Whether you're looking to improve productivity, create new income opportunities, protect your land from extreme weather or support nature, trees can play an important role on farms across England.
Many farmers are already planting trees in ways that complement food production, from integrating trees into grazing and arable systems through agroforestry to creating new woodland on less productive areas of land.
There is a wide range of funding, advice and practical guidance to help you get started. In this post, we've brought together the key resources to help you make an informed decision about whether tree planting is right for you and your land, outline available funding, and share guidance on bringing existing woodland into management.
The benefits of treesTrees can deliver a range of benefits for farm businesses.
They can provide shade and shelter for livestock, helping to reduce heat stress in summer and exposure to cold winds during winter. For arable farms, trees can help reduce wind damage to crops and create conditions that support pollinators and natural pest control.
Trees can also improve soil health, reduce erosion and slow water run-off. This all contributes to improving water quality. Trees provide a natural barrier to prevent farm pollutants from reaching water courses.
Woodland and agroforestry systems can also create opportunities to diversify farm income through timber, woodfuel, environmental markets and grants, recreation and supporting tourism.
Agroforestry: productive farming with treesPlanting trees does not have to mean taking land out of food production.
Agroforestry is the practice of integrating trees with crops and livestock on the same parcel of land. It enables farmers to continue producing food while benefiting from the advantages trees can bring.
Examples include:
grazing livestock amongst trees planting rows of trees within arable fields establishing shelterbelts to protect crops and livestock growing fruit, nut or timber trees alongside agricultural enterprisesAgroforestry can help improve resilience to climate challenges, enhance biodiversity and support long-term farm productivity.
Want to get started with in-field Agroforestry? If you're thinking about introducing agroforestry on your farm, an agroforestry plan can help you decide which approach is right for your land and business and identify the best locations for trees. Funding is available through the PA4: Agroforestry plan capital item to support you in developing your plan.
In July we made it possible for farmers and land managers to access capital items to create in-field agroforestry year-round via the Higher Tier Capital Grants offer.
Once you’ve got an approved agroforestry plan and have the trees planted, you can submit an expression of interest for a Higher Tier application.
The Forestry Commission’s Guide to agroforestry explains the different approaches and includes practical information to help you decide whether it could work for your business.
If you want to understand how you could implement agroforestry on your farm, and put your questions to a panel of experts, the Forestry Commission are leading two webinars in November:
Learn about grants for agroforestry on 10 November, 7-8:30pm. Register here to attend. Learn about the PA4 plan, which can help you plan a new agroforestry system or improve and manage an existing one on 17 November, 7-8:30pm. Register to attend. Woodland creation: making marginal land work harderFor many farms, woodland creation can be a way of generating greater value from land that delivers limited agricultural returns.
Areas such as steep slopes, wet fields, awkward corners and less productive parcels may be well suited to tree planting.
Creating woodland can:
provide access to establishment funding support future timber production create opportunities for carbon and natural capital income improve biodiversity and habitat connectivity help reduce soil erosion and slow water flow across the landscape support other diversification, including recreation and making land attractive for camping and other tourism enterprisesWoodland creation does not need to involve large-scale planting. Smaller farm woodlands, shelterbelts, riparian planting and strategic blocks of trees can all contribute to broader farm business objectives.
If you want to explore woodland creation, the ‘Tree planting and woodland creation: overview’ page on GOV.UK explains the process, available support and what to consider before planting. We also touch on some of this in the section below.
Funding available for tree plantingIf you're considering planting trees, funding is available through a number of schemes.
Don't know where to start? The Woodland Creation Planning Grant (WCPG) provides funding to prepare a woodland creation design plan.
The main woodland creation grant available in England is the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO). EWCO provides payments towards the cost of establishing new broadleaf, conifer and mixed woodland and offers additional contributions where projects deliver wider environmental benefits, including nature recovery, water quality improvements and flood mitigation.
The best place to find up-to-date information on available grants is the ‘Funding for farmers, growers and land managers page on GOV.UK’. This includes information on current farming and forestry funding opportunities and can help you identify the support most relevant to your holding, including regionally targeted grants for woodland creation.
Government tree planting grants offer an average of £19,000 per hectare for planting and establishment – helping cover the costs so you can see the benefits.
EWCO can be particularly attractive for farmers looking to make better use of less productive or difficult-to-farm land.
Bringing existing woodland into managementMany holdings contain woodland that has received little active management for years.
Unlocking the potential of trees and woodland already established on land can bring huge benefits. Bringing these woodlands into management can improve biodiversity, boost land’s ability to cope with climate change, increase resilience to pests and diseases, and create additional income streams.
Active woodland management may include:
timber production woodfuel production habitat improvement species management ride and glade management restocking or improving woodland after tree health problems coppicing and woodland restorationWell-managed woodland can become an important long-term asset for a farm business while delivering benefits for nature and the wider environment.
A woodland management plan provides a structured way to plan and organise the management of your woodland to the UK Forestry Standard. Funding is available to support you in developing your plan through the PA3 Woodland Management Plan Capital Grant. Your Forestry Commission Woodland Officer can also give you advice on completing a woodland plan.
A lot of capital item funding, such as the Woodland Management Plan, is currently available year-round, as well as via Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT).
Farmers and land managers interested in managing existing woodland should explore the support and guidance available through CSHT.
Depending on your objectives, Higher Tier can support you to manage valuable native woodland habitat, restore ancient woodland and improve the resilience of your woodland asset.
You can pick and choose funding options to suit the management ambitions outlined on your woodland management plan. You can build on the straightforward woodland improvement actions to support species recovery and management, permissive access, water management and heritage ambitions for your woodland.
You can also access funding to support species recovery and management, permissive access, wetland and heritage ambitions for your woodland.
A combination of capital items and a CSHT agreement can complement each other to reward farmers for effective woodland management. Unlocking unmanaged woodland assets through Higher Tier often requires improving access, which can be done via the Woodland infrastructure capital item.
Annex D of the Higher Tier applicants guide outlines all the funding available to support woodland improvement. A Forestry Commission Woodland Officer will also be able to discuss available funding and items with you, as part of your CSHT application.
There is also separate support available to restock or improve woodland after tree health problems.
Free advice from the Forestry CommissionIf you're not sure where to begin, help is available. This support can help you make informed decisions before committing to a project.
The Forestry Commission can provide Woodland Creation Opportunity Reports, giving you tailored information about where woodland creation may be suitable and the opportunities it could create on your holding.
Local expert advisors are on-hand to offer free bespoke guidance to help you through the entire creation process, or to advise on woodland management.
Woodland creation - Use the Forestry Commission enquiry form. It takes just 5 minutes to complete, and your local woodland creation team will contact you to explore how trees could fit within your businesses. They can explain available grants and help identify options that work alongside existing farming activities. Woodland management - reach out to a local Woodland Officer in your area office, whose details can be found on GOV.UK. Find out moreWhether you're interested in agroforestry, planting new woodland or making the most of existing woodland, there is support available to help you take the next step.
Farmers can explore options through Defra's Put Down Roots campaign, which brings together guidance, funding information and examples of how trees are already supporting successful farm businesses.
Trees can help farms become more productive, resilient and diversified. With funding, practical guidance and expert advice available, now is a good time to explore how trees could work on your farm.
Lee Pedley of Tawell Farm shows how planting trees can work alongside farming to improve resilience, support livestock and create a lasting legacy for the next generation:
https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/2026/10/20/putting-trees-to-work-on-your-farm/
seen at 14:44, 20 October in Farming.