The Capital Grant 2023 offer provides standalone capital item agreements that deliver environment outcomes within four groups: boundaries, trees and orchards; water quality; air quality; and natural flood management. There is no longer a limit to the value of capital items in these groups. There are 70 options available. A[…]

Animal Health and Welfare grant is now open and will close midday on 15th June 2023.  Grants of between £1,000 – £25,000. For eligible items please see here;Annex 4: FETF 2023 Animal Health and Welfare eligible items – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Productivity and Slurry applications is now closed.

In preparation for the new SFI standards your RPA maps will need to be accurate.  This means logging into your RPA account and checking your land covers and hedges are mapped correctly. Land Cover Land covers are classified by identifying the physical nature of the land.  Land covets will need to be[…]

To be released in the summer the roll out of the Sustainable Farming Scheme will be different to the soils standard.  You can pick and choose from options and do not have to enter each category.  This is a positive change and makes the application simpler.  See the table for payment rates and[…]

The important dates for CS applications (for January 2024 agreements) are: 7 February – CS Higher Tier open for applications. 21 March – CS Mid Tier and Wildlife Offers open for applications. 28 April – CS Higher Tier application window closes. 2 June – Deadline to contact the RPA about[…]

Agroforestry can mean many different things but, in essence, it is trees on farms.  There are two main types of agroforestry:  1. Silvo-pastoral agroforestry: which means the grazing of animals under trees. The animals enrich the soil while the trees provide shelter, shade and fodder for the animals.  2. Silvo-arable agroforestry: where crops are grown[…]

A hedgerow carbon code tool has been developed by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) and is now being piloted on 3 farms.   The code will encourage hedgerow habitat improvements to increase the amount of carbon stored by hedges, contributing to British farming’s net-zero target and boosting biodiversity. It will[…]

Ponds are often said to be the “best value for your buck” in getting the maximum wildlife benefits with highly mobile species such as dragonflies using them instantly.  Creating wetland habitat on the farm will be of benefit for many species and can be done in a day or two with[…]

In November 2022 we met up with around 70 of our fellow advisors who work through our umbrella organisation, the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group.  The FWAG Association sits on the Defra Stakeholder Group so provides us with a valuable line to early information on policy and grant funding streams, and[…]

ELM Associates was delighted this year to sponsor the new Farmed Environment Class for the first time.  The updated class criteria covers conservation efforts to benefit farm wildlife but also takes account the management of soil health and carbon stocks, clean water and air quality. There were 5 entrants this year,[…]