Countryside Stewardship extended but uncertainty remains

Defra pledges £70 million to maintain vital habitats

More than 5,000 farmers whose environmental agreements were due to expire at the end of the year have been offered a one-year extension following months of campaigning by countryside organisations.

Defra announced on 15 October that it would invest up to £70 million to extend Countryside Stewardship Mid-Tier agreements until 31 December 2026, preventing what conservation groups warned would be the loss of critical habitat for farmland birds and wildlife.

Funding gap after SFI closure

The extension follows the closure earlier this year of the Sustainable Farming Incentive, which was due to replace Countryside Stewardship but shut without warning due to oversubscription after funding ran out. This left thousands of farmers facing a funding gap with no alternative scheme to enter.

The Countryside Stewardship Mid-Tier scheme pays farmers for environmental work including planting wildflower margins, providing cover crops to feed wild birds throughout winter, and managing hedgerows to create habitat for small mammals and birds.

“Breathing space” for farmers and nature

Dr Alastair Leake, director of policy at the GWCT, welcomed the decision to extend the Countryside Stewardship scheme, saying it provides “breathing space, not just for farmers who had been facing an uncertain future and some tough decisions, had funding ended after Christmas, but also for nature as farmers now have a chance to avoid taking destructive measures simply to make ends meet”.

Dr Leake, who also sits on the board of Natural England, said the extension directly affects research at the GWCT’s Allerton Project demonstration farm in Leicestershire, where it will enable the trust to protect long-established habitat areas whilst waiting for the Sustainable Farming Incentive to reopen in 2026.

Calls for clarity on the scheme’s future

Victoria Vyvyan, president of the Country Land and Business Association, said the decision was overdue but urged the government to provide urgent clarity on the future of the Sustainable Farming Incentive. “Without this, thousands of farmers will continue to face a funding gap that puts livelihoods and years of environmental progress at risk,” she said, before adding: “These are world-leading schemes that could transform British farming – if only government gives them the backing they deserve.”

Government pledges long-term investment

Farming Minister Dame Angela Eagle said the government was committed to food security and investing in nature-friendly farming, promising to increase funding for environmental land management schemes by 150% to £2 billion by 2029.

The Rural Payments Agency will contact eligible farmers directly with details of how to accept the extension. According to Defra, there are currently more than 77,000 live agri-environment agreements, with half of all farmed land in England – 4.3 million hectares – actively managed in these schemes.

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