Funding for farmers and land managers

YouIf canyou’re applya forfarmer, anyland ofmanager theor schemesforester, you incan thisapply guidance,for evenmoney ifto help you getimprove paidfarm byproductivity and the Basicenvironment.

Before Paymentyou Schemeapply (BPS).for You’lla payment, you’ll need to check you’reyou eligible(and foryour eachland, schemeif beforerelevant) youare apply.eligible.

You can beapply infor more than one schemeof atthe aavailable payments time,if:

• you butmeet the eligibility requirements for each payment
• the activities or outcomes you’re being paid for are compatible
• you cannotwill not be paid twice for thea samesimilar activity.

  Fromactivity 2024,or ‘delinked’outcome paymentsat willthe replacesame BPS.time Read(and guidance on delinkedthe paymentssame andarea howof theyland willif beit’s calculated.

  a land-based scheme)

One-off payments

One-off payments are forto activitieshelp that you dobuy onceequipment or toother helpcapital youitems, buyor equipmentfor oractivities otheryou items.do once.

Investing in equipment, technology and infrastructure

The Farming Investment Fund (FIF) provides grants between £1,000 and £500,000 to improve productivity, the environment and animal health and welfare.

You can apply for money:for:

• forproductivity equipmentand slurry items
• animal health and technologywelfare thatitems improvesfrom productivityMarch

The other FIF grants are currently closed to new applicants, but there will be further application rounds.

Research and benefitsinnovation

You thecan environmentapply -for grants arefor availableinnovation, throughresearch and development from the Farming EquipmentInnovation Programme.

Improving animal health and Technologywelfare

Farmers Fund,who whichkeep iscattle, partsheep ofor thepigs Farmingcan Investmentget Fund

funding to buypay itemsfor a vet or vet-lead team to increasevisit yourtheir business’sfarm productivityand throughcarry theout Farmingan Transformationannual Fund,health whichand iswelfare partreview. ofIf theyou’re Farminga InvestmentBasic FundPayment Scheme (BPS) eligible farmer, you can register your interest to apply for this funding on GOV.UK.

Later -this year, you’ll needalso be able to checkapply iffor you’reanimal eligiblehealth and welfare capital grants for equipment, technology and infrastructure.

Improving boundaries, trees and orchards, water quality, air quality and natural flood management

You can apply for standalone capital grants under Countryside Stewardship (CS) Capital Grants 2023 to help you improve:

• boundaries, trees and orchards
• towater supportquality
• air investmentquality
• natural inflood slurrymanagement

You systems,can includingapply for slurrythese storesgrants at any time of the year.

Improving environmentally significant sites and storewoodlands

CS coversHigher -Tier Capital Grants 2023 offers standalone capital grants willto beimprove availableenvironmentally fromsignificant thesites Farmingand Investmentwoodlands.

You Fundcan fromapply Autumnfor 2022

these grants at any time of year.

ResearchImproving woodland infrastructure and innovationprotection from beaver activity

You can apply for CS Protection and Infrastructure Grants, which offer standalone capital grants to:

• improve management of woodlands by making them more accessible by road, allowing timber and other forest products to be moved for innovation,easily
• protect researchpermanent crops and developmenttrees from thebeaver Farmingactivity Innovationin Programme.eligible catchments

You can apply for these grants at any time of year.

Improving animalmanagement healthof and welfarewoodlands

The AnimalCS HealthWoodland andManagement WelfarePlan Pathwaygrant 2023 providesoffers moneya one-off payment to helpcreate improvea 10-year Woodland Management Plan that complies with the healthUK andForestry welfareStandard.

Your plan must be approved by the Forestry Commission before you can apply for ongoing payments to deliver your plan under CS Higher Tier.

You can apply for this one-off payment at any time of animals.the year.

Improving the health of trees

CS affectedWoodland byTree diseaseHealth Grants 2023 offers one-off payments to support:

• restocking woodland after felling due to a tree health issue
• removing trees and rhododendron infected with specific diseases

You can apply for moneythese toone-off improvepayments treeat healthany time of year.

