutrient management standard
• the arable and horticultural land standard
• the improved grassland standard
• the low input grassland standard

More details about the new SFI 2023 standards and actions are given below.

How the SFI 2023 offer will work

We have designed the six new SFI 2023 standards to be more flexible, so that farmers can choose the combination of actions that works for their farm. Some of the actions are rotational so that farmers can incorporate them into their farm system and annual rotation.

We need farmers to undertake the right combinations of actions, in the right places, and in a locally-joined up way, to deliver the intended outcomes for the environment and climate, alongside food production. We will keep evolving SFI to encourage and enable farmers to do this in a way that makes the scheme attractive and workable for them.

We recognise that something may happen which means farmers are unable to complete a required action. This may be for reasons within or outside their control. In this case, farmers can tell us about this change of circumstances, and we’ll try to be as flexible as possible.

We published guidance about SFI last year on GOV.UK. We will be updating that guidance to include the SFI 2023 offer in due course.

Summary of SFI 2023 standards

SFI 2023 standard	Action	Payment rate	Main positive environmental impacts	New action / variation of CS option
Hedgerows	Assess and record hedgerow condition	£3 per 100 metres  – one side	Not applicable	New
Hedgerows	Manage hedgerows so there’s a range of different heights and widths	£10 per 100 metres – one side	Biodiversity, carbon, climate adaptation	BE3 variation
Hedegrows	Maintain existing hedgerow trees, or establish new ones, so there’s an average of at least 1 hedgerow tree per 100m	£10 per 100 metres - both sides	Biodiversity, air quality, climate adaptation	New
Integrated pest management	Complete an integrated pest management (IPM) assessment and produce an IPM plan	£989 per year	Not applicable	New
Integrated pest management	Establish and maintain flower-rich grass margins, blocks, or in-field strips	£673 per hectare	Biodiversity, carbon, water quality, soil health, climate adaptation	AB8 variation
Integrated pest management	Establish a companion crop	£55 per hectare	Climate adaptation, biodiversity, water quality, soil health	New
Integrated pest management	No use of insecticide	£45 per hectare	Biodiversity	New
Nutrient management	Complete a nutrient management (NM) assessment and produce an NM review report	£589 per year	Not applicable	New
Nutrient management	Establish and maintain legumes	£102 per hectare	Biodiversity, carbon, soil health, water quality, climate adaptation, air quality	GS4 variation
Nutrient management	Establish and maintain legume fallow	£593 per hectare	Biodiversity, carbon, water quality	AB15 variation
Arable and horticultural land	Establish and maintain blocks or strips of pollen and nectar flower mix	£614 per hectare	Biodiversity, carbon, water quality, air quality, soil health, climate adaptation	AB1 variation
Arable and horticultural land	Establish and maintain blocks or strips of winter bird food	£732 per hectare	Biodiversity, carbon, water quality, air quality, climate adaptation	AB9 variation
Arable and horticultural land	Establish and maintain grassy field corners and blocks	£590 per hectare	Biodiversity, carbon, water quality, air quality	New
Arable and horticultural land	Establish and maintain a 4m-12m buffer strip on arable and horticultural land	£451 per hectare	Biodiversity, carbon, water quality, air quality, soil health, climate adaptation	SW1 variation
Improved grassland	Take grassland field corners and blocks out of management	£333 per hectare	Biodiversity, carbon, water quality, air quality	GS1 variation
Improved grassland	Maintain improved grassland to provide winter bird food	£474 per hectare	Biodiversity, carbon	GS3 variation
Improved grassland	Establish and maintain a 4m-12m buffer strip on grassland	£235 per hectare	Biodiversity, carbon, water quality, air quality, soil health, climate adaptation	SW2 variation
Low input grassland	Manage grassland with very low nutrient inputs (outside SDAs)	£151 per hectare (indicative)	Biodiversity, carbon, water quality, air quality, soil health, climate adaptation	GS2 variation
Low input grassland	Manage grassland with very low nutrient inputs (SDAs)	£98 per hectare (indicative)	Biodiversity, carbon, water quality, air quality, soil health, climate adaptation	GS5 variation

Detailed description of additional standards for 2023

For each of the actions in these new standards, you can find a more detailed description below of the action’s aim, what to do and when to do it.

It’s up to you precisely how to complete each action, so long as you do it in a way that can be reasonably expected to achieve the intended aim of each action. We will publish optional ‘How to’ guides about how you could complete the actions which you may find it helpful to read.

Hedgerows standard

This information has been replaced by the SFI Handbook for the SFI 2023 offer.

This section gives a more detailed description of the actions in the hedgerows standard summarised above.

Eligible hedgerows

We’ve expanded eligibility of hedgerows for the SFI hedgerows standard compared with the CS hedgerows management option (BE3).

This means farmers will be able to enter hedgerows which are less than 10 metres (m) wide (instead of less than 5m wide in CS). Earth or stone-faced banks with woody growth will also be eligible, for example, Cornish or Devon hedges.

Action: Assess and record hedgerow condition

The action’s aim

You must achieve this action’s aim, which is that you’ve both:

• assessed the condition of all the hedgerows entered into this action
• produced a written hedgerow condition assessment record for those hedgerows

This will help you to:

• understand the condition of these hedgerows
• plan how they can be managed to improve their condition.

What to do

You must assess the condition of all the hedgerows entered into this action and produce a written hedgerow condition assessment record.

If you’ve already assessed these hedgerows and produced a written hedgerow condition assessment record in the last 5 years, you can use it to meet this action.

When to do it

You must assess the condition of the hedgerows and complete a written hedgerow condition assessment record within the first 12 months of your SFI standards agreement.

Each subsequent year of your agreement, you must:

• review the condition of the hedgerows
• update the written hedgerow condition assessment record

Action: Manage hedgerows

The action’s aim

You must achieve this action’s aim. The aim is that the hedgerows entered into this action are managed so there’s a range of different heights and widths.

This will help to provide habitat for wildlife, as well as pollen, nectar and berries for birds and insects.

What to do

What you must do to manage the hedgerows entered into this action depends on whether they’re:

• fully established, which will usually be the case around 5 years after they’re planted
• newly planted, or not fully established

You must manage fully established hedgerows by doing one of the following:

• cut each hedgerow incrementally
• on a rotation, cut each hedgerow no more than once every 3 years, cutting no more than one third of hedges each year
• on a rotation, cut each hedgerow no more than once every 2 years, cutting no more than half the hedges each year
• leave them uncut and manage them in a coppicing or laying rotation

If the hedgerows are newly planted, or not fully established, you must lightly trim them incrementally in the autumn and winter each year until they’re fully established.

When to do it

If you’re cutting fully established hedgerows incrementally, you must do this in the autumn and winter. This must be done each year of your 3-year SFI standards agreement.

If you’re cutting fully established hedgerows on a rotation, you must cut each hedgerow no more than either:

• once every 3 years in the autumn and winter, cutting no more than one third of hedges each year
• once every 2 years in late winter, cutting no more than half of the hedges each year

If you’re leaving fully established hedgerows uncut, and managing them in a coppicing or laying rotation, you must do this for the duration of your SFI standards agreement.

Newly planted hedgerows, or hedgerows which are not fully established, must be lightly trimmed incrementally in the autumn and winter. You must do this until they’re fully established.

Capital grants for hedgerow management: Hedgerows entered into this action will be eligible for the following CS Capital Grants:

• BN5: Hedgerow laying
• BN6: Hedgerow coppicing
• BN7: Hedgerow gapping up

Action: Maintain existing hedgerow trees, or establish new ones

The action’s aim

You must achieve this action’s aim. The aim is that there’s an average of least 1 hedgerow tree per 100m length of hedgerows entered into this action.

This will help to provide:

• habitat for wildlife
• carbon storage benefits

What to do

You must make sure there’s an average of at least 1 hedgerow tree per 100m length of hedgerows entered into this action. This should be averaged over the entire length of hedgerows you’ve entered into this action, so there may be some 100m lengths with no trees and others with more than one tree, provided overall there is an average of 1 tree per 100m.

You can do this by:

• maintaining existing trees growing within the hedgerow
• establishing new hedgerow trees

To establish a new hedgerow tree, you must either:

• select an existing sapling in the hedgerow with a single straight stem
• plant a new sapling

You must identify each newly established hedgerow tree by tagging it, so it can be avoided when cutting the hedgerow.

You can include dead and dying trees when counting how many hedgerow trees are in a given length. This decaying wood can provide a habitat for invertebrates, nesting birds and bats. This does not include newly planted tree saplings that die before they become established.

You must not cut or damage the hedgerow trees that are being maintained or established under this action.

When to do it

By the end of your SFI standards agreement, you must have maintained existing hedgerow trees, or established new ones, as explained above.

Integrated pest management standard

This information has been replaced by the SFI Handbook for the SFI 2023 offer.

This section gives a more detailed description of the actions in the integrated pest management standard summarised above.

We intend that the following land will be eligible for these actions:

• arable land, including temporary grassland (excluding the ‘no use of insecticide’ action) and annual horticultural crops
• multi-annual/perennial horticultural crops (permanent crops)
• improved permanent grassland (excluding the ‘no use of insecticide’ action)
• low input grassland (excluding the ‘no use of insecticide’ action)
• arable and horticultural land that’s registered as ‘fully organic’ or ‘in conversion’ with a Defra-licensed organic control body

Action: Complete an integrated pest management (IPM) assessment and produce an IPM plan

The action’s aim

You must achieve this action’s aim. The aim is that a member of the BASIS Professional Register who’s qualified with the relevant BASIS Certificate in Crop Protection for the crops you’re growing (a BASIS qualified adviser) has visited your farm to:

• complete an integrated pest management (IPM) assessment of the land entered into this action
• help you produce a written IPM plan for that land

This will help you to plan how to adopt a range of sustainable crop protection methods.

