Capital grants cash going fast, CS Higher Tier coming soon

Farmers are being urged to get their applications in sooner rather than later if they wish to avail of the capital grants on offer from Defra, as funds are being used up fast.

The scheme was reopened for applications on 3 July, having been suspended last November, with £150m available for 78 specified items and actions, designed to “reduce pollution and make the environment more resilient”.

See also: New £150m capital grant scheme – act quickly to secure funds
 
This covers things such as slurry store covers, leaky dams, agroforestry, drystone wall repairs, hedge planting and building sprayer wash down areas.

At the time of the launch, Defra made it clear that the current round of grants would close to new applications “when the available funding is committed”.

Defra also committed to “give reasonable notice of scheme closure,” while noting that “this may not always be feasible”.

In that spirit, a new blog post on Tuesday 22 July explains that just over 50% of the available funding has been spent already.

“This uptake shows that farmers are embracing opportunities to deliver sustainable food production and restore nature,” it said.

“We will close this round of funding as soon as the remaining budget is fully allocated. At that point, we will not accept further applications, including those that have been started but not submitted.”

The blog post confirmed that there were just over 4,000 completed capital grants applications held over from last November, which are now being processed.

Communication 

NFU deputy president David Exwood said: “We welcome Defra communicating openly with farmers and growers about the capacity of the capital grants scheme.

“With so many cashflow pressures on farm businesses right now and direct payments rapidly decreasing this year, it’s understandable that farmers and growers are making the most of the only available scheme to them at the moment.”

Strutt and Parker head of farming Jonty Armitage agreed it was no surprise that 50% of the budget has been allocated in under three weeks.

“Farmers need to act swiftly to avoid disappointment,” he said. “Defra has warned that the funding is going fast – taking a lesson from the fallout after the SFI closure – but it may not issue another warning before all the funds are allocated.”

CS Higher Tier

Defra has also confirmed that the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) scheme is set to open in September – some nine months later than originally expected.

The new scheme will include 132 actions and 142 capital items, and applications will initially be taken “by invitation only”.

New elements will include a new species-rich floodplain meadow action to protect habitats, a range of waterbody actions to help prevent downstream flooding, and four new agroforestry actions to reduce soil erosion.

Payments for actions will be made quarterly, and Defra has promised better advice during the application process.

“Our approach is to gradually bring people into CSHT by rolling out invitations every month,” said a spokesperson.

“Since January, selected groups have been invited to receive pre-application advice from Natural England and the Forestry Commission, including those with existing CSHT agreements expiring in 2025, those with an approved woodland management plan, and applicants who already have an approved agri-environment plan.”

Mr Exwood said the opening of the CSHT delivers much needed certainty for those farmers who have been receiving pre-application advice. “We look forward to seeing more details.”