Deadline approaching for Catchment Sensitive Farming approval requests
28th April 2023
Farmers looking to apply for Mid-Tier Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) funding are being reminded to seek approval from a Catchment Sensitive Farming Officer (CSFO) in the next few weeks to ensure their application will be considered.
The capital grants available under Mid-Tier CSS are aimed at improving water and air quality on farms and estates in England by reducing the amount of diffuse pollution and ammonia being released.
The funding will enable farmers to invest in items such as livestock and machinery hardcore tracks, concrete yard renewal, self-supporting slurry covers, lined bio-beds and the roofing of silage camps, collecting yards, muck heaps, slurry and silage stores.
Alice Johnson, farm business consultant in the Northallerton office of Strutt & Parker, explained that farmers thinking of applying to any of the funding options that require CSFO support must make contact with their local team by early June, despite the deadline for Mid-Tier applications being mid-August.
“The guidance states that you must fill out a CSF support request form and send it to your local CSF mailbox at least 10 weeks before you intend to submit your application to the Rural Payments Agency.
“Given the closing date for Mid-Tier applications is 18 August 2023 this means farmers should get their CSF support request forms in by 9 June, or the guidance says the request will not be considered,” she said.
To be granted approval by the CSFO, applicants will need to demonstrate how the proposed investment will prevent water or air pollution. Ms Johnson explained funding will be prioritised for projects that are expected to achieve the largest improvements in water and air quality and reduction in flood risk.
Farmers can choose to apply for the grants either under the standalone three-year Capital Grants scheme, or as part of a wider five-year Mid-Tier CSS agreement which includes other land management options.
Standalone Capital Grants applications also require CSFO approval, however, these can be requested at any time during the year as there is no hard application deadline for standalone grants.
To keep funding options open, Ms Johnson recommends submitting a CSF request even if farmers are not sure whether to apply for CSS or wait for the new Sustainable Farming Incentives (SFI) to be rolled out this summer.
“At this stage we know that new SFI standards will be rolled out this summer, but we don’t know exactly when. Hopefully, it will be well ahead of the 18 August deadline for Mid-Tier applications, so farmers can make a considered choice between CSS or SFI,” she said.