What to do

You must arrange for a BASIS qualified adviser to visit your farm to complete an IPM assessment of all the land parcels entered into this action.

For the IPM assessment, you must make sure that the BASIS qualified adviser:

• assesses your current approach to crop pest management for the land
• identifies and discusses opportunities for using IPM on that land

You must also make sure that the BASIS qualified adviser helps you to produce a written IPM plan covering all of the land parcels entered into this action.

If you’re a BASIS qualified adviser, you can complete the IPM assessment and produce the written IPM plan yourself.

If you already have a written IPM plan, you can use it to meet this action if it was written within the last 12 months and it meets all the requirements above.

When to do it

In the first 12 months of your 3-year SFI standards agreement, you must make sure that a BASIS qualified adviser:

• completes the IPM assessment
• helps you produce the written IPM plan

In each subsequent year of your agreement, you must make sure that a BASIS qualified adviser reviews your written IPM plan updating it with any relevant new information. If you’re a BASIS qualified adviser, you can review and update the written IPM plan yourself.

Action: Establish and maintain flower-rich grass margins, blocks, or in-field strips

The action’s aim

You must achieve this action’s aim. The aim is that flower-rich grass margins, blocks or in-field strips are established and maintained on land entered into this action so there are flowering plants during the summer months into early autumn.

This will help to:

• provide habitat and foraging sites for invertebrates, including natural crop predators, wild pollinators such as bumblebees, solitary bees, butterflies and hoverflies, and farmland birds
• encourage natural crop predators as part of an IPM approach if located within proximity of cropped areas.

What to do

You must establish the flower-rich grass margins, blocks or in-field strips by sowing a seed mix which contains at least:

• 4 grass species, which must not include ryegrass, with the grass component not exceeding 90% of the total seed mix by weight
• 10 wildflower species, with no individual flower species exceeding 25% of the total wildflower species component by weight

Once established, which will usually be from the second spring after sowing, you must maintain the flower-rich margins, blocks or in-field strips by managing them in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve the action’s aim.

You must not do the following on the flower-rich margins, blocks or in-field strips once they’re established:

• cut or graze them with livestock in a way that means the action’s aim cannot be achieved
• apply any fertilisers and manures
• use pesticides, except for herbicides to weed wipe or spot treat for the control of injurious weeds, invasive non-native species, nettles or bracken

When to do it

You must establish the flower-rich grass margins, blocks or in-field strips during the first 12 months of your SFI standards agreement. In some cases, establishment might involve a preparatory year to remove weeds before the flower-rich seed mix is sown.

You must then maintain the flower-rich margins, blocks or in-field strips on the same area of land in each subsequent year of your 3-year SFI standards agreement.

Action: Establish a companion crop

The action’s aim

You must achieve this action’s aim. The aim is that a companion crop is established so it’s growing with an arable or horticultural crop on land entered into this action.

This will help to:

• support an IPM approach by acting as a trap crop for pests or by supressing weeds
• provide a habitat for birds and invertebrates, including pollinators and natural crop pest predators
• manage nutrient efficiency

What to do

You must establish the companion crop so it’s growing with the main arable or horticultural crop.

You can do this on a single area of land for the duration of your 3-year SFI standards agreement. Alternatively, you can move the area around each year.

When to do it

You must do this action each year of your 3-year SFI standards agreement.

Action: No use of insecticide

The action’s aim

You must meet the aim of this action.  The aim is that no plant protection products containing insecticide are used on land entered into this action.

This will help to:

• support an IPM approach by managing crop pests in a more sustainable way that limits the impact of insecticides
• improve water and air quality and increase biodiversity

What to do

You must not apply any plant protection products containing insecticide on the land you enter into this action.

You can do this on a single area of land for the duration of your 3-year SFI standards agreement. Alternatively, you can move the area around each year.

You can apply other pesticides such as herbicides, fungicides or plant growth regulators, but not insecticides.

You can use the land you enter into this action for other SFI actions if the actions are compatible. This action’s requirements on not using insecticide would override any flexibility given by any other action.

When to do it

You must not apply any insecticide on the land you enter into this action for the duration of your 3-year SFI standards agreement.

Nutrient management standard

This information has been replaced by the SFI Handbook for the SFI 2023 offer.

This section gives a more detailed description of the actions in the nutrient management standard summarised above.

We intend that the following land will be eligible for these actions:

• arable land, including temporary grassland and annual horticultural crops (excluding the ‘establish and maintain legumes’ action)
• multi-annual/perennial horticultural crops (permanent crops)
• improved permanent grassland (excluding the ‘establish and maintain a legume fallow’ action)
• arable and horticultural land that’s registered as ‘fully organic’ or ‘in conversion’ with a Defra-licensed organic control body

Action: Complete a nutrient management (NM) assessment and produce an NM review report

The action’s aim

You must achieve this action’s aim. The aim is that a member of the BASIS Professional Register who’s qualified under the Fertiliser Advisers Certification and Training Scheme (a FACTS qualified adviser) has visited your farm to:

• complete a nutrient management (NM) assessment of the land entered into this action
• help you produce a written NM review report for that land

This will help you to plan how to manage your nutrient usage.

What to do

You must arrange for a FACTS qualified adviser to visit your farm to complete an NM assessment of all the land parcels entered into this action.

For the NM assessment, you must make sure that the FACTS qualified adviser:

• assesses your current nutrient use and needs on the land
• identifies and discusses opportunities to increase efficiency of your nutrient usage, and maximise the use of natural sources of crop nutrients on that land

You must also make sure that the FACTS qualified adviser helps you to produce a written NM review report covering all of the land parcels entered into this action.

If you’re a FACTS qualified adviser, you can complete the NM assessment and produce the written NM review report yourself.

If you already have a written NM review report which was written within the last 12 months, you can use it to meet this action if it meets all the requirements above.

When to do it

In the first 12 months of your 3-year SFI standards agreement, you must make sure that a FACTS qualified adviser:

• completes the NM assessment
• helps you produce the written NM review report

In each subsequent year of your agreement, you must make sure that a FACTS qualified adviser reviews your written NM review report, updating it with any relevant new information. If you’re a FACTS qualified adviser, you can review and update the written NM review report yourself.

Action: Establish and maintain a legume fallow (arable land)

The action’s aim

You must achieve this action’s aim. The aim is that a legume fallow is established and maintained on land entered into this action so there are areas of flowering plants from late spring and during the summer months.

This will help with nutrient management.  It will also help to:

• provide food for farmland wildlife, such as pollen and nectar for pollinators and farmland birds
• support an IPM approach by reducing grass weeds and, if located within proximity of cropped areas, encourage natural crop predators

What to do

You must establish a legume fallow by sowing a seed mix which contains at least 6 flowering species. The seed mix can contain legumes such as:

• alsike clover
• bird’s foot trefoil
• black medick
• common vetch
• lucerne

The seed mix can also include:

• non-legume flower species
• grasses, such as cocksfoot or timothy, which can help to control blackgrass

You must avoid growing deep rooted legumes, such as lucerne, on land that contains historic or archaeological features as identified in your SFI Historic Environment Farm Environmental Record (HEFER).

Once established, which will usually be from the second spring after sowing, you must maintain the legume fallow by managing it in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve the action’s aim.

You must not do the following on the area of legume fallow once it’s established:

• graze it with livestock
• cut it, except to prevent blackgrass from setting seed
• apply any fertilisers or manures
• use pesticides, except for herbicides to weed wipe or spot treat for the control of injurious weeds, invasive non-native species, nettles or bracken

When to do it

You must establish the legume fallow during the first 12 months of your SFI standards agreement.

You must then maintain the area of legume fallow each subsequent year of your 3-year SFI standards agreement so there are flowering plants from late spring and during the summer months.

Action: Establish and maintain legumes (improved grassland)

The action’s aim

You must achieve this action’s aim. The aim is that legumes are established and maintained on land entered into this action, so they are growing from spring until early autumn.

This will help to:

• manage nutrient efficiency
• protect the soil surface
• provide root growth that maintains soil structure, supports soil biology, and minimise nutrient leaching, soil erosion and runoff
• support an IPM approach if located within proximity of cropped areas

What to do

You must establish the legumes, so they’re growing from spring until early autumn.

You can use one or more type of legume, such as:

• red clover
• alsike clover
• sainfoin
• lucerne
• white clover
• bird’s foot trefoil

You must avoid growing deep rooted legumes, such as sainfoin and lucerne, on land that contains historic or archaeological features as identified in your SFI Historic Environment Farm Environmental Record (HEFER).

You can establish the legumes by:

• adding them to an existing grass sward
• sowing a mix of grass and legume(s)

Once established, you must maintain the legumes by managing them in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve the action’s aim.

You can maintain an existing area of legumes to meet this action.

When to do it

You must establish the legumes during the first 12 months of your SFI standards agreement.

Once established, you must maintain the area of legumes each subsequent year of your 3-year SFI standards agreement so they’re growing from spring through to early autumn.

Arable and horticultural land standard

This information has been replaced by the SFI Handbook for the SFI 2023 offer.

This section gives a more detailed description of the actions in the arable and horticultural land standard summarised above.

