Update on HLS Agreement Extensions

This will be welcome news for many agreement holders who have found HLS to be environmentally and financially rewarding on their land and would prefer to continue to deliver established benefits and outcomes rather than replace the scheme with alternatives including Mid Tier, Higher Tier and the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI).

Despite them being in their seventh year, the Mid Tier and Higher Tier schemes still remain relatively unexplored by some farmers whose HLS schemes are still in their original 10-year term or who have chosen to accept the offer of one-year extensions from the RPA.

It is worth comparing the options, prescriptions, outcomes and payments available under Mid Tier and Higher Tier to those of existing HLS schemes, before accepting offers of agreement extensions, and now is the best time of year to do it – while there is plenty of time before the application window opens and time to request the surveys of land required for it to be mapped as priority habitat.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive is the latest environmental scheme to be introduced, and differs to previous Environmental Stewardship (ELS/HLS) and Countryside Stewardship (Mid and Higher Tier) schemes that have been available, but is equally worth exploring if you wish to supplement farming income.

The scheme has been slow to emerge and is still not available in its full and final form, though we anticipate uptake to increase as BPS payments continue to phase out.

When your existing HLS agreement is due to expire, the RPA will send an expression of interest request and then an agreement extension offer, and if having considered the alternative schemes available, you choose to accept the extension offer, you still have the flexibility to leave your agreement at an agreed point if you are accepted onto another environmental scheme in the future.

Louise Preece is associate director at Halls in Shrewsbury