Guidance

Countryside Stewardship: Arable Offer overview

Published 14 May 2021

Applies to England

What is the Arable Offer?

The Arable Offer is a package of selected Countryside Stewardship (CS) Mid Tier options. It’s designed to help farmers and landowners choose different ways to provide year round habitats that will help pollinators, farmland birds, and other farm wildlife to thrive.

It’s quick and easy to apply:

• use the Rural Payments service to apply online
• the Arable Offer is non-competitive

What are the benefits?

CS Arable Offer options provide:

• a range of options so you can choose those most relevant to your farm business and local priorities
• improved nectar sources for insect pollinators and foraging for birds
• additional winter-food sources for seed-eating birds
• improved habitats and other resources for specific species or areas.

The Arable Offer helps a farm business provide for the needs of farmland birds; helps pollinators to carry out their essential services of pollinating flowers and crops; it also helps to protect water courses.

By selecting the Arable Offer you will be building on the positive environmental work that many farm businesses have already undertaken.

In return, you’ll receive an annual payment for 5 years. The amount you receive depends on the options you choose.

Am I eligible?

To be eligible:

• you must be registered in the Rural Payments service
• your land must be registered in the Rural Payments service and linked to your Single Business Identifier (SBI) before you start your application
• your land must be arable or temporary grassland. (You can include permanent grassland, but only hedgerow options can be located on these parcels)
• your chosen options must cover at least 3% of the farmed land in your agreement
• you must have full management control of the land for 5 years
• you must meet any minimum requirement for each category.

You will not be eligible to apply for the Arable Offer using an SBI which has land:

• in an Environmental Stewardship agreement that ends after 1 January 2022
• that is subject to an Inheritance Tax exemption agreement with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
• with a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

If you or the land linked to your SBI are not eligible for the Arable Offer, or you want to do more than the options available such as capital works, management of organics, wetlands or other habitats, then you are advised to apply for CS Mid Tier or CS Higher Tier.

If you have an SBI with over 200 land parcels linked to it, you cannot apply online for the Arable Offer. You should request a paper application form instead.

Dates for your diary

• Applications open in the Rural Payments service from 9 February 2021.
• Deadline to request a paper application pack by email or phone is 28 May 2021.
• Last date to request approval for management options for priority habitats and species is 31 May 2021.
• Deadline to request an application pack online in the Rural Payments service is 30 June 2021.
• Application deadline is 30 July 2021.

Which options do I choose?

You can complete an application with as few as 3 options, one from each of the 3 categories. However, you can choose as many of the 20 options as you like. The more you choose, the higher the total payment you will receive and the better for wildlife.

All options are paid on every hectare used, unless shown differently. Important: check that your land is eligible, for more information search for ‘Countryside Stewardship grants’ on GOV.UK

Category 1 – Improve nectar and pollen sources for insect pollinators and insect-rich foraging birds.

Select at least one of the options below

Option	Option title	Area	Payment rate per hectare (ha), per year
AB1	Nectar flower mix	minimum 1% or 1 ha per 100 ha of farmed land	£511
AB8	Flower-rich margins and plots	minimum 1% or 1 ha per 100 ha of farmed land	£539

Category 2 – Introduce additional winter-food sources for seed-eating birds

(You must select this option)

Option	Option title	Area	Payment rate per hectare (ha), per year
AB9	Winter bird mix	minimum 2% or 2 ha per 100 ha of farmed land	£640

Category 3 – Improve habitats and other resources for specific species

(no minimum or maximum, apart from individual option requirements).

Select at least one of the options below

Option	Option title	Payment rate per hectare (ha), per year
BE3	Management of hedgerows	£8/100m
AB3	Beetle banks	£573
AB4	Skylark plots	£18 (£9 per plot, min 2 plots per ha)
AB5	Nesting plots for lapwing and stone curlew	£524
AB6	Enhanced overwinter stubble	£436
AB11	Cultivated areas for arable plants	£532
AB12	Supplementary winter feeding for farmland birds (per tonne for every 2 ha of AB9- Winter bird food)	£632
AB13	Brassica fodder crop	£100
AB15	Two year sown legume fallow	£522
AB16	Autumn sown bumblebird mix	£550
HS1	Maintenance of weatherproof traditional farm buildings	£3.25/m²
HS2	Take historic and archaeological features out of cultivation	£425
HS3	Reduced-depth, non-inversion cultivation on historic archaeological features	£79
SW1	4m to 6m buffer strip on cultivated land	£353
SW3	In-field grass strips	£557
SW4	12m to 24m watercourse buffer strip on cultivated land	£512
WT2	Buffering in-field ponds and ditches on arable land	£501

Useful Information

Look for the information at the top of each table to find out what you need to choose in each category. Read the Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier and Wildlife Offers manual available on GOV.UK before you start your application.

The Wildlife Offers are:

• quick and easy
• non-competitive
• options that support local wildlife

How can I apply?

Apply online by signing in using the link on the Rural Payments Agency page on GOV.UK. Search for Make or update a rural payments claim on GOV.UK

If you cannot apply online, call 03000 200 301 to discuss your options before 28 May 2021.

1. Choose your offer
2. Create an application online
3. Choose the land you want to include
4. Choose your options
5. Check you have completed your application including the declaration and submit
6. Gather any evidence and complete your Farm Environment Record (FER)

Make sure you read the Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier and Wildlife Offers manual (especially Chapters 5, 6 and 7 and Annex 1).

More information

What other Wildlife Offers are available?

The Wildlife Offers have been designed to help you choose the right options for your farm, and make it easier and simpler to apply for a Countryside Stewardship agreement. There are 3 other Wildlife Offers:

• Lowland Grazing Offer
• Mixed Farming Offer
• Upland Offer

For more information, search for ‘Wildlife Offers’ on GOV.UK.

What else is available under Countryside Stewardship?

There are 3 main parts to the Countryside Stewardship scheme. These are:

• Mid Tier
• Higher Tier
• Capital only grants and include woodland support and water capital.

For more information, search for ‘Countryside Stewardship’ on GOV.UK.

Which options are best for your farm?

There are many different options available to help you improve the natural environment on your farm. To help find the right options for you, use the Countryside Stewardship: grants information on GOV.UK. Search for ‘Countryside Stewardship grants’ on GOV.UK

For more information search for ‘Wildlife Offers’ on GOV.UK