Agri-Environment Schemes - Environmental Stewardship

Agri-Environment Schemes

The vast majority of the land in the Dedham Vale AONB and Stour Valley is farmed, hence farmers and land managers play a vital role as custodians of the landscape.   Because it is essential for the health of the landscape to have a positive balance between the need to produce food and the need to protect and encourage wildlife, Natural England (on behalf of Defra) operates a range of agri-environment (AE) schemes.  These schemes provide funding to farmers and land managers to farm their land in an environmentally friendly way.  Each year, approximately £400 million is paid to England’s land managers through the schemes.  Currently, there are over 58,000 voluntary AE agreements in England, covering over 6 million hectares – about 66% of agricultural land in England.  Parts of the Stour Valley are registered Target Areas by Natural England, meaning that AE schemes are actively encouraged in the area. 

AE schemes can deliver environmental benefits in a number of ways, for example they can halt the loss and deterioration of priority habitats, help to create new habitats, protect historic environments, enhance landscape character and connect people to the natural environment through farm visits etc.  In addition, these schemes can help the rural industry to become more environmentally friendly by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and by protecting soil and water quality. 

Examples of the projects undertaken under AE schemes include: the restoration and management of boundary features, such as hedgerows and ditches, the restoration and maintenance of semi- natural grassland, the restoration and management of woodland, the creation of buffer strips around arable fields, the creation of fallow plots for ground-nesting birds and the provision of public access via permissive paths.  Please note that not all these examples are possible under every scheme – see below.

The AE schemes are supported through funding from the Rural Development Programme for England, EU funding from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, transfers from Single Farm Payments and match funding from the UK Treasury.

There are three AE schemes which are available to farmers and land managers: Entry Level Stewardship (ELS), Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) and Organic Entry Level Stewardship (OELS). 

The ELS scheme is open to all farmers, provides funding for 5 years and makes a standard payment of £30 per hectare per year.   The HLS scheme is more demanding in that it asks farmers to achieve more and provide greater input in terms of land management.  This scheme runs for 10 years or more, with the actual payment per hectare varying with each scheme.  The OELS scheme is only open to farmers who farm organically, whose farm is entering organic conversion or who have a mixture of organic and non-organic land.  This scheme runs for 5 years and makes a standard payment of £60 per hectare  per year.  Organic Conversion Aid may also be available. 

If you want to find out more about these schemes, follow the link below to the Natural England Website: 

http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/farming/funding/es/default.aspx

From the website, you can download comprehensive handbooks about each scheme and find out who to contact. 

Alternatively, for discussions regarding HLS please contact Julie Danby, Natural England on 0300 060 1144 or Julie.danby@naturalengland.org.uk 

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