Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier Extensions and Expressions of Interest

Two changes to Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) were announced this month:

• Agreement holders who have five-year options which expire in December 2026, as well as options which run until 2031, will be invited to extend them for another five years, to maintain the environmental benefits of the scheme. This will allow all options to expire at the same time.

• On 21st July, applications opened to farmers and land managers in England for the new single-focus Higher Tier (CSHT) agreements Defra already reported that over 300 EOIs had been submitted in the first ten days, against an initial allocation of 1,200 single-focus agreements.

Extensions for options expiring in December 2026

If your Higher Tier agreement includes five-year options that expire in December 2026, but you also hold options running until 2031, Defra will invite you to extend the expiring options for a further five years. If tenancies, cropping plans or succession arrangements have changed since you signed the original agreement, check which options are affected.

New Higher Tier Expression of Interest process

Opened on 21st July, farmers and land managers in England can now express interest across four areas:

• Agroforestry, which requires an approved agroforestry plan

• Woodland improvement, which requires an approved woodland management plan

• Managing, restoring or creating species-rich grassland

• Management of scheduled monuments

Species-rich grassland and scheduled monuments are offered through new single-focus agreements. These are simplified agreements covering one environmental priority, aimed at farms that want Higher Tier funding for a specific site without building a full agreement around it.

If you would like any support in navigating these changes, please give us a call.