We intend that the following land will be eligible for these actions:

• Arable land, including temporary grass and annual horticultural crops
• Multi-annual/perennial horticultural crops (permanent crops)
• Arable and horticultural land that’s registered as ‘fully organic’ or ‘in conversion’ with a Defra-licensed organic control body

Action: Establish and maintain blocks or strips of pollen and nectar flower mix

The action’s aim

You must achieve this action’s aim. The aim is that blocks or strips of pollen and nectar flower mix are established and maintained on land entered into this action so there are areas of flowering plants from late spring and during the summer months.

This will help to:

• provide food for beneficial pollinators such as bumble bees, solitary bees, butterflies and hoverflies
• encourage natural crop predators as part of an integrated pest management (IPM) approach if located within proximity of cropped areas

What to do

You must establish the blocks or strips of pollen and nectar flower mix by sowing a grass-free seed mix which contains at least 6 flower species. A single species must not exceed 50% of the total seed mix by weight.

As a minimum, the grass-free seed mix must include at least 2 of the following:

• Common knapweed
• Musk mallow
• Oxeye daisy
• Wild carrot
• Yarrow

Once established, you must maintain the blocks or strips of pollen and nectar mix by managing them in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve the action’s aim.

You must not do the following on the blocks or strips of pollen or nectar mix once they’re established:

• cut or graze them with livestock in a way that means the action’s aim cannot be achieved
• apply any fertilisers or manures
• use pesticides, except for herbicides to weed wipe or spot treat for the control of injurious weeds, invasive non-native species, nettles or bracken

When to do it

You must establish the blocks or strips of pollen and nectar flower mix during the first 12 months of your 3-year SFI standards agreement.

You must then maintain the blocks or strips of pollen and nectar flower mix on the same area of land each subsequent year of your agreement.

Action: Establish and maintain blocks or strips of winter bird food

The action’s aim

You must achieve this action’s aim. The aim is that winter bird food blocks or strips that are at least 6m wide are established and maintained on land entered into this action, so they provide a supply of small seeds for farmland birds from late autumn until late winter.

This will help to:

• provide food resources for farmland birds, especially in autumn and winter
• encourage flowering plants in the summer, which will benefit insects including bumblebees, solitary bees, butterflies and hoverflies
• support an IPM approach if located within proximity of cropped areas

What to do

You must establish the winter bird food blocks or strips that are at least 6m wide by sowing a mix of at least 6 crops that will provide an extended supply of small seeds for farmland birds.

The mix you sow must not include any of the following crops:

• artichokes
• reed canary grass
• giant and intermediate sorghum
• maize
• miscanthus
• sweet clover
• tic beans

If you sow an annual mix, it can include a range of cereals, brassicas or other small-seeded crops. If you sow a 2-year mix, it can also include biennial crops such as kale, stubble turnip or teasel.

Once established, you must maintain the winter bird food blocks or strips by managing them in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve the action’s aim. To do this, you may need to re-sow the blocks or strips, as necessary, so they continue to provide an extended supply of small seeds for farmland birds from late autumn until late winter.

You can do this on a single area of land for the duration of your 3-year SFI standards agreement. Alternatively, you can move the area around.

When to do it

In the first 12 months of your SFI standards agreement, you must establish the winter bird food blocks or strips by sowing the mix in a way that can be reasonably expected to achieve this action’s aim.

You must then maintain the area of winter bird food blocks or strips each subsequent year of your 3-year SFI standards agreement.

Action: Establish and maintain grassy field corners and blocks

The action’s aim

You must achieve this action’s aim. The aim is that grassy field corners or blocks are established and maintained on land entered into this action to allow tussocky grass to develop.

This will help to:

• provide year-round habitat for a range of wildlife
• support an IPM approach if located within proximity of cropped areas.

What to do

You must establish the grassy field corners or blocks by sowing or natural regeneration. During the first 12 months after sowing them, or allowing them to naturally regenerate, you can regularly cut or graze them to:

• control annual weeds
• encourage new grass shoots to develop

Once the grassy field corners or blocks are established, which will usually be around 12 months after they’re sown or allowed to naturally regenerate, you must manage them in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve the action’s aim. This means there must be an intact grass sward throughout the year, without tracks, compacted areas or poaching.

You must not do the following on the grassy field corners or blocks once they’re established:

• graze them with livestock
• cut them, except for localised cutting to control injurious weeds or invasive non-natives, soft and hard rush, nettles or bracken
• use them for regular vehicular access, turning or storage
• carry out activities that may disturb breeding birds or damage nests
• apply any fertilisers, manures or lime
• use pesticides, except for herbicides to spot-treat or weed-wipe for the control of injurious weeds or invasive non-natives, soft and hard rush, nettles or bracken

You can manage existing grassy field corners or blocks in arable or horticultural land parcels to meet this action.

When to do it

You must establish the grassy field corners or blocks during the first 12 months of your SFI standards agreement.

You must then maintain the area of grassy field corner or blocks each subsequent year of your 3-year SFI standards agreement.

Action: Establish and maintain a 4m to 12m buffer strip on arable and horticultural land

The action’s aim

You must achieve this action’s aim. The aim is that there is a grass strip at least 4m to 12m wide, located on the edge of arable and horticultural land to buffer an existing landscape feature.

This will help to:

• protect existing landscape features and provide habitat for wildlife
• prevent pollutants, such as sediment and nutrients, from being carried in surface water runoff, if located next to a watercourse

What to do

You must establish and maintain a grass strip that’s at least 4m to 12m wide on the edge of arable and horticultural land to buffer an existing landscape feature, such as:

• hedgerows
• stone walls
• woodland
• ditches, rivers and streams
• some heritage features

You can also locate the grass buffer strip next to:

• trackways that channel run-off water directly into a watercourse
• fence lines that form links between areas of wildlife habitat

The buffer strip must be in addition to the 2-metre cross compliance green cover requirement under GAEC 7a. It can be more than 12m wide, but you’ll only be paid for the 12m width.

Once established, you must maintain grass buffer strip by managing it in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve the action’s aim. This means there must be an intact grass sward throughout the year, without tracks, compacted areas or poaching.

If the grass buffer strip is located next to a watercourse, you must cut part of the strip’s width along its entire length next to the edge of the cropped area to provide some shorter vegetation. This is to provide a range of habitat types. You must only cut the grass buffer strip during the late summer, so the activity does not disturb breeding birds or damage nests.

You must not do any of the following on the grass buffer strip once it’s established:

• use it for regular vehicular access, turning or storage
• apply any fertilisers and manures
• use pesticides, except for herbicides to weed wipe or spot treat for the control of injurious weeds, invasive non-native species, nettles or bracken

When to do it

You must establish the grass buffer strip during the first 12 months of your SFI standards agreement.

Once established, you must maintain the grass buffer strip for the remainder of your 3-year SFI standards agreement.

Improved grassland standard

This information has been replaced by the SFI Handbook for the SFI 2023 offer.

This section gives a more detailed description of the actions in the improved grassland standard summarised above.

We intend that the following land will be eligible for these actions:

• temporary grassland
• improved permanent grassland

Action: Take grassland field corners and blocks out of management

The action’s aim

You must achieve this action’s aim. The aim is that areas of grassland are left unmanaged, so each area is uncut or un-grazed to allow tussocky grass to develop.

This will help to:

• provide year-round habitat for a range of wildlife by allowing tussocky grass to develop.
• support an IPM approach if located within proximity of cropped areas.

What to do

You must leave areas of grassland unmanaged, so each area entered into this action is left uncut or un-grazed. Field corners and other areas can be used for this action.

You must not do the following on the unmanaged areas of grassland:

• cut or graze them with livestock
• carry out activities that may disturb breeding birds or damage nests
• apply any fertilisers, manures or lime
• use pesticides, except for herbicides to spot-treat or weed-wipe for the control of injurious weeds or invasive non-natives, soft and hard rush, nettles or bracken

When to do it

You must leave the areas of grassland unmanaged for the duration of your 3-year SFI standards agreement.

Action: Establish and maintain a 4m to 12m buffer strip on grassland

The action’s aim

You must achieve this action’s aim. The aim is that there is a grass strip which is at least 4m to 12m wide, located on the edge of improved grassland to buffer an existing landscape feature.

This will help to:

• protect existing landscape features

• provide habitat for wildlife

• prevent pollutants, such as sediment and nutrients, from being carried in surface water runoff, if located next to a watercourse

What to do

You must establish and maintain a grass strip that’s at least 4m to 12m wide on the edge of improved grassland to buffer an existing landscape feature, such as:

• hedgerows
• stone walls
• woodland
• ditches, rivers and streams
• some heritage features

You can also locate the grass buffer strip next to:

• trackways that channel run-off water directly into a watercourse
• fence lines that form links between areas of wildlife habitat

The buffer strip must be in addition to the 2-metre cross compliance green cover requirement under GAEC 7a. It can be more than 12m wide, but you’ll only be paid for the 12m width.

Once established, you must maintain the grass buffer strip by managing it in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve the action’s aim. This means there must be an intact grass sward throughout the year, without tracks, compacted areas or poaching.

If the grass buffer strip is located next to a watercourse, you must cut part of the strip’s width next to the edge of the cropped area to provide some shorter vegetation, unless the buffer is grazed. You must only cut the grass buffer strip during the late summer, so the activity does not disturb breeding birds or damage nests.

You must not do the following on the grass buffer strip once it’s established:

• use it for regular vehicular access, turning or storage
• apply any fertilisers and manures
• use pesticides, except for herbicides to weed wipe or spot treat for the control of injurious weeds, invasive non-native species, nettles or bracken

When to do it

You must establish the grass buffer strip during first 12 months of your SFI standards agreement.

