Countryside Stewardship 2021 Application Feedback – Harry Edwards (Gloucester)

The 2021 Mid-Tier stewardship application window has now closed.  Within the Gloucester office we have completed over 50 applications this year totalling annual payments worth in excess of £2.5 million over the five-year term and a further £1.8 million worth of capital grants.  These grants range from concrete yard renewal, roofing over manure and handling areas, cow tracks, tree surgery, to hedgerow planting and fencing.  We noticed a trend with more land being entered into a variety of options with a real uptake of Legume and herb rich grass leys.  Planning for the loss of BPS over the next few years and the uncertainty of the potential returns and requirements under the new ELM schemes alongside a real shift in focus for regenerative agriculture to build a sustainable farming system in the future, appear to be the driving forces.

The deadlines that the RPA have imposed mean all involved are pushed for time and because of this it is essential to make contact with your Catchment Sensitive Farming officer as quickly as possible for future schemes.  Although the application deadline has passed for this year, it is the perfect time to start getting next year’s application in line.  This includes obtaining planning permission for roofing or catchment sensitive farming endorsement as well farm infrastructure audits which now appear to be a prerequisite to the majority of water priority options.  These may be helpful in the upcoming ammonia reduction grant scheme also.

I have also been involved with the planning of a Higher-tier application to convert 70 acres of arable flood land back to wetland habitat for breeding waders.  The temptation this year was not to enter the scheme as it is currently growing the best crop seen on the land for at least the last 6 years.  But that is the exact reason it is being entered into this scheme, there are too many years where the crops fail, with the average profit being generated from this block of land at least 30% less than the farm average.  The aim of the application was to identify any underperforming land that is not capable of returning the average farm profit per ha and enter into a suitable but easy to manage stewardship option to increase the return on these marginal blocks.  

If you would like to discuss how the current Mid-tier stewardship or future schemes can help your farm business going forward, please contact Harry at harryedwards@fcgagric.com or your local FCG Office.