Changes to Countryside Stewardship Payment Rates

25 January 2022

The Rural Payments Agency has recently announced changes to the Countryside Stewardship Scheme payment rates, effective from 1^st January 2022.

If you have an agreement, or an application for an agreement which starts on or before 1^st January 2022 then where the payment rate has:

increased, the new rate will be paid
decreased, the existing rate shown on the agreement will be paid
not changed, the existing rate shown on the agreement will be paid

For new agreements starting from 1^st January 2023, all the new payment rates will apply.

The main payment rate changes are as detailed below:

Revenue Option	Revenue Option Title	Old Rate (£)	Rate for agreements starting on or before 1^st Jan 2022 (£)	Rate for agreements starting on or after 1^st Jan 2023 (£)
AB1	Nectar flower mix	511	579	579
AB2	Basic overwinter stubble	84	84	58
AB6	Enhanced overwinter stubble	436	493	493
AB8	Flower rich margins and plots	539	628	628
AB9	Winter bird food	640	640	640
AB12	Supplementary winter feeding for farmland birds	632	657	657
AB15	Two year sown legume fallow	522	569	569
BE3	Management of hedgerows	8	9	9
GS2	Permanent grassland with very low inputs (outside SDAs)	95	132	132
GS4	Legume and herb-rich swards	309	358	358
HS2	Take historic and archaeological features currently on cultivated land out of cultivation	425	459	459
SW1	4 – 6m buffer strip on cultivated land	353	419	419
SW4	12 – 24m watercourse buffer strip on cultivated land	512	578	578

The full list of changes can be found here.

There are no plans for the payment rates for capital items to be changed.

For more information or to find out how our Rural Property & Business department can help you, please contact 01234 352201 or email bedford@robinsonandhall.co.uk

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