From 1 September, if you have land in a Countryside Stewardship (CS) and Environmental Stewardship (ES) agreement, but not on common land, you can now apply online directly by signing into the Rural Payments service.
Since the end of June hundreds of farmers have used DEFRA's new online service to start their Sustainable Farming Inventive (SFI) applications. Automating the process with this online service means that they can offer agreements faster.
Adding CS and ES to the online service makes these applications easier than ever.
Common land is more complex, because it generally involves multiple parties and rights. DEFRA are working with commons farmers and other experts to refine and test the automated service so that they can also access it directly.
More information about eligibility, payments and standards can be found on GOV.UK.
