Agricultural funding for farmers, growers and land managers in England

When the UK was part of the EU, farming support in England was provided through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Most of the CAP funding for farmers was based on land in agricultural production, paid through the Basic Payments Scheme (BPS). Some funding was also available for farmers to implement environmental measures.

Since 2020, as the result of Brexit, the UK Government and devolved executives have been in the process of legislating and developing their own approach to replace the financial support CAP offered farmers and other land managers. Agriculture is a devolved matter, and this briefing focuses on policy in England.

The previous Conservative government set out its proposed approach for England in Health and Harmony: the future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit, in 2018. This set out a shift towards an agricultural policy that paid “public money for public goods”, with a greater focus on delivering environmental benefits and investing in sustainable food production.

Following this, an Agricultural Transition Plan was published in 2020, which set out a planned transition period to 2027. During this period BPS payments would reduce gradually over time and existing agri-environment schemes would be reviewed. At the same time funding using an Environmental Land Management (ELM) approach would be introduced and rolled out.

The current Labour government has continued with the transition process following the 2024 general election. It set out its approach in a ‘a new deal for farmers’ in August 2024. Since then, the government has:

• Commissioned the Batters independent review of farm profitability, published December 2025.
• Published a Land Use Framework for England, in May 2026, setting out principles for how different competing needs for lands use can be met, up to 2050.
• Published The Farming Roadmap 2050: Growing England’s future. This sets out the government’s strategies and commitments into a single framework and sets out a timeline for implementation up to 2030. It also sets the approach to farm funding beyond 2030, when the aim will be for most payments to be delivered through environmentally focused schemes, spatially targeted to where they deliver greatest benefits.

From 2020, the government replaced the CAP’s Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), which paid farmers based on land under production, with ‘delinked payments’, which end in 2027. A farmer’s delinked payments are based on their average historical BPS payments, but they do not require land to be in production. Introduced by the Conservative government, payments were rates reduced significantly by the Labour government.

Starting in 2023, the government also began transitioning support for farmers and other land managers to the Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes. Payments also continue to be made to farmers as part of previously existing agreements under CAP funding schemes that have not yet expired.

There are three new funding schemes now available for farmers and land managers under ELM:

• Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), which was initially available to all land managers, but from 2026 is limited to landholdings of over three hectares of qualifying agricultural land (arable land, permanent grassland and permanent crops). It offers a list of optional actions which farmers can be paid for, and farmers can pick those which they wish to implement.
• Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT), with actions that have a greater environmental focus and longer funding periods. Landowners who wish to apply must first take advice from Natural England, the environment regulator, or the Forestry Commission.
• Landscape Recovery, with a focus on long term collaborative projects amongst various landowners and stakeholders. These projects are expected to include private investment and deliver environmental benefits at a scale of 500 to 1000 hectares.

Capital grants area also available for all three schemes, which are payments for one-off actions that support their implementation.

The government also provides grant funding in number of areas such as technology, innovation, animal welfare and woodland creation.

SFI was piloted in 2022 and available in full to all applicants from 2024. However, it was unexpectedly closed by the government in March 2025, when the available funding for the year had been allocated.

Following a review of the scheme, it was reopened on 30 June 2026 with several amendments. The reopened scheme will give priority to smaller farms, under 50 hectares, or new applicants to ELM schemes. It will open fully to all applicants in September 2026. There will also be new cap of £100,000 per year per application.

CSHT is in the process of being implemented. Natural England began inviting applicants to come forward to have their plans assessed in January 2025, with the process being rolled out further in 2026. The government announced in July 2026 that the scheme will be open to all, with applicants able to submit an expression of interest, later in the year.

Funding has been provided for 54 pilot Landscape Recovery projects since 2022 to carry out a development phase, with a number moving into the implementation phase since September 2025.

Stakeholders have raised concerns that that early scheme closures and delays have created uncertainty and financial difficulties for farmers. More generally the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has said that the funding provided for ELM schemes “was insufficient to enable farmers to deliver on the government’s environmental ambitions”. There has also been criticism that those in existing schemes were not able to apply for a next round of funding until their current scheme expired, which has now been addressed.