Time is running out to apply for countryside stewardship

Farmers in England wishing to be part of a mid-tier countryside stewardship scheme in 2019 have just days left to express their interest in applying.

Full applications detailing what options are being selected on which land parcels do not have to be submitted until 31 July, but farmers only have until 31 May to request an application pack.

This year application forms for the mid-tier scheme are available on the Gov.uk website and can be submitted by email.

A separate form is required for applications of interest in the streamlined wildlife offers.

See also: How to apply for a wildlife countryside stewardship offer

The deadline for expressing an interest in applying for higher-tier applications already passed on 13 April.

Ed Trotter, farming consultant at Strutt and Parker, said the wildlife offers were a simplified version of the full mid-tier scheme.

“A big selling point of the simplified offers is that they are non-competitive, meaning anyone who puts together an eligible application will have it accepted,” he explained.

“However, a downside is that no capital items are included as part of the offers, so farmers wanting to apply for funding for work such as concerete yard renewal or the installation of farm tracks will need to make a standard mid-tier application.”