Once established, you must maintain the grass buffer strip for the remainder of your 3-year SFI standards agreement.

Action: Maintain improved grassland to provide winter bird food

The action’s aim

You must achieve this action’s aim. The aim is that improved grassland entered into this action is maintained so it’s left to go to seed during the autumn and winter months.

This will help to provide winter food for farmland birds.

What to do

You must maintain the improved grassland by managing it in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve the action’s aim. This includes:

• cutting it for silage or hay in a way that achieves the action’s aim
• leaving it un-grazed after the final cut for silage or hay

You can do this on a single area of land for the duration of your 3-year SFI standards agreement. Alternatively, you can move the area around each year.

When to do it

You must start maintaining the improved grassland areas within the first 12 months of your SFI standards agreement.

You must then continue to maintain them each subsequent year of your 3-year SFI standards agreement.

Low input grassland standard

This information has been replaced by the SFI Handbook for the SFI 2023 offer.

This section gives a more detailed description of the actions in the low input grassland standard summarised above.

We intend that the following land will be eligible for these actions:

• Permanent grassland – existing low input grassland
• Permanent grassland – improved grassland
• Temporary grassland
• Grassland that’s registered as ‘fully organic’ or ‘in conversion’ with a Defra-licensed organic control body

These are two identical actions, one for the Severely Disadvantaged Area (SDA) and another for non-SDA. They are separate because the payment rates will be different.

Action: Manage grassland with very low nutrient inputs (outside SDAs)

Action: Manage grassland with very low nutrient inputs (SDAs)

The action’s aim

You must achieve this action’s aim. The aim is that grassland entered into this action is managed so that each land parcel has a sward with:

• flowering grasses and wildflowers from late spring and during the summer months
• a variety of plant heights by autumn, with some covering of flowering grasses and wildflowers left to go to seed and tussocky grass allowed to develop

This will help to:

• provide nectar and shelter for invertebrates and a food supply for farmland birds
• support an IPM approach if located within proximity of cropped areas
• minimise nutrients being carried in surface water runoff to watercourses

What to do

You must minimise the use of nutrient inputs on the grassland by applying no more than either:

• 12 tonnes per ha of cattle farmyard manure
• equivalent amounts of available nutrients as fertiliser or in other organic manures as an alternative to cattle farmyard manure

You must also manage the permanent grassland by doing the following:

• graze with livestock or cutting it in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim, so the sward contains a variety of vegetation heights
• maintain any existing areas of scrub and wet features, such as scrapes and ponds
• minimise bare ground, so the soil is covered by vegetation and is not directly exposed to the elements.

There must be an intact grass sward throughout the year, without compacted areas or poaching.  You can carry out supplementary feeding of livestock on the grassland, but you must make sure this does not cause poaching.

You must not do the following on the grassland:

• increase the application rate of nutrient inputs if your current rate is already less than 12 tonnes per ha of cattle farmyard manure, or equivalent amounts of fertiliser or other organic manures as an alternative to cattle farmyard manure
• apply digestate or any other industrial by-product, including paper waste
• carry out activities, including hay and silage cutting, in a way that may disturb breeding birds or damage nests
• plough, cultivate or re-seed it
• use pesticides, except for herbicides to weed wipe or spot treat for the control of injurious weeds, invasive non-native species, nettles or bracken
• allow areas of scrub to develop on land with historic or archaeological features

If the grassland will be cut for conserved forage, you must:

• not graze or cut it for at least 7 weeks during the spring and summer months before taking the forage cut, to allow the sward to develop flowering grasses and wildflowers
• leave an uncut margin around the edge of the land parcel when it’s cut for conserved forage, to help provide shelter for invertebrates

After you’ve cut the area for conserved forage, you must manage it in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim.

When to do it

You must manage the grassland each year of your 3-year SFI standards agreement.

Annex: Summary of actions that will be available in SFI and CS

This annex summarises the list of actions we will pay for through the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and Countryside Stewardship (CS) in 2024.

The tables set out:

• the name of each action we will pay for (this does not include all of the capital items and one-off grant payments that are available and will be paid for)
• whether the action is new or is already paid for in our existing schemes, and if so which scheme
• when we plan for the action to be available through the schemes. Where this is not yet confirmed they are marked as to be confirmed (tbc)
• where we plan to update and improve existing actions that are already available through CS
• the payment rates for the actions. We will continue to keep payment rates under review, including as we make improvements to the CS actions. Where payment rates are not yet confirmed they have been included as ranges that we expect the payment rates to fall within or are marked as tbc
• where to find details on the actions

The existing schemes referred to in the tables are:

• Countryside Stewardship (CS)
• the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI)
• the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO)

Grassland

Action	Existing or new action	When action available	Existing actions to be updated	Payment rate	Where to find details
Protecting in-field trees on intensive grassland	CS (BE2)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£295 per hectare (ha)	Find out about BE2: protecting in-field trees on intensive grassland.
Taking field corners out of management	CS (GS1)	Available in CS; related action in SFI from 2023 (differs to CS option)	Not applicable	£333 per ha	Find out about GS1: taking small areas out of management.
Managing permanent grassland outside Severely Disadvantaged Areas (SDAs) with very low inputs	CS (GS2)	Available in CS; related action in SFI from 2023 (differs to CS option)	Not applicable	£151 per ha	Find out about GS2: managing permanent grassland outside SDAs with very low inputs.
Using ryegrass seed-set as winter food for birds	CS (GS3)	Available in CS; related action in SFI from 2023 (differs to CS option)	Not applicable	£474 per ha	Find out about GS3: ryegrass seed-set as winter food for birds.
Establishing and maintaining legume and herb-rich swards	CS (GS4)	Available in CS; related action in SFI from 2023 (differs to CS option)	Not applicable	£382 per ha	Find out about GS4: establishing and maintaining legume and herb-rich swards.
Managing permanent grassland in SDAs with very low inputs	CS (GS5)	Available in CS; related action in SFI from 2023 (differs to CS option)	Not applicable	£98 per ha	Find out about GS5: managing permanent grassland in SDAs with very low inputs.
Managing species-rich grassland	CS (GS6)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£182 per ha	Find out about GS6: managing species-rich grassland.
Restoring grassland towards species-rich grassland	CS (GS7)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£235 per ha	Find out about GS7: restoring grassland towards species-rich grassland.
Creating species-rich grassland	CS (GS8)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£428 per ha	Find out about GS8: creating species-rich grassland.
Creating wet grassland for breeding waders	CS (GS11)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£547 per ha	Find out about GS11: creating wet grassland for breeding waders.
Managing wet grassland for breeding waders	CS (GS9)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£353 per ha	Find out about GS9: managing wet grassland for breeding waders.
Creating wet grassland for wintering waders and wildfowl	CS (GS12)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£450 per ha	Find out about GS12: creating wet grassland for wintering waders and wildfowl.
Managing wet grassland for wintering waders and wildfowl	CS (GS10)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£217 per ha	Find out about GS10: managing wet grassland for wintering waders and wildfowl.
Creating grassland for target features	CS (GS14)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£432 per ha	Find out about GS14: creating grassland for target features.
Managing grassland for target features	CS (GS13)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£152 per ha	Find out about GS13: managing grassland for target features.
Supplement for haymaking	CS (GS15)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£37 per ha	Find out about GS15: supplement for haymaking.
Supplement for rush control	CS (GS16)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£79 per ha	Find out about GS16: supplement for rush control.
Supplement for lightly grazing to produce habitats for insects and birds	CS (GS17)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£23 per ha	Find out about GS17: supplement for lightly grazing to produce habitats for insects and birds.
Supplement for threatened species	CS (SP9)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£171 per ha	Find out about SP9: supplement for threatened species.
Supplement to control invasive plant species	CS (SP4)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£347 per ha	Find out about SP4: supplement to control invasive plant species.
Creating and managing 4-6m buffer strips on intensive grassland	CS (SW2)	Available in CS; related action in SFI from 2023 (differs to CS option)	CS option to be updated	£235 per ha	Find out about SW2: creating and managing 4 to 6m buffer strips on intensive grassland.
Managing intensive grassland adjacent to a watercourse	CS (SW8)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£207 per ha	Find out about SW8: managing intensive grassland adjacent to a watercourse.
Removing livestock from intensive grassland at particular times of year	CS (SW9)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£115 per ha	Find out about SW9: seasonal livestock removal on intensive grassland.
Removing livestock on grassland in SDAs next to streams, rivers and lakes	CS (SW10)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£77 per ha	Find out about SW10: removing livestock on grassland in SDAs next to streams, rivers, and lakes.
Applying very low nitrogen input to slow or reverse nutrient levels in groundwaters	CS (SW13)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£396 per ha	Find out about SW13: applying very low nitrogen inputs to groundwater.
Supplement to apply no fertiliser or manure	CS (SW14)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£156 per ha	Find out about SW14: supplement to apply no fertiliser or manure.
Creating successional areas and scrub	CS (WD8)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£149 per ha	Find out about WD8: creating successional areas and scrub.
Supplement to exclude livestock for scrub and successional areas	CS (WD9)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£74 per ha	Find out about WD9: supplement to exclude livestock for scrub and successional areas.
Managing rough grazing for birds	CS (UP2)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£121 per ha	Find out about UP2: managing rough grazing for birds.
Supplement for raised water level	CS (SP2)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£127 per ha	Find out about SP2: supplement for raised water level.
Introduction of cattle grazing on the Isles of Scilly	CS (SP7)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£279 per ha	Find out about SP7: introducing cattle grazing on the Isles of Scilly.
Supplementary feeding for farmland birds (organics)	CS (OP3)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£887 per ha	Find out about OP3: supplementary feeding for farmland birds (organics).
Establishing and managing a multi-species herbal ley (organics)	CS (OP4)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£115 per ha	Find out about OP4: establishing and managing a multi-species herbal ley (organics).
Converting improved permanent grassland from conventional management to organic management (organics)	CS (OR1)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£187 per ha	Find out about OR1: converting improved permanent grassland to organic management (organics).
Converting rotational land (temporary grassland, improved grassland where cultivation is part of the conversion plan) from conventional management to organic management (organics)	CS (OR3)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£296 per ha	Find out about OR3: organic conversion of rotational land (organics).
Maintaining improved permanent grassland under organic management (organics)	CS (OT1)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£20 per ha	Find out about OT1: maintaining improved permanent grassland under organic management (organics).
Maintaining rotation land under organic management (organics)	CS (OT3)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£132 per ha	Find out about OT3: maintaining rotation land under organic management (organics).
Converting unimproved permanent grassland from conventional management to organic management (organics)	CS (OR2)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£89 per ha	Find out about OR2: converting unimproved permanent grassland from conventional management to organic management (organics).
Maintaining unimproved permanent grassland under organic management (organics)	CS (OT2)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£36 per ha	Find out about OT2: maintaining unimproved permanent grassland under organic management (organics).
Maintaining enclosed rough grazing under organic management (organics)	CS (OT6)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£69 per ha	Find out about OT6: maintaining enclosed rough grazing under organic management (organics).
Completing a soil assessment and producing a soil management plan	SFI (improved grassland soils standard)	Available in SFI	Not applicable	Action included in Introductory rate £28 per ha Intermediate rate £58 per ha (for standard)	Find out about the SFI improved grassland soils standard.
Testing soil organic matter	SFI (improved grassland soils standard)	Available in SFI	Not applicable	Action included in Introductory rate £28 per ha Intermediate rate £58 per ha (for standard)	Find out about the SFI improved grassland soils standard.
Minimising bare ground by having no more than 5% of the total area of land entered into the standard left bare over winter	SFI (improved grassland soils standard)	Available in SFI	Not applicable	Action included in Introductory rate £28 per ha Intermediate rate £58 per ha (for standard)	Find out about the SFI improved grassland soils standard.
Establishing and maintaining herbal leys on at least 15% of land in the intermediate level of the standard	SFI (improved grassland soils standard)	Available in SFI	Not applicable	Action included in Introductory rate £28 per ha Intermediate rate £58 per ha (for standard)	Find out about the SFI improved grassland soils standard.
Adviser visit to assess and advise on integrated pest management (for weed management) and help to produce a plan	New	Available in SFI from 2023	Not applicable	£989 per year	In this publication.
Adviser visit to review and improve nutrient use efficiency	New	Available in SFI from 2023	Not applicable	£589 per year	In this publication.
Establishing and maintaining legumes in an existing grass sward	New	Available in SFI from 2023	Not applicable	£102 per ha	In this publication.
Managing floodplain meadows	New	2024	Not applicable	£200 to £300 per ha	Coming by Summer 2023.
Managing scrapes and gutters for waders and wintering waterfowl	New	2024	Not applicable	tbc	Coming by Summer 2023.
Using precision farming approaches	New – being explored	tbc	Not applicable	£10 to £50 per ha	Coming by Summer 2023.

