Meadow

Payments for environmental goods and services

UK farmers have access to a range of agri-environment schemes designed to support sustainable farming, biodiversity, climate resilience, and rural productivity. These schemes vary slightly across the four nations of the UK. Here's a summary of the main options:

England – Environmental Land Management (ELM) Schemes

Managed by DEFRA, the ELM framework includes three main schemes:

  1. Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI)

    • Pays farmers for adopting sustainable practices like cover cropping, nutrient management, and soil health improvement.
    • The 2023 offer is closed, but a reformed version is expected in 2026.
    • Existing agreements will continue to be honoured.

  2. Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT)

    • Open from September 2025.
    • Supports actions on SSSIs, woodlands, commons, and historic sites.
    • Includes habitat restoration, climate mitigation, and water quality improvements.

  3. Landscape Recovery

    • Targets large-scale projects for nature recovery, such as peatland restoration and rewilding.
    • Often involves collaboration between multiple landowners.

  4. ELM Capital Grants

    • Funding for infrastructure and equipment that supports environmental outcomes.

Scotland – Four-Tier Conditional Support System

Under the 2024 Agriculture Act, Scotland is transitioning to a new system with increasing environmental requirements:

  • Tiered support includes conditions like:

    • Calving intervals
    • Whole-farm biodiversity and carbon baselining
    • Peatland and wetland protection

  • Schemes include:

    • Future Farming Investment Scheme (FFIS) – £14 million fund for innovation and infrastructure.
    • Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund
    • Upland Sheep Support Scheme

Wales

Details are still emerging, but Wales is expected to continue its Sustainable Farming Scheme, focusing on:

  • Habitat creation
  • Carbon sequestration
  • Water quality
  • Landscape-scale environmental improvements

Northern Ireland – Farming with Nature Transition Scheme

This transitional scheme bridges the gap before the full Farming with Nature Programme launches in 2026.

  • Supports:

    • Hedgerow planting
    • Riparian buffer strips
    • Tree planting
    • Winter stubble retention
    • Multi-species cover crops

  • Payments are made after inspection and verification of actions. 

Private and Blended Schemes

In addition to public schemes, farmers can explore:

  • Carbon credit schemes
  • Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)
  • Water company catchment schemes
  • These often involve long-term contracts and require careful planning to avoid double-counting benefits.

DEFRA Future Farming Blog

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Related Organisations

Content below is from across the PEP community and is not necessarily endorsed by Stewards or by PEP

Connected Content

Woodland

There are around 3.2M ha of woodland in the UK. This is set to increase substantially over the coming years due to a range of policy, social, environmental and commercial drivers, including Net Zero, Biodiversity Net Gain, ELMs, Local nature recovery plans and carbon trading.

DEFRA

The Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs.

Natural England

The government’s adviser for the natural environment in England. We help to protect and restore our natural world.  

National Food Strategy

Henry Dimbleby's National Food Strategy, reported in July 2021

Register your interest in guiding development of new IPM SFI standard, tools and guidance

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ADAS Natural Solutions brochure

LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming)

LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) is the leading charity organisation delivering more sustainable food and farming. They work with farmers, the food industry, scientists and consumers, to inspire and enable sustainable farming that is prosperous, enriches the environment and engages local communities.

NCSPulse PEP
Conservation

Although the term management implies direct manipulation, the practice of wildlife conservation and management includes efforts aimed at preserving or restoring rare species and their habitats and indirect manipulation of wildlife populations through modification of habitat or resources. From: Encyclopedia of Ecology, 2008

Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI)

SFI offers payments to farmers to carry out farming activities in a more environmentally sustainable way so that they can produce environmental goods and services alongside food.

ADAS Natural Solutions

ADAS Natural Solutions brings together various in-house services to deliver a bespoke solutions based on the requirements of your business. Whether you are looking to increase your biodiversity or achieve net zero, our dedicated team can work with you to create, restore and manage both natural and modified ecosystems. 

Landscape Recovery

One of the schemes of ELMs

What is ELMs? Agri-Tech to support Environmental Land Management

What is ELMs? The three-tier Environmental Land Management (ELM

Land of opportunity - A new land use framework to restore nature and level up Britain

Report published by The Green Alliance by James Elliott, Lydia Collas and Dustin Benton in r

Land Use

Land use refers to the way that land is used and managed for various purposes, such as agriculture, housing, industry, and recreation.

Environment

Farming is intricately connected to the environment in various ways. The relationship between agriculture and the environment is a critical aspect of modern farming practices. Please share information, resources, tools and experiences on the multifaceted dimensions of how farming intersects with the environment.

Enhanced Environment

Help us collate the knowledge sources, organisations and initiatives out there that are seeking to improve the farmed environment

Agri-environment

This Topic doesn't yet have a Stewarded summary, but connected groups, content and organisations show below. Click the 'Ask to Join' button if you would like to be a Steward for this Topic and provide a summary of current knowledge and recommend useful resources, organisations, networks and projects.

Land Management 2.0

ADAS Agricultural Land Management

E-Planner - CEH tool to help land management choices

E-Planner is a free tool developed by UKCEH to help farmers and other land mangers identify the most suitable places for different environmental management actions via easy to use, interactive maps.

New Scientist: The Future of Food and Farming

The founder and chairman of Environment Bank, Professor David Hill, recently sat down with New Scientist to discuss the future of farming and food. The interview explores how changing approaches to agriculture are essential in preserving the ‘natural capital’ of global biodiversity and prosperity for farmers.

Webinar: the farming offer in 2024

On Friday 26 January, we’re holding a webinar for farmers. During the session, we'll go through the actions and payments available through our environmental land management schemes in 2024. 

Farmer attitudes towards SFI schemes and IPM uptake

Help us to understand attitudes towards SFI schemes and IPM uptake by completing this survey. Anyone completing the survey is entitled to claim a £10 voucher.

Future Farming Resilience: an update on farming support payments

An event for Organic, low input and in-conversion farms to highlight changes in farming support payments.

Agrii Focus - Adapting to the Changing Risks in Farming

With extreme weather patterns, evolving subsidy schemes and volatile markets the 'goal posts' are constantly changing. At our open day we look and discuss how arable farms can adapt and thrive in the new environment, drawing on the many and varied resources available through Agrii and its Agronomists.

NCSPulse PEP
Biomass Connect Demo: SFI Schemes and Biodiversity – Enhancing Biomass Crop Sustainability

Join us on Thu May 16 2024 at 13:00 in Headley Hall, Tadcaster for an exciting event focused on sustainable biomass production.

Future Farming Resilience: an update on farming support payments (Webinar)

A webinar for Organic, low input and in-conversion farms to highlight changes in farming support payments.

25 Year Environment Plan

Defra's policy document from 2018

Co-designing the environmental land management scheme in England: The why, who and how of engaging ‘harder to reach’ stakeholders

Paper published in People and Nature on co-designing Defra's roll out of ELMs. Paul Hur

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