Value of capital grants doubles in revised Countryside Stewardship
10 February 2021 |
Funding threshold for capital-only grants under CS has increased to £20,000 per funding group
Farmers can apply for a wider range of capital grants, including to help improve air quality, through the latest round of the Countryside Stewardship scheme (CS) which has now opened.
The maximum level of funding available for the different groups of capital-only grants has also risen from £10,000 to £20,000.
Defra has revealed that a key change this year is a bigger range of capital items will be offered to farmers under a new Capital Grants offer, designed to sit alongside the simplified Wildlife Offers.
Scottish farmer farmers are getting their second and final instalment of convergence funding by the end of January.
Around 18,000 farmers will benefit from the support worth £71.8m.
This comes from the £160m package which the UK government awarded Scotland due to its low average payment per hectare.
The convergence fund will focus payments on hill and upland farmers, who have had their less favoured support payments slashed to 40% of the historic rate.
Rural economy secretary Fergus Ewing has committed to channel the convergence money to bring these payments back up to a 100% rate.
Positive response
NFU Scotland president Andrew McCornick said: “The Scottish government has responded positively to NFU Scotland’s calls to fully make up the shortfall in LFASS payments for all those hit by the EU requirements that LFASS 2020 had to be paid out at 40% of the LFASS 2018 values.