Countryside Stewardship: Wildlife Offers all you need to know

 

Countryside Stewardship: Wildlife Offers explained

There are four Wildlife Offers available through Countryside Stewardship in 2021 which will help you support wildlife on your farm. 

You can choose from the following:

  • Arable Offer
  • Lowland Offer
  • Mixed Grazing Offer (covered in another article which can be accessed here
  • Upland Offer

The Offers group selected management options together to benefit birds, pollinators and other farm wildlife to thrive and breed successfully.

The Benefits for Wildlife will be:

  • Sources of nectar and pollen for insect pollinators
  • Winter food for seed-eating birds
  • Improved habitats, especially for farmland birds and pollinators.

These Offers are non-competitive and as long as the base requirements are achieved in the application process you will be awarded an agreement.

Here is the Arable Offer explained:

  • 20 options available
  • Divided into 3 categories
  • At least one option required from each category

Category 1; options-select at least 1, minimum of 1% of the farmed land within the agreement-no maximum

Category 2; must select this option, minimum of 2% of the farmed land in the agreement-no maximum

Category 3; select at least 1 option from the 17 available, no minimum requirement

  • Payment rates from £100/ha to £640/ha
  • Management of hedgerows £8 per 100 metres
  • Maintenance of weatherproof traditional farm buildings £3.25 per m2

Lowland Offer explained:

  • 11 options available
  • Divided into 3 categories
  • A minimum of 2 options, 1 from category 1 and 1 from category 2, with additional options from category 3

Category 1; options-select at least 1, minimum of 2% of the farmed land within the agreement-no maximum

Category 2; minimum 500m of BE3 or 1 ha of GS1 per 100ha of farmed land within the agreement

Category 3; 7 additional options

  • Payment rates from £30/ha to £365/ha
  • Management of hedgerows £8 per 100 metres

Maintenance of weatherproof traditional farm buildings £3.25 per m2

Finally, let’s look more closely at the Upland Offer;

  • 13 options available
    Divided into 2 categories (base options and supplements)
    A minimum of 3 options, 1 base option and 2 supplements; or 2 base options and 1 supplement; or 3 base options.
  • UP2 option only available on land parcels within a Less Favoured Area and identified as being in a High Priority area for upland breeding birds.

Supplements can only be used with base options.

  • Payment rates from £16/ha to £88/ha
  • Management of hedgerows £8 per 100 metres
  • Maintenance of weatherproof traditional farm buildings £3.25/m2-Maintenance of weatherproof farm buildings in remote areas £6.73/m2

To understand how the these Offers would work on your farm please contact Alan Falshaw now, Farm Business Consultant on 07425 186127.

Posted by Vickers & Barrass on June 14th, 2021

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Vickers & Barrass

Rural Chartered Surveyors offering professional land agency services in the North East.