The delayed Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier scheme will open in summer 2025, the government has today confirmed.
Defra said there will be an initial controlled roll out of the new Higher Tier scheme, and applications will be by invitation, on a rolling monthly basis.
It said the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will contact these farmers and landowners directly from 6 January 2025 to start the pre-application process.
The first applications will be able to be submitted from summer 2025, Defra confirmed on Wednesday (11 December).
More details on the timing and approach to widening applications will be published by the government in 2025.
It comes after the NFU said it was 'extremely concerned' over reports that the scheme would not open until mid-2025, saying it would be another 'hammer blow' to farmers.
But Defra Secretary Steve Reed said today that farmers would be able to benefit from the new scheme as it included 'more flexible actions, improved payments to help cashflow and a rolling application window'.
And RPA chief executive, Paul Caldwell said the agency 'remains focused' on supporting farmers by getting payments into bank accounts 'as quickly as possible'.
“I am very pleased that this December we have been able to inject more funding than ever from environmental schemes into the rural economy," he said.
“This comes at the same time as providing more certainty over the details in Higher Tier offer to enable farmers to see for themselves how it can benefit them.”
Defra said that changes to the Higher Scheme scheme will include new quarterly payments and a rolling application window so farmers could apply throughout the year.
There will be monthly agreement start dates rather than a single annual date and a more straightforward online application process, it explained.
New actions to improve flood resilience and species abundance, plus funding to secure enhanced environmental benefits and deliver for nature recovery, will also be included.
In total, the scheme will offer 132 management actions and 151 capital items to protect and enhance the environment, including sensitive sites like SSSIs.
While the launch of the scheme has been broadly welcomed by the industry, the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) slammed it for being delayed.
“The reality is that it is late," said CLA president, Victoria Vyvyan, adding that "applications don’t open until next summer, and the opportunity for farm businesses and the environment is limited by Defra resources."
She said: “Farmers are ready to make environmental improvements, while feeding the nation, but the government must back this with the funding and resources needed to grow the rural economy.”
The government has also today published an additional 14 Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) endorsed actions.
These will be available from summer 2025 to enable farmers to contribute benefits to Grassland, Heritage, and Coastal sites, among others.
