New revenue rates were introduced from 1st January 2023 for all new and existing Mid Tier and Higher Tier Countryside Stewardship agreements. On average, there is a 10% increase in revenue rates which will benefit the 30,000 Countryside Stewardship agreement holders across England.
Where the 2023 rate has increased, the higher revenue payment rate will be paid for:
- Revenue agreements starting on or before 1st January 2023
- Applications received in 2023
Example payment increases include:
- Rates for in-field grass strips – which allow pollinators such as bees to make their way across large fields from one strip to another, rather than sitting on the margins, and thereby increasing crop yields – are increasing from £624 per hectare to £658 per hectare.
- Sowing strips of land with a seed mix which will provide food for birds in winter, encouraging wildlife to remain on the farm year-round and reducing the need for expensive artificial fertiliser, will increase from £640 per hectare to £732 per hectare.
No revenue payment rates have decreased, but some payment rates have not changed and will remain the same as the 2022 payment rate.
Some capital items payments have also increased, but these will only apply to agreements that start on or after 1st January 2023.
How Countryside Stewardship fits in with the Agricultural Transition
Countryside Stewardship continues to offer Mid Tier and Higher Tier agreements starting in 2024, alongside rolling out further elements of the Sustainable Farm Incentive (SFI).
Signing up to a Countryside Stewardship agreement now will put you in the best possible position to join future schemes. It will also give you a viable, long-term source of income for providing environmental benefits as the Basic Payment Scheme payments are reduced.
All new Countryside Stewardship agreement holders will be able to terminate the agreement early without penalty (at agreed points), provided any new agreement delivers equivalent or greater levels of environmental outcomes.
Changes are also being made to enable HLS agreement holders to apply for Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier to sit alongside their existing HLS agreement.
Use the following link to see the changes to the payment rates: Revenue options payment rate changes from 1 January 2023 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Details of the changes are also included in the relevant Countryside Stewardship: get funding to protect and improve the land you manage – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) guidance and on Defra’s Future Farming Blog: Environmental land management schemes: details of actions and payments – Future Farming (blog.gov.uk)
