Why this matters to everyone

Agricultural policy sounds dry. It isn't. The decisions made in Westminster and Holyrood about how and whether to support British farmers determine what food gets produced, how the countryside looks, what wildlife survives, and ultimately what ends up on your plate and at what price.

For decades, the framework was set by the European Union — and most British people had little idea how it worked. Brexit forced a complete redesign of the system, and that redesign is still underway. This guide explains the old system, the new one, and what's at stake in the gap between them.

The money trail — 80 years of farm support

Click any point on the timeline to expand the full story of that era of farm policy.

UK Farm Support — A History
From post-war subsidies to the new environmental payment system

Where the money goes — then and now

Before Brexit, around £3.5 billion per year flowed from Brussels to British farms. Today the equivalent figure flows from Westminster — but the distribution is changing dramatically. Use the year buttons to compare.

UK Agricultural Support — Allocation Map
How public money is distributed across farm types and purposes

The four ELMS tiers — what they actually involve

England's Environmental Land Management scheme has four components. They operate at different scales, require different commitments, and offer very different payment levels. Select each to explore what's actually involved.

Tier 1 — Entry Level
Sustainable Farming Incentive
The entry-level scheme, open to all farmers with an SBI number. No minimum area, no complex application. Farmers choose from a menu of actions and receive annual payments for delivering them.
36,000+Agreements in place (2024)
£50–£700Per hectare per action
3 yearsMinimum agreement length
All farmsWho is eligible
Sample actions & payment rates
No-till arable land (CSAM3)£73/ha
Herbal leys (LIG1)£382/ha
Soil organic matter testing£95/test
Hedgerow management (HEDG2)£10/100m
Flower-rich grass margins£646/ha
✅Simple to apply — no adviser needed for basic actions
✅Stackable with Countryside Stewardship
⚠️Payment rates often below opportunity cost
⚠️Some actions removed at short notice in 2024
Tier 2 — Mid Tier
Countryside Stewardship+
The mid-tier scheme for farms with more complex environmental opportunities — priority habitats, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, or higher-value landscape features. More ambition, more administration, better rates.
25,000+Agreements active
£100–£800Per hectare per option
5 yearsAgreement length
Prioritised sitesWho benefits most
Sample higher-tier options
Upland hay meadow restoration£590/ha
Lowland heathland management£468/ha
Farmland bird package£798/ha
Water body management£412/ha
Ancient woodland buffer£540/ha
✅Higher rates better reflect genuine environmental value
✅Capital grants available for infrastructure
⚠️Complex application — most farmers need an adviser
⚠️Long approval times frustrate applicants
Tier 3 — Large Scale
Landscape Recovery
The most ambitious tier — funding transformative, landscape-scale projects that fundamentally change land use across large areas. Think rewilding, major wetland creation, extensive woodland expansion. Project-based, multi-year, and highly competitive.
56Projects approved (2024)
£1M+Typical project grant
10–15 yrProject duration
500ha+Minimum typical scale
What qualifies as Landscape Recovery?
Rewilding — reintroduction projectsProject-based
River restoration & floodplain creationProject-based
Large-scale native woodland creationProject-based
Coastal habitat restorationProject-based
Collaborative cross-farm projectsProject-based
✅Genuinely transformative environmental potential
✅Long-term certainty rare in UK agri-environment
⚠️Extremely competitive — most applications rejected
⚠️Long land tie-in deters many farmers
Supplementary Scheme
Farming in Protected Landscapes
A targeted scheme for farms within National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Funded separately from ELMS, delivered through the protected landscape body rather than directly by government. Focuses on traditional farming practices that maintain the distinctive character of these areas.
£26MAnnual budget (England)
£80/haTypical payment
2 yearsTypical agreement
AONB / NPGeographic eligibility
Focus areas
Traditional breed conservationVaries
Historic field system maintenanceVaries
Public access improvementsVaries
Landscape character featuresVaries
Visitor engagement & educationVaries
✅Simpler and more locally tailored than ELMS
✅Genuine partnership with land management body
⚠️Only available in protected areas
⚠️Small budget limits reach and ambition

How much could your farm receive?

Enter some basic details about a hypothetical farm to get an illustrative estimate of what ELMS payments could look like. This uses real published payment rates.

ELMS Payment Estimator
Illustrative only — based on 2024/25 published SFI payment rates
Estimated annual payment
£0
per year
This is illustrative only. Actual payments depend on specific actions, area measurements, and scheme eligibility. Speak to an agricultural adviser before making decisions.

Four nations — four different systems

Agricultural policy is devolved. Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and England each run their own support systems — with different philosophies, different payment levels, and different timelines. Click any card to see the detail.

Devolved Agricultural Support Systems
The four nations have taken dramatically different approaches since Brexit
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England
Environmental Land Management (ELMS)
Radical departure — payments tied entirely to environmental outcomes. BPS fully phased out by 2027. Most ambitious redesign of any UK nation.
Public money for public goods
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Wales
Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS)
Requires 10% of farm as woodland and 10% as habitat — controversial with farmers. After pushback, revised terms announced in 2024. Phased introduction from 2025.
Most contested in UK
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Scotland
Agricultural Reform Programme (ARP)
Three tiers: Whole Farm Plan, Tier 2 (greening), Tier 3 (enhanced). More cautious pace than England. BPS equivalent continues in modified form until 2025.
Cautious transition
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N. Ireland
Future Agricultural Policy Framework
Significant political uncertainty has slowed reform. BPS-equivalent payments continue in the interim. Alignment with EU rules required by the Windsor Framework adds complexity.
Most delayed reform

Test your knowledge — policy quiz

Six questions on UK agricultural policy. How much have you taken in?

Agricultural Policy — Quick-fire Quiz
Select the best answer for each question

Jargon buster — search any term

Agricultural policy is drowning in acronyms. Search any term below for a plain-English explanation.

Policy Jargon Buster
45 terms explained in plain English — type to search
No matching terms found
The bottom line

UK agricultural support policy is in the middle of the most significant redesign in 50 years. The direction — paying for environmental outcomes rather than land ownership — is broadly right. The execution has been messier than it should have been. Whether it ultimately works depends on whether payment rates are set high enough to change behaviour at scale.