Arable land

Action	Existing or new action	When action available	Existing actions to be updated	Payment rate	Where to find details
Establishing and maintaining a nectar flower mix	CS (AB1)	Available in CS; related action in SFI from 2023 (differs to CS option)	Not applicable	£614 per ha	Find out about AB1: nectar flower mix.
Establishing and maintaining flower rich margins and plots	CS (AB8)	Available in CS; related action in SFI from 2023 (differs to CS option)	Not applicable	£673 per ha	Find out about AB8: flower-rich margins and plots.
Establishing and maintaining winter bird mix	CS (AB9)	Available in CS; related action in SFI from 2023 (differs to CS option)	Not applicable	£732 per ha	Find out about AB9: Winter bird mix.
Establishing and maintaining autumn sown bumblebird mix	CS (AB16)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£637 per ha	Find out about AB16: Autumn sown bumblebird mix.
Basic overwinter stubbles	CS (AB2)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£58 per ha	Find out about AB2: basic overwinter stubble.
Enhanced overwinter stubbles	CS (AB6)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£522 per ha	Find out about AB6: enhanced overwinter stubble.
Establishing beetle banks	CS (AB3)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£667 per ha	Find out about AB3: beetle banks.
Creating skylark plots	CS (AB4)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£10.38 per plot	Find out about AB4: skylark plots.
Creating nesting plots for lapwing and stone curlew	CS (AB5)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£587 per ha	Find out about AB5: nesting plots for lapwing and stone curlew.
Establishing spring cereal crops and harvesting as a whole crop	CS (AB7)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£584 per ha	Find out about AB7: whole crop cereals.
Leaving cereal headlands unharvested	CS (AB10)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£822 per ha	Find out about AB10: unharvested cereal headland.
Having cultivated areas for arable plants	CS (AB11)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£550 per ha	Find out about AB11: cultivated areas for arable plants.
Providing supplementary winter feed for farmland birds	CS (AB12)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£669 per ha	Find out about AB12: supplementary winter feeding for farmland birds.
Grow a low input harvested cereal	CS (AB14)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£236 per ha	Find out about AB14: harvested low input cereal.
Establishing two-year sown legume fallow	CS (AB15)	Available in CS; related action in SFI from 2023	Not applicable	£593 per ha	Find out about AB15: two-year sown legume fallow.
Supplement to control invasive plant species	CS (SP4)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£347 per ha	Find out about SP4: control of invasive plant species supplement.
Supplement for threatened species	CS (SP9)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£171 per ha	Find out about SP9: threatened species supplement.
Protecting in-field trees on arable land	CS (BE1)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£503 per ha	Find out about BE1: protection of in-field trees on arable land.
Establishing and maintaining legume and herb-rich swards	CS (GS4)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£382 per ha	Find out about GS4: legume and herb-rich swards.
Creating and managing 4-6m buffer strips on cultivated land	CS (SW1)	Available in CS; related action in SFI from 2023 (differs to CS option)	CS option to be updated	£451 per ha	Find out about SW1: 4m to 6m buffer strip on cultivated land.
Having in-field grass strips	CS (SW3)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£658 per ha	Find out about SW3: in-field grass strips.
Creating and managing 12-24m watercourse buffer strips on cultivated land	CS (SW4)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£612 per ha	Find out about SW4: 12m to 24m watercourse buffer strip on cultivated land.
Carrying out enhanced management of maize crops	CS (SW5)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£172 per ha	Find out about SW5: enhanced management of maize crops.
Establishing winter cover crops	CS (SW6)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£129 per ha	Find out about SW6: Winter cover crops.
Reverting arable land to grassland with low fertiliser input	CS (SW7)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£326 per ha	Find out about SW7: arable reversion to grassland with low fertiliser input.
Managing woodland edges on arable land	CS (WD3)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£402 per ha	Find out about WD3: woodland edges on arable land.
Creating successional areas and scrub	CS (WD8)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£149 per ha	Find out about WD8: creation of successional areas and scrub.
Managing successional areas and scrub	CS (WD7)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£88 per ha	Find out about WD7: management of successional areas and scrub.
Leaving stubbles overwinter (organics)	CS (OP1)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£176 per ha	Find out about OP1: overwintered stubble (organics).
Sowing wild bird seed mixture (organics)	CS (OP2)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£768 per ha	Find out about OP2: wild bird seed mixture (organics).
Supplementary feeding for farmland birds (organics)	CS (OP3)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£887 per ha	Find out about OP3: supplementary feeding for farmland birds (organics).
Establishing and managing a multi-species herbal ley (organics)	CS (OP4)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£115 per ha	Find out about OP4: multi species ley (organics).
Undersowing cereals (organics)	CS (OP5)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£306 per ha	Find out about OP5:  undersown cereal (organics).
Converting rotational land (including arable land) from conventional management to organic management (organics)	CS (OR3)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£296 per ha	Find out about OR3: organic conversion – rotational land (organics).
Converting horticultural land from conventional management to organic management (organics)	CS (OR4)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£703 per ha	Find out about OR4: organic conversion - horticulture (organics).
Maintaining arable land under organic management (organics)	CS (OT3)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£132 per ha	Find out about OT3: organic land management - rotational land (organics).
Maintaining horticultural land under organic management (organics)	CS (OT4)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£471 per ha	Find out about OT4: organic land management - horticulture (organics).
Completing a soil assessment and producing a soil management plan	SFI (arable and horticultural soils standard)	Available in SFI	Not applicable	Action included in Introductory rate £22 per ha Intermediate rate £40 per ha (for standard)	Find out about the SFI arable and horticultural soils standard.
Testing soil organic matter	SFI (arable and horticultural soils standard)	Available in SFI	Not applicable	Action included in Introductory rate £22 per ha Intermediate rate £40 per ha (for standard)	Find out about the SFI arable and horticultural soils standard.
Adding organic matter	SFI (arable and horticultural soils standard)	Available in SFI	Not applicable	Action included in Introductory rate £22 per ha Intermediate rate £40 per ha (for standard)	Find out about the SFI arable and horticultural soils standard.
Having green cover on at least 70% of the land in the standard over winter (with the 70% including 20% multi-species cover crops at the intermediate level)	SFI (arable and horticultural soils standard)	Available in SFI	Not applicable	Action included in Introductory rate £22 per ha Intermediate rate £40 per ha (for standard)	Find out about the SFI arable and horticultural soils standard.
Adviser visit to assess and advise on integrated pest management and help to produce a plan	New	Available in SFI from 2023	Not applicable	£989 per year	In this publication.
Adviser visit to review and improve nutrient use efficiency	New	Available in SFI from 2023	Not applicable	£589 per year	In this publication.
Establishing and maintaining in-field flower-rich strips, which will provide habitat for natural pest enemies	New	Available in SFI from 2023	Not applicable	£673 per ha	In this publication.
Establishing and maintaining grassy field corners and blocks	New	Available in SFI from 2023	Not applicable	£590 per ha	In this publication.
Establishing a companion crop for integrated pest management	New	Available in SFI from 2023	Not applicable	£55 per ha	In this publication.
No use of insecticide	New	Available in SFI from 2023	Not applicable	£45 per ha	In this publication.
Tillage practices, including no till and direct drilling	New – being explored	tbc	Not applicable	£50 to £125 per ha	Coming by Summer 2023.
Using precision farming approaches	New – being explored	tbc	Not applicable	£10 to £50 per ha	Coming by Summer 2023.