You can apply for funding through the tree health pilot scheme if you manage certainspecific trees or woodlands affectedinfected by somespecific pests and diseases in somecertain regions of England.

Supporting

The nationaltree parks,health Areaspilot ofoffers Outstandingdifferent Naturalsupport Beautyto (AONBs)the andCS Broads

Tree Health Grants, which will end in 2024.

MoneyThe istree availablehealth frompilot thewill run until 2024.

Supporting national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs)

The Farming in Protected Landscapes Programme provides funding to all farmers and land managers within:

• anwithin an AONB
• a or National Park in England who are planning projects that:
  • support nature recovery
  • mitigate the Norfolkimpacts Broadsof climate change

  Leaving

  provide farming

  Theopportunities Lumpfor Sumpeople Exitto Schemediscover willnature

• protect helpor farmersimprove inthe Englandquality whoand choosecharacter toof leavethe farming.
  landscape

OnceYou youcan receiveapply afor lumpfunding sumany payment,time youup willuntil notthe beprogramme eligibleends forin anyMarch further2025. BPSYour paymentsproject ormust delinkedend payments.in March 2025.

Leaving farming

YouThe willoptional alsoLump notSum beExit eligibleScheme toenables enterfarmers intowho newwere agreementsBPS underapplicants thein following2018 schemesor unlessearlier youto repayretire theor lumpleave sumthe first:

• Sustainableindustry. FarmingIt Incentive
• someclosed optionsfor underapplications Countrysideon Stewardship
• some30 optionsSeptember under Local Nature Recovery

2022.

Ongoing payments

Ongoing payments are for activities to produce environmental outcomes that usually take you a year or more to complete.

ImprovingManaging theyour healthland ofin soilsan environmentally sustainable way

InIf 2022,you’re farmersa whoBPS are eligible forfarmer, BPSyou can apply for money from the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) to improveget soilpaid health.for environmentally sustainable land management actions.

Understanding moorland

InSFI 2022,is farmersbeing whorolled areout eligibleincrementally, forso it will expand each year until the BPSfull range of actions are available by early 2025.

You can currently apply for money fromto:

• support soil management
• assess the Sustainablemoorland Farmingand Incentiveidentify the environmental benefits it provides

Later this year you’ll be able to identifyapply andfor assessfunding theto help with:

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

The environmental featuresland ofmanagement theirupdate moorland.has information about the new actions that will be introduced this year.

You can apply for SFI at any time of year.

Managing habitats, woodlands, flood risk and reducing water pollution

You can apply for Countryside Stewardship (CS) to get paid to lookmanage afterhabitats, woodland, flood risk and improvereduce thewater environment.pollution.

CS ApplicationsMid areTier openoffers untilongoing 2023and (forone-off agreementspayments startingto inprotect 2024).and improve:

Making

• the spacediversity forof naturewildlife
• water onquality
• air farmsquality
• natural andflood inmanagement

You thecan countryside

apply from March 2023.

You’llCS beHigher ableTier offers ongoing and one-off payments to help manage environmentally important sites, including commons and woodlands.

You can apply for moneya fromCS Higher Tier now. Your initial application must be submitted by 28 April 2023.

During 2023 and 2024, Defra will evolve CS instead of developing a new Local Nature Recovery scheme. Read Defra’s environmental land management update to getfind paidout forabout thingsthe environmental land management actions that helpwill thebe localavailable environment.in ForCS.

Large example:scale landscape and ecosystem restoration projects

Landscape Recovery offers funding for groups of land managers to do longer-term, larger-scale (around 500 to 5000 hectares), land use change projects such as:

• managingcreating and restoring habitatswoodland
• plantingrestoring treeswetland and managing woodlandspeatland
• restoringenhancing peatlandsbogs, fens or saltmarshes
• usingcreating naturalnature flood management techniquesreserves

DefraThe willsecond trialround Localof NatureLandscape Recovery withapplications landwill managersopen fromin spring 2023. AllIt eligiblewill applicantsfocus canon applynet fromzero, theprotected endsites ofand 2024.habitat creation projects.

