Menu

Know How / Environmental schemes

Each of the UK’s devolved administrations has its own agri-environment scheme – for example, the Countryside Stewardship Scheme in England and the Agri-environment Climate Scheme in Scotland.

Find out what’s involved in signing up to a ‘green scheme’ and get practical tips on putting together your application.

Advice and tips

PAYMENTS, SCHEMES AND GRANTS

Advice on preparing early for new grant funding applications

A new round of standalone Countryside Stewardship (CS) Capital Grants 2025-26 will open this summer worth £45m and funding a significant proportion of the cost of a wide range of…

ENVIRONMENTAL SCHEMES

A guide to staying SFI compliant

Unlike more rigid support schemes of the past, the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) is all about giving farmers greater flexibility to make actions work for their farm, while simultaneously delivering…

ARABLE

Tips on achieving healthy hedgerows on farm

Hedges are a defining feature of our countryside and one of the best habitats for wildlife on any farm.  Far more than being a boundary, they also support farm business…

ENVIRONMENTAL SCHEMES

Nutrient mitigation market merits careful consideration

Headlines about housebuilding being held up by environmental measures have abated to some extent, but the need to ensure that new development does not increase the nitrogen and phosphate loading…

See all

Case studies

CROP MANAGEMENT

Why one Essex arable farm faces difficult decisions in 2025

Essex farmer Tom Streeter admits that he and his brother Will have some difficult decisions to make about the future of the family farming business, having looked at the details…

ARABLE

No-till provides zero cost way into support scheme

Kent grower Richard Day is set to use his adoption of direct drilling and precision fertiliser techniques under new environment schemes to gain more than 40% of his old direct…

NEWS

FW Awards: Environmental Champion of the Year 2024

David and Helen Brass of The Lakes Free Range Egg Co, Cumbria are the Farmers Weekly Environmental Champion of the Year 2024 winners. Environmental delivery is a concept that has…

ARABLE

How a sustainability scoring system is helping Kent farm

Knowing how the farm is performing across six different environmental impact areas is important for Kent grower Alan Clifton-Holt, who wants to make the most of any new market opportunities…

See all

Insights

PAYMENTS, SCHEMES AND GRANTS

NI Sustainable Agriculture Programme – all you need to know

Farmers in all four UK countries are under pressure from their respective governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but livestock producers in Northern Ireland (NI) are perhaps shouldering the greatest…

REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE

Why trees in hedges improve arable farm landscapes

Trees in hedges help with habitat provision and carbon storage, bringing diversity and resilience to the farmed landscape, while providing continuity when hedges are being managed. For farmers and growers…

ENVIRONMENTAL SCHEMES

Farmers share how bombshell SFI closure will affect them

Defra’s abrupt closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) for new applicants has rightfully left farmers across England feeling frustrated and betrayed. Why did the Labour party decide to close…

See all

News

AGRICULTURAL TRANSITION

Most farmers planned SFI expansion, CLA poll finds

Nearly 95% of farmers in England were planning to expand their participation in the government’s Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme before its sudden closure last month. That’s according to a…

PAYMENTS, SCHEMES AND GRANTS

Farmers’ spring plans left in turmoil by SFI delays

Thousands of farmers across England are facing delays in the outcome of their Sustainable Farming Incentive applications, disrupting their spring cropping plans and piling further strain on cashflow. Farmers Weekly…

ENVIRONMENTAL SCHEMES

Frustrated farmer plants spring wheat after SFI delay

Buckinghamshire mixed farmer Richard Heady has decided to plant spring wheat on fields originally earmarked for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), citing delays in the application process as a key…

ENVIRONMENTAL SCHEMES

Countryside Stewardship claim window opens for 2025

Farm businesses can now submit 2025 revenue claims for Countryside Stewardship (CS) or Environmental Stewardship (ES) to the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). The claim window will remain fully open until…

See all