Permanent crops

Action	Existing or new action	When action available	Existing actions to be updated	Payment rate	Where to find details
Establishing and maintaining nectar flower mix	CS (AB1)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£614 per ha	Find out about AB1: nectar flower mix.
Flower rich margins and plots	CS (AB8)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£673 per ha	Find out about AB8: flower rich margins and plots.
Winter bird mix	CS (AB9)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£732 per ha	Find out about AB9: Winter bird mix.
Autumn sown bumblebird mix	CS (AB16)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£637 per ha	Find out about AB16: Autumn sown bumblebird mix.
Providing supplementary winter feed for farmland birds	CS (AB12)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£669 per ha	Find out about AB12: supplementary winter feeding for farmland birds.
Supplement for threatened species	CS (SP9)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£171 per ha	Find out about SP9: threatened species supplement.
Creating successional areas and scrub	CS (WD8)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£149 per ha	Find out about WD8: creation of successional areas and scrub.
Managing successional areas and scrub	CS (WD7)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£88 per ha	Find out about WD7: management of successional areas and scrub.
Sowing wild bird seed mixture (organics)	CS (OP2)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£768 per ha	Find out about OP2: wild bird seed mixture (organics).
Supplementary feeding for farmland birds (organics)	CS (OP3)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£887 per ha	Find out about OP3: supplementary feeding for farmland birds (organics).
Converting land used to produce top fruit or permanent bush crops from conventional management to organic management (organics)	CS (OR5)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£1,254 per ha	Find out about OR5: organic conversion - top fruit (organics).
Maintaining land used to produce top fruit or permanent bush crops under organic management (organics)	CS (OT5)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£1,920 per ha	Find out about OT5: organic land management – top fruit (organics).
Completing a soil assessment and producing a soil management plan	SFI (arable and horticultural soils standard)	Available in SFI	Not applicable	Action included in Introductory rate £22 per ha Intermediate rate £40 per ha (for standard)	Find out about the SFI arable and horticultural soils standard.
Testing soil organic matter	SFI (arable and horticultural soils standard)	Available in SFI	Not applicable	Action included in Introductory rate £22 per ha Intermediate rate £40 per ha (for standard)	Find out about the SFI arable and horticultural soils standard.
Adding organic matter	SFI (arable and horticultural soils standard)	Available in SFI	Not applicable	Action included in Introductory rate £22 per ha Intermediate rate £40 per ha (for standard)	Find out about the SFI arable and horticultural soils standard.
Having green cover on at least 70% of the land in the standard over winter (with the 70% including 20% multi-species cover crops at the intermediate level)	SFI (arable and horticultural soils standard)	Available in SFI	Not applicable	Action included in Introductory rate £22 per ha Intermediate rate £40 per ha (for standard)	Find out about the SFI arable and horticultural soils standard.
Adviser visit to assess and advise on integrated pest management and help to produce a plan	New	Available in SFI from 2023	Not applicable	£989 per year	In this publication
Adviser visit to review and improve nutrient use efficiency	New	Available in SFI from 2023	Not applicable	£589 per year	In this publication.
Establishing and maintaining in-field flower-rich strips, which will provide habitat for natural pest enemies	New	Available in SFI from 2023	Not applicable	£673 per ha	In this publication.
No use of insecticide	New	Available in SFI from 2023	Not applicable	£45 per ha	In this publication.
Tillage practices, including no till and direct drilling	New – being explored	tbc	Not applicable	£50 to £125 per ha	Coming by Summer 2023.
Using precision farming approaches	New – being explored	tbc	Not applicable	£10 to £50 per ha	Coming by Summer 2023.

Moorland and upland peat

Action	Existing or new action	When action available	Existing actions to be updated	Payment rate	Where to find details
Enclosed rough grazing	CS (UP1)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£45 per ha	Find out about UP1: enclosed rough grazing.
Managing rough grazing for birds	CS (UP2)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£121 per ha	Find out about UP2: management of rough grazing for birds.
Managing moorland	CS (UP3)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£55 per ha	Find out about UP3: management of moorland.
Supplement for managing moorland vegetation	CS (UP4)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£10 per ha	Find out about UP4: management of moorland vegetation supplement.
Supplement for re-wetting moorland	CS (UP5)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£25 per ha	Find out about UP5: moorland re-wetting supplement.
Supplement for upland livestock exclusion	CS (UP6)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£19 per ha	Find out about UP6: upland livestock exclusion supplement.
Supplement for grazing cattle	CS (SP6)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£39 per ha	Find out about SP6: cattle grazing supplement.
Supplement for bracken control	CS (SP3)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£185 per ha	Find out about SP3: bracken control supplement.
Chemical bracken control	CS (SB4)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£270.90 per ha	Find out about SB4: chemical bracken control.
Mechanical bracken control	CS (SB5)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£190.90 per ha	Find out about SB5: mechanical bracken control.
Supplement for rush control	CS (GS16)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£79 per ha	Find out about GS16: rush infestation control supplement.
Supplement to control invasive plant species	CS (SP4)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£347 per ha	Find out about SP4: control of invasive plant species supplement.
Supplement for shepherding	CS (SP5)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£9 per ha	Find out about SP5: shepherding supplement.
Administration of group managed agreements on common land	CS (SP10)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£6.07 per ha	Find out about SP10: Administration of group managed agreements supplement.
Identify and record the soil and vegetation types and condition, and presence of historic and archaeological features	SFI (moorland standard)	Available in SFI	Not applicable	Action included in Introductory rate £265 per agreement and £10.30 per ha (for standard)	Find out about the SFI moorland standard.
Assess the public goods the moorland is already providing	SFI (moorland standard)	Available in SFI	Not applicable	Action included in Introductory rate £265 per agreement and £10.30 per ha (for standard)	Find out about the SFI moorland standard.
Identify opportunities to maintain or enhance the public goods provided by the moorland	SFI (moorland standard)	Available in SFI	Not applicable	Action included in Introductory rate £265 per agreement and £10.30 per ha (for standard)	Find out about the SFI moorland standard.
Minimising bare ground for carbon storage, biodiversity, water quality and to protect historic features	New	2024	Not applicable	The package of actions being developed (including this action) are likely to generate a payment of £120 to £150 per hectare	Coming by Summer 2023.
Increasing or maintaining roughness of ground to slow the flow of water	New	2024	Not applicable	The package of actions being developed (including this action) are likely to generate a payment of £120 to £150 per hectare	Coming by Summer 2023.
Maintaining sphagnum moss for carbon capture and to slow the flow of water	New	2024	Not applicable	The package of actions being developed (including this action) are likely to generate a payment of £120 to £150 per hectare	Coming by Summer 2023.
Managing grassy vegetation so it has a varied sward and dwarf shrubs have a range of heights, including tall woody vegetation	New	2024	Not applicable	The package of actions being developed (including this action) are likely to generate a payment of £120 to £150 per hectare	Coming by Summer 2023.
Retaining and managing individual or scattered trees and scrub to allow for succession	New	2024	Not applicable	The package of actions being developed (including this action) are likely to generate a payment of £120 to £150 per hectare	Coming by Summer 2023.
Restoring degraded peatland	New	2024	Not applicable	tbc	Coming by Summer 2023.
Maintaining restored peatland	New	2024	Not applicable	tbc	Coming by Summer 2023.
Managing moorland to support particular species and water features	New	2024	Not applicable	tbc	Coming by Summer 2023.

Lowland peat

Action	Existing or new action	When action available	Existing actions to be updated	Payment rate	Where to find details
Creating fen, where this takes place on lowland peat soils	CS (WT9)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£537 per ha	Find out about WT9: creation of fen.
Managing reedbed	CS (WT6)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£81 per ha	Find out about WT6: management of reedbed.
Managing fen	CS (WT8)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£35 per ha	Find out about WT8: management of fen.
Managing raised bog	CS (WT10)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£185 per ha	Find out about WT10: management of lowland raised bog.
Raising water levels on cropped or arable land on peat soils	CS (SW17)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£449 per ha	Find out about SW17: raised water levels on cropped or arable land on peat soils.
Raising water levels on grassland on peat soils	CS (SW18)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£417 per ha	Find out about SW18: raised water levels on grassland on peat soils.

