Don’t miss out: Deadline approaching for 2024 Countryside Stewardship revenue claims in England

Attention all farmers and land managers! The clock is ticking to submit your revenue claim for the Countryside Stewardship scheme.

What is Countryside Stewardship  

Countryside Stewardship (CS) offers financial support and incentives to farmers, woodland owners, foresters, and land managers to enhance the environment.

This government-led initiative provides funding for various environmental projects, including habitat maintenance, habitat regeneration, flood risk management, and water pollution reduction.

CS operates in England and is structured into three tiers: higher tier, mid-tier, and wildlife offers, along with capital grants.

Am I Eligible?

Any farmer or land manager is eligible to apply for CS, providing the land is eligible.

Please note, the scheme is competitive and therefore depending on which tier you apply for, your application will be scored against others. Applications are assessed and selected based on what will provide the most environmental gain.

Click here to for information on payment rates.

You may be interested in:

FG2: Sheep netting: £7.47 per metre (m).

Available for Mid and Higher Tier if:

• In conjunction with a habitat management or creation option where new fencing is required to meet grazing requirements

Available for Mid and High Tier and Capital Grants if one of the following apply:

• To prevent water pollution caused by farming (approval from Catchment Sensitive Farming is not required nor does the parcel need to be in a High Priority area for water quality)
• To protect environmental features.

SP6: Cattle grazing supplement. £59 per hectare (ha).

Only with a land management option where cattle grazing is appropriate.

Available in Mid Tier with:

• GS5 Permanent grassland with very low inputs in SDA’s
• GS6 Management of species rich grassland
• WD4 Management of wood pasture and parkland
• UP2 Management of rough grazing for birds

Available in Higher Tier:

• with a land management option where cattle grazing is appropriate for delivering the aims of the option.

CS deadlines

You have until 11.59pm on Wednesday 15 May 2024 to submit your claim without facing any reductions by the RPA.

The application process remains similar to previous years. First, ensure your land use codes are updated and compatible with other agreements like SFI. If there are no changes from last year, an automated form can be filled out. If there are changes or rotational options in your agreement, inform the RPA.

Missed the Deadline?

Remember, the deadline for submitting your 2024 CS claim without reduction is 11.59pm on Wednesday 15 May. If you miss this deadline, you still have chance to submit your claim until Wednesday 2 September 2024. However, a reduction will be applied to the value of your claim.

Reductions will be applied in the following way:

Don’t let the opportunity slip away – submit your revenue claim on time and maximise your benefits from the CS scheme!

Map and manage your pastures with Herdwatch

Utilise the FREE farm mapping tool on the Herdwatch app! Map and name your pastures, measure the acreage and colour code by use. In addition field record tools allow you to track field records and tasks, keeping on top of pasture management.