An example of agroforestry (wheat and elderflower) on the Dartington Estate, Devon. Credit: Steve Clarke
From today, you can apply for agroforestry and woodland assessment items through the Higher Tier Capital Grants offer.
This means these items will be available to apply for year-round, rather than only through the Capital Grants 2026 offer.
You can also receive support from the Forestry Commission or Natural England to help design and plan your agroforestry system.
You will still be able to apply for the Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship schemes as usual.
Planting an agroforestry systemIn-field agroforestry involves deliberately integrating trees with agricultural activities on the same area of land.
When done well, agroforestry can significantly improve soil health by reducing erosion, increasing organic matter, and enhancing nutrient cycling. It can also support greater biodiversity by providing habitat for pollinators, birds, and other beneficial species.
The presence of trees can make farming systems more resilient to drought and extreme weather, helping to moderate temperatures, improve water retention, and reduce wind damage. In addition, agroforestry contributes to climate-change mitigation by storing carbon in both trees and soils.
Beyond its environmental benefits, it can also diversify farm income through the production of fruit, nuts, timber, fodder, biomass, and other marketable products alongside conventional crops or livestock.
To learn more about agroforestry, including its benefits, the different agroforestry systems available, and the grants that can support them, read the Forestry Commission’s guide to agroforestry on GOV.UK.
There are 2 items which support tree planting:
AF1: Plant an agroforestry woodland tree AF2: Plant an agroforestry fruit treeThe AF3: Species diversity bonus supplement will also be available to encourage the planting of a wider range of tree species, helping to create more resilient and biodiverse agroforestry systems.
To help establish and protect newly planted trees, 8 additional capital items have been added to the offer. You can find details of these items in section 5.4 of the Higher Tier Capital Grants Applicant’s Guide.
If you're thinking about introducing agroforestry on your farm, an agroforestry plan is a great place to start. It can help you decide which approach is right for your land and business and identify the best locations for trees. Funding is available through PA4: Agroforestry plan to support you in developing your plan.
An agroforestry plan is mandatory if you:
intend to apply for a Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier with agroforestry maintenance actions once the trees are planted. have breeding waders on your land plant trees in certain patterns or densities- table 2 in AF1: Plant an agroforestry woodland tree gives details of when a plan is mandatory are planting on land that is sensitive to agroforestry (see below). Land sensitivity to agroforestryBefore planting trees, you should check the sensitivity of the land using the Land with low sensitivity to agroforestry data layer. This helps ensure that agroforestry is established in suitable locations.
Land across England is classified into 2 categories:
low sensitivity to agroforestry more sensitive land (which is all remaining land)Areas marked in blue on the map are low sensitivity land. All other areas are more sensitive land, and you need a plan.
Woodland condition assessmentYou will be able to apply for FY7: Assessing woodland condition to support you if you must assess woodland being managed under CSHT action CWD2: Woodland improvement.
You can also use it to create a baseline condition assessment of your woodlands that you can use to inform a new woodland management plan or to identify if trees in your woodland have pests or diseases.
If you find pests and diseases, you may be eligible for a Woodland Tree Health grant. . From July we’re making some changes and improvements to CS Capital Grants to support this. You can discuss your findings with a Forestry Commission woodland officer. You can find them by contacting your Forestry Commission area team.
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seen at 09:44, 10 July in Farming.