The application window for the Countryside Stewardship (CS) scheme has opened today (February 11), providing the chance for more farmers and land managers to get paid for environmental work.

Through the scheme, farmers can apply for funding to improve their local environment – from restoring wildlife habitats and creating woodlands to managing flood risk.

Applying this year is the best way to prepare for the government’s future Environmental Land Management (ELM) Scheme, which will reward farmers for producing ‘public goods’, such as better air and water quality or improved access to the countryside.

The government will be rolling out a national pilot in 2021 to test how ELM works on the ground, with the scheme expected to be fully operational by the end of 2024. CS provides a stepping stone to this future, paying for environmental enhancements now as area-based payments are phased out.

Those signed up to CS who secure a place in the ELM pilot from 2021, or wish to enter the scheme when it is fully rolled out from 2024, will be able to leave their agreements at agreed exit points, without penalty.

Farming Minister George Eustice said:

“Paying farmers for protecting the environment and enhancing animal welfare is front and centre of our future farming policy and entering a Countryside Stewardship Scheme is a good stepping stone to that future policy.

“There is nothing to be gained by holding back. We are guaranteeing that anyone who joins our new scheme in the future will be able to leave their CS agreement early in order to do so.”

To apply and find out more visit GOV.UK.

READ MORE: 120,000-panel solar farm will be built in Dorset countryside