Farmers accepting an offer of contract under the Small Woodland Grant scheme should note that all planting works must be completed before submitting the 2021 Basic Payment Scheme claim.

Under the grant scheme, a standard payment of £2,925/ha will cover site preparation, trees and general site maintenance.

The payment is split with 80% paid in year one and the balance issued in year five. In addition, 10 annual payments of £350/ha are payable to offset income otherwise generated by agricultural activity.

Early planting

Advice from approved suppliers under the scheme is to place orders for trees as early as possible, as there is considerable demand for saplings, with some species extremely limited in availability.

Under the scheme, successful applicants can substitute species that are unavailable, but a minimum of three pre-approved dominant species must be planted on the designated site.

Farmers that cannot source trees can opt out of the scheme, but must reapply if they wish to proceed with planting under the next tranche, due to open for applications this summer.

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