Agri-Environment Schemes and Rural Grants

Townsend Chartered Surveyors offer expert advice on all agri-environment schemes and rural grants. We can advise and assist landowners and farmers to ensure they achieve the maximum benefit from the schemes below:

Townsend Chartered Surveyors offer expert advice on all agri-environment schemes and rural grants. We can advise and assist landowners and farmers in England to ensure they achieve the maximum benefit from the schemes below: 

Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 

The Sustainable Farming Incentive is the flagship element of DEFRA’s Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS) and is the most straightforward way a landowner can begin to replace the lost income from the Basic Payment Scheme. It is an open to all scheme that offers funding for managing your land in an environmentally friendly way. A landowner can enter into a one or more ‘actions’ which outline a specific way in which an aspect of the land should be managed for either three or five years. Each action has an associated payment rate. For example: 

CSAM3: Herbal Leys pays £382/ha (as of December 2025) to a establish a herbal ley on land entered into this action. The aim of this being to improve soil health and resilience to drought. As well as to produce a high volume of forage with minimal use of inorganic fertiliser. 

Tenant farmers are able to set up their own SFI scheme so long as they have management control of the land for the duration of the scheme and it is not prohibited by their tenancy agreement. 

Countryside Stewardship Higher-Tier 

The scheme operates on the same basis as Mid-Tier Countryside Stewardship yet remains open. It is a competitive scheme aimed exclusively at sites of high environmental importance. A wide range of management options are available, and applicants must contact Natural England or the Forestry Commission before applying.

Capital Grants 

Competitive funding available for 78 capital items. These items are divided into four categories: 

  • Air Quality – up to £25,000 available. 
  • Boundaries, trees, and orchards – up to £35,000 available. 
  • Natural Flood Management – up to £25,000 available. 
  • Water Quality – up to £25,000 available.

Farm Equipment and Technology Fund 

A competitive grant scheme designed to help contribute funding towards machinery and technology that boost productivity, slurry management, and animal health and welfare. Between £1,000 and £25,000 is available for items listed under each of these three categories. Applicants may submit one application per category. Applications will be scored based on the items applied for and previous successful applications. 

Improve Animal Health and Welfare 

Payments to fund farm visits by vets for livestock keepers. Funding is provided for an Animal Health and Welfare review – payments vary depending on the species and are not based on the number of animals. Should this review flag any issues further funding is available for endemic disease follow-up. Again, payment rates very by species. 

English Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) 

A competitive grant providing up to £10,200 per hectare for woodland creation and up to a further £12,700 in additional payments if your woodland contributes to the local community, nature recovery or the environment. There is also an annual maintenance payment of £400 per hectare for 15 years to help establish young trees and ongoing maintenance. 

Woodland Management Plan 

A non-competitive grant providing a one-off payment to help create a 10-year Woodland Management plan that complies with the UK Forestry Standard. You will receive a flat rate of £1,500 for the first 50 ha, plus £30/ha for every additional hectare up to 100 ha. For more than 100 ha you will receive a flat rate of £3,000, plus £15 for each additional hectare over 100 ha. 

Woodland Creation Planning Grant 

A non-competitive grant the provides funding to prepare a woodland creation design plan. You can apply for £1,500 to complete stage 1 – a desk-based exercise identifying constraints and opportunities affecting the proposed planting. If the site has potential you will be offered a stage 2 payment, which contributes to the cost of preparing a site appraisal map, a design concept plan and a draft UK Forestry Standard compliant woodland creation design plan. Stage 2 pays £150/ha minus the £1,500 paid for stage 1. You will never be paid less than £1,500 for approved Stage 1 work, and a minimum of £500 for approved Stage 2 work. The total amount of funding you can receive is capped at £30,500 per project. 

Tree Health Pilot Scheme 

A pilot scheme providing funding to test different ways of slowing the spread of pests and diseases affecting trees in England. You will receive funding to cover up to 80% of felling costs per m3 and up to 40% of infrastructure costs. 

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Alasdair Squires

Alasdair Squires
BA(Hons).

01392 823935
enquiries@townsendcharteredsurveyors.co.uk