Farm groups welcome commercial woodland SFS exclusion

Farming organisations have welcomed a Welsh government decision to exclude commercial forestry land from Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) payments, arguing funding must prioritise active farmers.

Rural Payments Wales (RPW) is understood to be writing to affected claimants to confirm that commercial woodland is not eligible for Universal Layer payments under the scheme.

See also: Thousands of Welsh farmers receive 80% advance payments

Support is restricted to agricultural land, including farm woodland, as defined under the Agriculture (Wales) Act 2023.

The clarification follows RPW identifying a number of businesses that declared involvement in commercial forestry and entered land used for timber production into the SFS.

Affected land parcels will be removed from 2026 claims without penalty and excluded from advance payments.

The Welsh government will also review the definition of “farm woodland” ahead of the 2027 scheme year.

Support for commercial woodland, which is not associated with an agricultural business, remains available through other routes, including the Woodland Creation Grant and Small Grant Woodland Creation Scheme, both open to applicants outside the SFS.

New Woodland Management Grants, due to launch next year, will also be available to those outside the Scheme the Welsh government has said.

Funding priorities

The Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) Cymru welcomed the move, arguing that agricultural support should be reserved for active farming businesses.

TFA chief executive George Dunn said: “Commercial woodland interests should never have been able to apply, and TFA Cymru therefore, welcomes the actions being taken by Welsh government to ensure that the scheme is properly targeted on active farmers”.

The Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN) Cymru added that agricultural funding should prioritise farmers delivering environmental benefits alongside food production.

NFFN Cymru manager Rhys Evans said: “Including purely commercial, timber-focused forestry blocks within public agricultural payments would risk diluting the SFS budget away from active agricultural holdings.”

He acknowledged the importance of biodiversity within commercial forestry, but called for a dedicated funding scheme to support habitat improvements, while protecting SFS funding for Welsh farms incorporating woodland and agroforestry.