Woodland, Trees and Agroforestry

Action	Existing or new action	When action available	Existing actions to be updated	Payment rate	Where to find details
Woodland creation, including creation of shelterbelts	EWCO	Available in EWCO	CS offer will build upon EWCO to allow for any changes necessary in response to user feedback	Up to £10,200 per ha	Find out about the England Woodland Creation Offer.
Produce a woodland creation plan	Woodland Creation Planning Grant	Available through Woodland Creation Planning Grant	Not applicable	£1000 for stage 1, then £150 per ha for stage 2. Capped at £30,000 per project	Find out about the Woodland Creation Planning Grant.
Maintenance payments to support the establishment of young trees	EWCO and CS (WD1)	Available in EWCO (for existing and new agreements) and CS (for existing agreement holders only)	CS offer will build upon EWCO to allow for any changes necessary in response to user feedback	£350 per ha	Find out about the England Woodland Creation Offer. Find out about WD1: woodland creation maintenance payments.
Woodland improvement	CS (WD2)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£100 per ha	Find out about WD2: woodland improvement.
Producing a woodland management plan	CS (PA3)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£20 per ha for the first 100ha and £10 per ha thereafter. Minimum payment £1500	Find out about PA3: woodland management plan.
Improving access to woodlands supplement	CS (WS4)	Available in CS (with WD2)	CS option to be updated	£50 per ha	Find out about WS4: access for people.
Restoring plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites supplement	CS (WS2)	Available in CS (with WD2)	CS option to be updated	£70 per ha	Find out about WS2: plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS) – restoration and maintenance.
Deer control and management supplement	CS (WS1)	Available in CS (with WD2)	CS option to be updated	£90 per ha	Find out about WS1: deer control and management.
Squirrel control and management supplement	CS (WS3)	Available in CS (with WD2)	CS option to be updated	£50 per ha	Find out about WS3: squirrel control and management.
Veteran tree surgery	CS (BE6)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£379 per tree	Find out about BE6: veteran tree surgery.
Enhance and restore priority woodland habitats	New	2024	Not applicable	£50 to £100 per ha	Coming by Summer 2023.
Enhance woodland resilience to climate change, wildfires and other stressors	New	2024	Not applicable	£50 to £100 per ha	Coming by Summer 2023.
Managing woodlands for flood and drought mitigation	New	2024	Not applicable	£10 to £50 per ha	Coming by Summer 2023.
Managing historic features in woodlands	New	2024	Not applicable	£10 to £50 per ha	Coming by Summer 2023.
New actions being tested through Tree Health Pilot	Tree Health Pilot	tbc	Not applicable	See Tree Health Pilot.	Find out about the Tree Health Pilot scheme.
Grants for tree health	CS Woodland Tree Health Grants	Available in CS	Not applicable	See CS Woodland Tree Health Grants.	Find out about Woodland Tree Health grants 2023: Countryside Stewardship.
Protecting in-field trees on arable land	CS (BE1)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£503 per ha	Find out about BE1: protection of in-field trees on arable land.
Protecting in-field trees on intensive grassland	CS (BE2)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£295 per ha	Find out about BE2: protection of in-field trees on intensive grassland.
Creating traditional orchards	CS (BE5)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£373 per ha	Find out about BE5: creation of traditional orchards.
Managing traditional orchards	CS (BE4)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£264 per ha	Find out about BE4: management of traditional orchards.
Supplement for restorative pruning of fruit trees	CS (BE7)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£113 per ha	Find out about BE7: supplement for restorative pruning of fruit trees.
Creating wood pasture in the lowlands	CS (WD6)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£544 per ha	Find out about WD6: creation of lowland wood pasture.
Creating wood pasture in the uplands	CS (WD12)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£333 per ha	Find out about WD12: creation of upland wood pasture.
Restoring lowland wood pasture and parkland	CS (WD5)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£371 per ha	Find out more about WD5: restoration of wood pasture and parkland.
Managing lowland wood pasture and parkland	CS (WD4)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£198 per ha	Find out about WD4: management of wood pasture and parkland.
Restoring upland wood pasture and parkland	CS (WD11)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£316 per ha	Find out about WD11: restoration of upland wood pasture and parkland.
Managing upland wood pasture and parkland	CS (WD10)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£212 per ha	Find out about WD10: management of upland wood pasture and parkland.
Establishment and maintenance of silvoarable and silvopastoral agroforestry systems	New	2024	Not applicable	Capital offer through CS. Revenue payments will depend on tree density £50 to £300 per ha	Coming by Summer 2023.

Boundaries

Action	Existing or new action	When action available	Existing actions to be updated	Payment rate	Where to find details
Management of hedgerows by rotational cutting and leaving some hedgerows uncut	CS (BE3)	Available in CS; related action in SFI from 2023	Not applicable	£10 per 100m for one side of hedge	Find out about BE3: management of hedgerows.
Supplement for restorative pruning of fruit trees	CS (BE7)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£113 per tree	Find out about BE7: supplement for restorative pruning of fruit trees.
Manage hedgerows, including annual incremental cutting or leaving hedgerows uncut for longer	New	Available in SFI from 2023	Not applicable	£10 per 100m (One Side)	In this publication.
Assessing and recording hedgerow condition	New	Available in SFI from 2023	Not applicable	£3 per 100m (One Side)	In this publication.
Maintain hedgerow trees, or establishing new ones	New	Available in SFI from 2023	Not applicable	£10 per 100m (Both sides)	In this publication.
Capital grants to restore drystone walls	CS (BN12)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£31.91 per metre (m)	Find out about BN12: stone wall restoration.
Maintain drystone walls in good condition	New	2024	Not applicable	£15 to £20 per 100m	Coming by summer 2023
Capital grants to repair stone-faced hedgebanks	CS (BN1)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£67.25 per m	Find out about BN1: stone-faced bank repair.
Capital grants to restore stone-faced hedgebanks	CS (BN2)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£163.26 per m	Find out about BN2: stone-faced bank restoration.
Maintain stone-faced hedgebanks in good condition	New	2024	Not applicable	£15 to £20 per 100m	Coming by Summer 2023.
Capital grants to create earth banks	CS (BN3)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£20.59 per m	Find out about BN3: earth bank creation.
Capital grants to restore earth banks	CS (BN4)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£10.54 per m	Find out about BN4: earth bank restoration.
Maintain earth banks in good condition	New	2024	Not applicable	£5 to £10 per 100m	Coming by Summer 2023.

Waterbodies

Action	Existing or new action	When action available	Existing actions to be updated	Payment rate	Where to find details
Creating and managing 4-6m buffer strips on cultivated land	CS (SW1)	Available in CS; related action in SFI from 2023 (differs to CS option)	CS option to be updated	£451 per ha	Find out about SW1: 4m to 6m buffer strip on cultivated land.
Creating and managing 4-6m buffer strips on intensive grassland	CS (SW2)	Available in CS; related action in SFI from 2023 (differs to CS option)	CS option to be updated	£235 per ha	Find out about SW2: 4m to 6m buffer strip on intensive grassland.
Creating and managing in-field grass strips	CS (SW3)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£658 per ha	Find out about SW3: in-field grass strips.
Creating and managing 12-24m watercourse buffer strips on cultivated land	CS (SW4)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£612 per ha	Find out about SW4: 12m to 24m watercourse buffer strip on cultivated land.
Creating and managing a riparian management strip to prevent livestock accessing the watercourse and to provide a buffer	CS (SW11)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£596 per ha	Find out about SW11: riparian management strip.
Flood mitigation on arable reversion to grassland	CS (SW15)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£493 per ha	Find out about SW15: flood mitigation on arable reversion to grassland.
Flood mitigation on permanent grassland	CS (SW16)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£281 per ha	Find out about SW16: flood mitigation on permanent grassland.
Managing intensive grassland adjacent to a watercourse	CS (SW8)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£207 per ha	Find out about SW8: management of intensive grassland adjacent to a watercourse.
Removing livestock from intensive grassland at particular times of year	CS (SW9)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£115 per ha	Find out about SW9: seasonal livestock removal on intensive grassland.
Removing livestock on grassland in SDAs next to streams, rivers and lakes	CS (SW10)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£77 per ha	Find out about SW10: seasonal livestock removal on grassland in SDAs next to streams, rivers and lakes.
Applying very low nitrogen input to slow or reverse nutrient levels in groundwaters	CS (SW13)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£396 per ha	Find out about SW13: very low nitrogen inputs to groundwaters.
Supplement to apply no fertiliser or manure	CS (SW14)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£156 per ha	Find out about SW14: nil fertiliser supplement.
Managing permanent grassland outside Severely Disadvantaged Areas (SDAs) with very low inputs	CS (GS2)	Available in CS; related action in SFI from 2023 (differs to CS option)	Not applicable	£151 per ha	Find out about GS2: permanent grassland with very low inputs (outside SDAs).
Managing permanent grassland in SDAs with very low inputs	CS (GS5)	Available in CS; related action in SFI from 2023 (differs to CS option)	Not applicable	£98 per ha	Find out about GS5: permanent grassland with very low inputs in SDAs.
Creating and managing engineered three-dimensional (i.e. including raised ridges, scrapes and mini-wetlands) buffer strips in order to buffer waterbodies more effectively than grass strips	New	2024	Not applicable	£450 to £650 per ha	Coming by Summer 2023.
Managing grassland for water quality, flood and drought resilience	New	2024	Not applicable	£100 to £200 per ha	Coming by Summer 2023.
Managing features (available to establish as capital items in CS) such as swales, bunds, silt traps and constructed wetlands to intercept and slow surface runoff	New	2024	Not applicable	£450 to £650 per ha	Coming by Summer 2023.
Enhancing floodplain floodwater storage	New	2024	Not applicable	£75 to £125 per ha	Coming by Summer 2023.
Making space for water to flow in a winding course across floodplains, flooding temporarily to restore river and wetland habitats	CS (SW12)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£781 per ha	Find out about SW12: making space for water.
Managing riparian and water edge habitats to provide varied vegetation, including grasses, wildflowers, scrub and trees	New	2024	Not applicable	£450 to £650 per ha	Coming by Summer 2023.
Managing enhanced river and floodplain habitat connectivity, allowing the development of a variety of naturally changing floodplain habitats	New	2024	Not applicable	£650 to £850 per ha	Coming by Summer 2023.
Managing ponds up to 100 square metres	CS (WT4)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£119 per pond	Find out about WT4: pond management (less than 100 square metres).
Managing ponds more than 100 square metres	CS (WT5)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£211 per pond	Find out about WT5: pond management (more than 100 square metres).
Establishing more natural shorelines and edges on lakes	New – being explored	tbc	Not applicable	tbc	Coming by Summer 2023.
Managing water levels in lakes	New – being explored	tbc	Not applicable	tbc	Coming by Summer 2023.
Protecting and supporting natural populations of native fish species in lakes	New – being explored	tbc	Not applicable	tbc	Coming by Summer 2023.
Buffering in-field ponds and ditches in improved grassland	CS (WT1)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£311 per ha	Find out about WT1: buffering in-field ponds and ditches in improved grassland.
Buffering in-field ponds and ditches on arable land	CS (WT2)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£594 per ha	Find out about WT2: buffering in-field ponds and ditches on arable land.
Manage ditches of high environmental value	CS (WT3)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£44 per ha	Find out about WT3: management of ditches of high environmental value.