LargePlanting scaletrees

The landscapeEngland Woodland Creation Grant (EWCO) provides funding to create new woodland on areas that are at least 1 hectare.

You can apply for EWCO at any time of the year until the scheme closes and ecosystemthese restorationactivities projectsare funded through CS.

MoneyThere are other grants available for Landscapewoodland Recoverycreation, maintenance, management and tree health.

There willare bealso availableother regional funding opportunities to supportcreate projectswoodland, such as:

• creating England’s andCommunity expandingForests nature- reservesfunding is available for planting trees in some areas
• creating The Northern Forest - you can get paid to create woodland in parts of Lancashire, Merseyside, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire
• restoring The peatlandNational Forest - money is available to create and wetlandmaintain forests across the country

Planning woodland

ApplicationsThe forWoodland theCreation firstPlanning roundGrant of(WCPG) projectsprovides havefunding closed.to Defraprepare willa inviteWoodland applicationsCreation forDesign Plan that complies with the nextUK roundForestry inStandard.

You 2023.can use this plan to support further woodland creation grant applications, such as EWCO.

Restoring

You peatlandscan inapply thefor uplandsWCPG andat lowlandsany time of Englandthe year.

Restoring peatlands

The Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme (NCPGS) (NCPGS) provides moneyfunding to restore peatlands in the uplands and lowlands of England.

From ItApril is2023, ayou’ll competitivebe grantable schemeto thatapply for restoration grants to fund landscape scale restoration work on degraded peatlands.

The scheme will run until 2025.

PlantingJoining trees and managing woodlandfarming

UntilYou 2024,can youapply canto getjoin paidthe topilot plantfor treesthe andNew createEntrant woodlandSupport throughScheme, thewhich Englandruns Woodlanduntil Creationspring Offer2023. onThe areaspilot thatprovides arefunding atfor leastnew 1and hectare.recent entrants into farming to help them:

There

• access areland otherand grantsinfrastructure
• establish availablesuccessful and innovative businesses

Direct Payments

BPS

You can apply for woodlanda creation,BPS maintenance,2023 managementpayment andfrom tree14 health.March 2023.

MoneyYou formust woodlandsubmit creationyour isapplication availableby at15 aMay regional2023 level,to foravoid example:late application penalties.

• England’s

  BPS Communitywill Forests

• Northernend Foreston England
• National31 ForestDecember Company
• Northumberland2023.

  From Forest

• Forest2024, forBPS Cornwall
• Woodlandswill forbe Waterreplaced Partnership

Joiningby farming

‘delinked payments’. These payments will be made until 2027.

TheEach Newyear, Entrantdirect Supportpayments Schemeare aimsbeing toprogressively encouragereduced newuntil startersthey’re intophased farming.out Defraby plans2028. toYou trialcan thiscalculate schemehow fromthese 2022progressive toreductions 2023.could affect your direct payments for 2023 and 2024.

Get help with fundingadvice

You can contact:

• the Defra Rural ServiceServices helpline about funding, including BPS, CountrysideCS Stewardship and Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
• the Farming Advice Service about cross compliance, BPS, pesticide use, water use and quality

You can also get support from:

• organisations that provide advice through the Future Farming Resilience Fund to help you plan for the future - this advice is free if you get BPS
• the Farming Community Network about arable farming, animal health and welfare
• Woodland Creation officers or your local Forestry Commission Woodland Officer about planting and managing woodland about planting and managing woodland
• your Catchment Sensitive Farming local farm advisor for advice about water or air quality, or reducing flood risk on your land
• the Bovine TB Advisory Service to help reduce the incidence and severity of bovine TB breakouts