CRT welcomes Defra’s new reforms – but still more work to be done The CRT has welcomed Defra’s new reforms, which will have a positive impact for farming, especially the unfreezing of ELM capital grants. The announcements were made by Defra Secretary of State Steve Reed at the NFU conference on February 25 to “make farming and food production sustainable and profitable.” The new reforms include: An increase in Higher Level Stewardship payment rates across a range of options. This will aid farmers in managing habitats, maintaining species-rich grasslands to restoring and managing wetlands and woodlands. Re-opening of Capital Grants after they were frozen in November, 2024. This will have a positive impact on several CRT farms, where applications were already in or about to go in, including fencing at Cleavers, East Sussex, fencing at Pierrepont Farm, Surrey, improvements to the water supply and fencing at Baber’s Farm in Dorset as well as roofing over the slurry store at Pierrepont Farm. Defra is continuing to roll out the new Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier, with the opening of the scheme for applications in the summer. More opportunity to apply for support from the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF). The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway is providing keepers of cattle, sheep, and pigs in England with access to a series of fully funded visits by a vet of their choice. This helps farmers to improve the health, welfare and productivity of their animals and tackle endemic disease. Funding will also be available for Farming Innovation Programme (FIP) competitions in 2025/2026. This includes extending the Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme for another year until March 2026. This is good news for any of our projects, which receive FiPL funding to help us increase biodiversity, enable public access and protect these special landscapes. Five CRT farms sit within National Landscape Areas – Dorset, High Weald and Surrey Hills Kerriann Mclackland, Head of Estates Kerriann McLackland, the CRT’s Head of Estates, said while she welcomed the announcements, more still needs to be done to truly support farming for nature. She said: "Last year, it was very disappointing to see the capital grant scheme stopped overnight. This had big repercussions as landowners and farmers could not plan. While it is fantastic news to see the grant scheme open again, it has left us and our tenants feeling inherently uncertain. “Nature friendly farming needs grant funding to be reliable, transparent and at rates that reflect the true costs of providing biodiverse landscapes. Hopefully this announcement will see the end of short-term panic decision making. "Now that the announcement has been made, it is essential that the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) refocus on more efficient processing of applications. There are too many farmers, including several CRT tenants, who are waiting months for SFI applications to be processed. All the time they are waiting this is placing severe pressure on farm cashflows and delaying the benefits for the environment.” More ways to support us If you want to help us protect local wildlife and habitats in other ways you can join as a CRT Friend, attend our in-person and online events and volunteer on one of our farms. You can also sign-up to our monthly newsletter 'CRT News' for regular updates from our farms, straight to your inbox. Join Events Volunteer News Published: March 2025 Manage Cookie Preferences