Species recovery and management

Many of the actions in the sections on specific types or land, habitats and features are also important for species recovery and management – these are not listed separately in this section

Action	Existing or new action	When action available	Existing actions to be updated	Payment rate	Where to find details
Supplement for threatened species, including Turtle Dove, Brown Hairstreak, Corn Bunting and Stone Curlew	CS (SP9)	Available in CS, to be expanded to cover other species	CS option to be updated	£171 per ha	Find out about SP9: threatened species supplement.
Supplement to graze land using native breeds at risk	CS (SP8)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£167 per ha	Find out about SP8: native breeds at risk supplement.
Managing and controlling deer	CS (WS1)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£90 per ha	Find out about WS1: deer control and management.
Managing and controlling grey squirrel	CS (WS3)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£50 per ha	Find out about WS3: squirrel control and management.
Managing and controlling rhododendron	CS (SB6)	Available in CS	Not applicable	Up to £5,500 per ha	Find out about SB6: rhododendron control.
Controlling bracken using chemical means	CS (SB4)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£270.90 per ha	Find out about SB4: chemical bracken control.
Controlling bracken by mechanical means	CS (SB5)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£190.90 per ha	Find out about SB5: mechanical bracken control.
Supplement to control bracken	CS (SP3)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£185 per ha	Find out about SP3: bracken control supplement.
Supplement to control invasive plant species	CS (SP4)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£347 per ha	Find out about SP4: control of invasive plant species supplement.
Managing invasive non-native animals	New	2024	Not applicable	£10 to £100 per ha	Coming by Summer 2023.
Managing other invasive non-native plants beyond those whose management is already funded under existing CS options	New	2024	Not applicable	£200 to £350 per ha	Coming by Summer 2023.

Wetland habitats

Action	Existing or new action	When action available	Existing actions to be updated	Payment rate	Where to find details
Creating reedbed	CS (WT7)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£328 per ha	Find out about WT7: creation of reedbed.
Managing reedbed	CS (WT6)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£81 per ha	Find out about WT6: management of reedbed.
Creating fen	CS (WT9)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£537 per ha	Find out about WT9: creation of fen.
Managing fen	CS (WT8)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£35 per ha	Find out about WT8: management of fen.
Supplement for wetland cutting	CS (WT11)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£960 per ha	Find out about WT11: wetland cutting supplement.
Supplement for wetland grazing	CS (WT12)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£459 per ha	Find out about WT12: wetland grazing supplement.

Coastal habitats

Action	Existing or new action	When action available	Existing actions to be updated	Payment rate	Where to find details
Creating coastal sand dunes and vegetated shingle	CS (CT2)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£474 per ha	Find out about CT2: creation of coastal sand dunes and vegetated shingle on arable land and improved grassland.
Managing coastal sand dunes and vegetated shingle	CS (CT1)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£339 per ha	Find out about CT1: Management of coastal sand dunes and vegetated shingle.
Managing coastal saltmarsh	CS (CT3)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£97 per ha	Find out about CT3: management of coastal saltmarsh.
Supplement to manage coastal vegetation (CT6)	CS (CT6)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£117 per ha	Find out about CT6: coastal vegetation management supplement.
Creating inter-tidal and saline habitat on arable land	CS (CT4)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£670 per ha	Find out about CT4: creation of inter-tidal and saline habitat on arable land.
Creating inter-tidal and saline habitat on intensive grassland	CS (CT7)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£494 per ha	Find out about CT7: creation of inter-tidal and saline habitat on intensive grassland.
Creating inter-tidal and saline habitat by non-intervention	CS (CT5)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£494 per ha	Find out about CT5: creation of inter-tidal and saline habitat by non-intervention.
Managing and restoring coastal cliff habitats	New	2024	Not applicable	£50 to £100 per ha	Coming by Summer 2023.

Lowland heathland

Action	Existing or new action	When action available	Existing actions to be updated	Payment rate	Where to find details
Managing lowland heathland	CS (LH1)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£366 per ha	Find out about LH1: management of lowland heathland.
Restoring forestry and woodland to lowland heathland	CS (LH2)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£229 per ha	Find out about LH2: restoration of forestry and woodland to lowland heathland.
Creating heathland from arable or improved grassland	CS (LH3)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£607 per ha	Find out about LH3: creation of heathland from arable or improved grassland.

Annual animal health and welfare review

Action	Existing or new action	When action available	Existing actions to be updated	Payment rate	Where to find details
Farm visit from a vet to complete an annual review of the health and welfare of a farmer’s livestock	SFI	Available in SFI	Not applicable	£684 for a pig review, £436 for a sheep review, £522 for a beef cattle review, £372 for a dairy cattle review	Find out about The SFI annual health and welfare review.

Access and engagement

Action	Existing or new action	When action available	Existing actions to be updated	Payment rate	Where to find details
Farmers hosting tours of their farms for school pupils and care farming visitors	CS (ED1)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£318 per visit	Find out about ED1: educational access.
Capital grant for providing access maps and signage, and preparing sites for access by providing toilet facilities, shelters, new footpaths, bridges and gates	CS (AC1)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	Actual cost	Find out about AC1: access capital items.
Capital grant for accreditation for staff carrying out countryside educational access visits	CS (AC2)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£277.26 once per agreement	Find out about AC2: countryside educational access visits accreditation.
Supplement to enable permissive access across woodland, where access is currently limited	CS (WS4)	Available in CS	CS option to be updated	£50 per ha	Find out about WS4: access for people.
Permissive access	New – being explored	tbc	Not applicable	£10 to £50 per ha	Coming by Summer 2023.
Managing existing access pressures on land and water	New – being explored	tbc	Not applicable	tbc	Coming by Summer 2023.
Expanding education access beyond groups of school pupils and care farming visitors	New – being explored	tbc	Not applicable	£200 to £300 per visit	Coming by Summer 2023.

Heritage

Action	Existing or new action	When action available	Existing actions to be updated	Payment rate	Where to find details
Maintaining weatherproof traditional farm or forestry buildings	CS (HS1)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£4.42 per square metre (m2)	Find out about HS1: maintenance of weatherproof traditional farm or forestry buildings.
Maintaining weatherproof traditional farm or forestry buildings in remote areas	CS (HS8)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£6.93 per m2	Find out about HS8: maintenance of weatherproof traditional farm buildings in remote areas.
Capital grant for historic and archaeological feature protection	CS (HE1)	Available in CS	Not applicable	Up to 100% of actual costs	Find out about HE1: historic and archaeological feature protection.
Capital grant for historic building restoration	CS (HE2)	Available in CS	Not applicable	Up to 80% of actual costs	Find out about HE2: historic building restoration.
Taking historic and archaeological features out of cultivation	CS (HS2)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£476 per ha	Find out about HS2: take historic and archaeological features out of cultivation.
Using reduced-depth, non-inversion cultivation on historic and archaeological features	CS (HS3)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£92 per ha	Find out about HS3: reduced depth, non-inversion cultivation on historic and archaeological features.
Controlling scrub on historic and archaeological features	CS (HS4)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£175 per ha	Find out about HS4: scrub control on historic and archaeological features.
Managing historic and archaeological features on grassland	CS (HS5)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£44 per ha	Find out about HS5: management of historic and archaeological features on grassland.
Maintaining designed or engineered waterbodies	CS (HS6)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£960 per ha	Find out about HS6: maintenance of designed/engineered water bodies.
Managing historic water meadows through traditional irrigation	CS (HS7)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£808 per ha	Find out about HS7: management of historic water meadows through traditional irrigation.
Restricting crop establishment depth to protect archaeology under an arable rotation	CS (HS9)	Available in CS	Not applicable	£211 per ha	Find out about HS9: restricted depth crop establishment to protect archaeology under an arable rotation.
Manage historic features under permanent woodland cover	New	2024	Not applicable	£10 to £50 per ha	Coming by Summer 2023.