Spotlight on new actions: agroforestry and improvements to our trees and woodland offer
Written by The Team
The Agricultural Transition Plan update includes the full range of new and updated Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) actions and the payment rates available in 2024.
In this post, we will focus on the new agroforestry actions. Agroforestry is tree planting that is deliberately combined with food production on the same land. It can:
Through these actions, we want farmers and land managers to consider planting more trees in suitable places and manage more of our woodlands.
In this post, we’ll also include improvements to the Countryside Stewardship (CS) offer for trees and woodlands.
We’re introducing in-field agroforestry actions across various tree densities to encourage more trees in the farmed landscape.
The agroforestry actions are a vital part of our work to meet our ambitious net zero, biodiversity and environmental objectives.
To that end, the actions have been designed to appeal to the widest range of farmers and are applicable on the widest range of land types.
Everyone’s situation is different, so we want to provide as much choice as possible.
We are introducing new actions to create and maintain in-field agroforestry systems of which there are 2 main types:
The arrangements and densities of trees is flexible to allow you to decide what is best for your circumstances.
For example, silvoarable tree planting arrangements traditionally use widely spaced rows of trees, but you could use this design equally in a silvopasture setting, especially when managing grass for grazing and silage cutting.
The lower tree density actions enable agroforestry to be carried out on land with low sensitivity to tree planting without requiring Environmental Impact Assessments EIA. For example, land managers who want to do a basic level of tree planting with a small number of trees on the land they farm.
This makes agroforestry accessible to those that want to try this innovative approach and to tenant farmers too. Tenant farmers should check their tenancy agreement before including agroforestry actions in their SFI agreement.
The higher tree density actions provide for those who want to maximise the benefits from agroforestry planting, including those who are already confident implementing agroforestry practices. We will release more details on these offers and EIA requirements in due course.
These new agroforestry actions complement agroforestry offers already available in CS, providing land managers with more flexibility and more ways to integrate trees on their land, including hedgerow, wood pasture and parkland and traditional orchard.
We’re continuing to support woodland creation through the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) which supports, among a wide range of other things, riparian planting.
The full list of agroforestry actions are:
Written by The Team
The Agricultural Transition Plan update includes the full range of new and updated Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) actions and the payment rates available in 2024.
In this post, we will focus on the new agroforestry actions. Agroforestry is tree planting that is deliberately combined with food production on the same land. It can:
- reduce soil erosion
- improve water and air quality
- provide shelter for livestock and crops
- reduce flood risk
- improve food, fuel or timber production potential
- increase biodiversity
- capture and store carbon
- improve climate change resilience.
Through these actions, we want farmers and land managers to consider planting more trees in suitable places and manage more of our woodlands.
In this post, we’ll also include improvements to the Countryside Stewardship (CS) offer for trees and woodlands.
New agroforestry actions
We’re introducing in-field agroforestry actions across various tree densities to encourage more trees in the farmed landscape.
The agroforestry actions are a vital part of our work to meet our ambitious net zero, biodiversity and environmental objectives.
To that end, the actions have been designed to appeal to the widest range of farmers and are applicable on the widest range of land types.
Everyone’s situation is different, so we want to provide as much choice as possible.
We are introducing new actions to create and maintain in-field agroforestry systems of which there are 2 main types:
- Silvoarable: trees are planted at wide spacings and intercropped with a cereal, horticultural or other crops (crops are grown in the space between the tree rows)
- Silvopastoral: trees are combined with forage (plants eaten by livestock) grassland and livestock production.
The arrangements and densities of trees is flexible to allow you to decide what is best for your circumstances.
For example, silvoarable tree planting arrangements traditionally use widely spaced rows of trees, but you could use this design equally in a silvopasture setting, especially when managing grass for grazing and silage cutting.
The lower tree density actions enable agroforestry to be carried out on land with low sensitivity to tree planting without requiring Environmental Impact Assessments EIA. For example, land managers who want to do a basic level of tree planting with a small number of trees on the land they farm.
This makes agroforestry accessible to those that want to try this innovative approach and to tenant farmers too. Tenant farmers should check their tenancy agreement before including agroforestry actions in their SFI agreement.
The higher tree density actions provide for those who want to maximise the benefits from agroforestry planting, including those who are already confident implementing agroforestry practices. We will release more details on these offers and EIA requirements in due course.
These new agroforestry actions complement agroforestry offers already available in CS, providing land managers with more flexibility and more ways to integrate trees on their land, including hedgerow, wood pasture and parkland and traditional orchard.
We’re continuing to support woodland creation through the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) which supports, among a wide range of other things, riparian planting.
The full list of agroforestry actions are:
Actions to maintain high or medium density in-field agroforestry |