NEW WOODLAND CREATION GRANT
The England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) is a new grant launched last week to support the creation of new woodland. Many of the options offered under the existing Stewardship Woodland creation and maintenance grant are also available under this new offer and may be eligible for higher payment rates. It will also create new woodland on areas as small as 1ha including through natural colonisation. The Forestry Commission will offer free support with applying to the scheme if contacted by 9 July 2021.
FARMING IN PROTECTED LANDSCAPES SCHEME
Defra published a blog post this week about the importance of National Parks and AONBs - see Protected Landscapes - an overview. This is in preparation for an announcement about the Farming in Protected Landscapes Scheme which is expected imminently. Hopefully more details in next week’s ENews.
FUTURE FARM RESILIENCE FUND
This week, Defra also published a Future Farm Resilience Programme update. The programme will provide business advice to farmers to help them navigate the changes to support payments during the agricultural transition. It is expected an interim service will be available from August with full roll out from April 2022.
DEFRA LUMP SUM EXIT SCHEME & DELINKED PAYMENTS CONSULTATION
Defra is consulting about offering farmers a one-off lump sum exit scheme payment in 2022 and to ‘delink’ Direct Payments from land from 2024. See: Lump Sum and Delinked Payments Consultation for details. The consultation closes on 11th August.