Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier is opening up, and this time it's not just by invitation only

Big news landed from Defra this week. Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) is dropping its invitation-only requirement, meaning farmers and land managers in England will soon be able to come forward and express an interest in joining the scheme without waiting for a tap on the shoulder from Natural England. This is a significant shift. Since CSHT launched last year it has operated on a strictly invite-only basis, which left a lot of farmers on the outside looking in, even where the land and ambition were clearly there. That’s now changing. Later this summer, a new Expression of Interest (EOI) process will open up for woodland agreements, agroforestry agreements, and a new category called single-focus agreements. Single-focus agreements are designed to be a quicker, simpler route into the scheme for farmers managing priority habitats or scheduled monuments, initially covering species-rich grassland actions and scheduled monument management, with more to follow later in the year. There’s also at least £50 million set aside for new CSHT agreements in 2026, so the budget is there to back this up. Who should be thinking about this now? A few groups in particular should have their ears pricked. If your CS Mid Tier agreement is ending in 2026 and you’ve been managing species-rich grassland or scheduled monuments, a single-focus agreement could be the right next step. If you have a woodland management plan in place, or you’ve already planted trees under an agreed agroforestry plan, you’ll be able to register your interest through the EOI process when it opens. And if you’ve been doing preparatory work with Natural England, the Forestry Commission or Historic England, you should be able to move straight into a full CSHT application. The detail on timings and exactly how the EOI process will work is still to come, but the direction is clear, and this summer is the window to act. How Ag-Ease can help Navigating the EOI process, working out which agreements fit your land, and making sure your application puts your best case forward takes time and know-how. That’s exactly what Ag-Ease is here for. Whether you want to talk through what CSHT options might be available to you, or you need practical help pulling your Expression of Interest together before the window opens this summer, get in touch and we can work through it together. Don’t leave it until the last minute — this one is worth getting ahead of. Get in touch with me, Grace Whitlow at Ag-Ease via our contact page — I’d love to help.