Country stewardship options explained
Countryside stewardship is a hot topic ...
Hutchinsons environmental services specialists Hannah Joy and Emma Willis have answered several of the most pressing questions.
If you have a Countryside Stewardship agreement which began on or before 1st January 2022, the following changes to rates have been made. Where the new rate has:
- Increased -the new (higher) rate will be paid
- Decreased -the existing (higher) rate shown on the signed agreement will be paid
- Not changed – the existing rate shown on the signed agreement will be paid.
If you are going to be applying for an agreement this year, to commence on 1st January 2023, all the new revenue rates will apply. It is worth noting that if you are an agreement holder, you will not receive any updated agreement documents.
If you submitted a Countryside Stewardship application in 2021, it is likely you have not yet received an agreement offer. The RPA has sent out emails reassuring applicants that eligibility checks are still ongoing for applications and that they will be in contact as soon as possible. If any additional information is required in the meantime, they will contact you for this.
The management options in your agreement will have started from the 1st January, regardless of when you receive your offer. Therefore, the RPA recognises that you may incur some costs before you receive your agreement offer and will make payments for any work or costs incurred if you need to start these before you receive your agreement. It is important to note that they will not pay for any work or costs incurred on capital items before you have accepted your agreement offer.
A Countryside Stewardship scheme (CSS) provides a viable source of income for your business. A scheme allows you to ‘get your foot in the door’ in implementing a scheme on your farm that works well with your business. It can be used to the business advantage; options can work well in rotations and help to increase soil health. By focusing on less productive areas of the farm, it helps to improve your farm’s productivity.
Entering a scheme now will provide you with five years’ guaranteed income. This means you have the choice over the next few years to decide which scheme will work best for your business, whether you continue with a CSS, or transition into ELMS once it is rolled out in 2024. Anyone entered into a Countryside Stewardship scheme can, without penalty, transfer into ELMS if they are offered an agreement.
As you may have seen at our Environment Trials Day, you now have the option whether to include grass in your seed mix. Including a grass is best placed where you are putting the option in as part of a grass weed control strategy, as it is more competitive and will provide ground cover throughout its lifetime. By choosing to no longer include a grass, this creates a better opportunity to follow this option with an autumn sown cereal as it removes the presence of a dense thatch of decaying grass roots.
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