After announcing the funding at NFU Conference, Defra has today , with the uplift applying to 157 HLS (Higher Level Stewardship) options.听
The increase brings the payment rates closer to, but not in line with, CSHT (Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier) and SFI schemes. Some options remain unchanged where the HLS payment rates are already higher or if there is no equivalent option.
These changes will apply to HLS payments issued from 1 December 2025 until 30 June 2026.
鈥淚t is also essential that Defra now sets out a clear and accessible process for HLS agreement holders.鈥�
NFU Deputy President David Exwood
There are 4,800 businesses with Environmental Stewardship agreements, many of which may affected by the uplift.听
How each agreement holders鈥� payments are affected will depend on the options they have. Later in the year, when the RPA begins to make payments, it will confirm how much each option in their agreement will increase by.
Agreement holders will be able to use the to calculate how much this will be.听
New rates fall short
Many HLS agreement holders will have been in environmental schemes for decades, especially upland farmers.
Farmers with HLS agreements entered into these agreements many years ago 鈥� the last HLS agreement started in 2014. Since then, the payment rates have not changed, yet farmers have seen their income from direct payments reduced.听
NFU Deputy President David Exwood welcomed the news, but cautioned that payment rates still fall behind equivalent CSHT options.
He said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e pleased that farmers in Higher Level Stewardship now have further detail of the payment uplift announced in February. This will hopefully provide our members with some much-needed certainty for the months ahead.
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鈥淭he Rural Payments Agency will be issuing further guidance to agreement holders to clarify how the new rates apply to their agreements.
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鈥淗owever, as the majority of uplifted options remain lower than the equivalent Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier, these changes fall short of helping the cashflow pressures many farm businesses are facing. It is also essential that Defra now sets out a clear and accessible process for HLS agreement holders, particularly those in the uplands, to transition into CSHT schemes as well as SFI.
Payment rate changes and comparison听
The below table compares some of the most popular HLS option payment rates (old and new) to their equivalent option under CSHT.
| HLS code | HLS option | Old payment rate | New payment rate (1 Jan 2025) | Equivalent CSHT code | Equivalent CSHT option | Payment rate |
| HC12 | Maintenance of wood pasture and parkland | 拢180 ha | 拢192 | WD4 | Management of wood pasture and parkland | 拢212 ha |
| HD5 | Management of archaeological features on grassland | 拢16 ha | 拢29.42 | HS5 |
Management of historic and archaeological features on grassland |
拢55 ha |
| HE10 | Floristically enhanced grass margin | 拢485 ha | 拢592.67 | AB8 | Flower-rich margins and plots | 拢798 ha |
| HE3 | 6m buffer strips on cultivated land | 拢400 ha | 拢439.56 | SW1 | 4-6m buffer strip on cultivated land | 拢515 ha |
| HF2 | Wild bird seed mixture | 拢450 ha | 拢588.63 | AB9 | Winter bird food | 拢853 ha |
| HR1 | Cattle grazing supplement | 拢35 ha | 拢43.26 | SP6 | Cattle grazing supplement | 拢59 ha |
| HO1 | Maintenance of lowland heath | 拢200 ha | 拢272.93 |
LH1 | Management of lowland heathland | 拢412 ha |
| HN8/9 | Educational access (base and per visit) | 拢500 per year +拢100 per visit | No change | ED1 | Educational access | 拢363 per visit |
| HL9 | Maintenance of moorland | 拢40 ha | 拢45.16 | UP3 | Management of moorland | 拢55 ha |
| HL3 | Permanent grassland with very low inputs in SDAs |
拢60 ha | 拢91.30 | GS5 | Permanent grassland with very low input in SDAs | 拢151 ha |
| HK6 | Maintenance of species rich, semi- natural grassland | 拢200 ha | 拢353.42 |
GS6 |
Management of species-rich grassland | 拢646 ha |
| HL16 | Shepherding supplement | 拢5 ha | 拢6.72 | SP5 | Shepherding supplement | 拢10 ha |
| HL15 | Seasonal livestock exclusion supplement | 拢10 ha | 拢13.10 | UP6 | Upland livestock exclusion supplement | 拢19 ha |
Transitioning to other schemes
There are a total of 200 options under HLS, with the new payment rates bringing 157 of these closer to equivalent scheme options.听
On publishing the new payment rates, Farming Minister, Daniel Zeichner said: This 拢30 million uplift in HLS payments recognises their [farmers'] essential role in protecting our environment 鈥� work that鈥檚 crucial for long-term food security, boosting productivity, and tackling climate change.鈥澨�
Currently, there is no formal process to transition between schemes such as HLS and CSHT to SFI. 皇家华人is lobbying the new government for arrangements to be put in place and guidance to be issued.
Defra intends to introduce an automatic process this year.听
View the full table of new payment rates at: .
More information on how the payment rates have been calculated including how to calculate how this affects your agreement, can be found on: .
