Natural England - Farming and land stewardship

Farming and land stewardship

Natural England is a champion of multi-functional land use, where land is used in many ways and in a joined-up manner, to ensure that our economy, communities and environment thrive.

Beautiful landscapes, wildlife, heritage and the provision of access to rural, urban and coastal areas all depend on sustainable land management.

This is about managing land in ways that:

  • produce ‘public benefits’ (things that are useful to society and people such as clean water, wildlife and access to beautiful landscapes);

  • is not environmentally damaging and, where possible, contributes to the improvement of the environment; and

  • is more fully integrated into the communities in which it operates, so that people understand why the land is being managed in a particular way and how they can experience the benefits themselves.

What is Natural England's role?

There are three elements to our work:

Funding for land management

We provide funding for farmers and other land managers for managing the land in ways that improve the environment.

Environmental Stewardship is the major national agri-environment scheme. This includes Higher Level Stewardship, which aims to secure the maximum environmental benefit across 110 of our most important landscapes. Find out more about Environmental Stewardship.

We also manage the Energy Crops Scheme and a number of agreements made under the former ESA, Countryside Stewardship, and Wildlife Enhancement Scheme. Find out more in Funding for land management.

Advice and information

Funding schemes are supported by sound advice and information. Our Land Management Advisory Service covers a range of topics including Cross Compliance and Environmental Stewardship.

We also provide free organic conversion advice on the practicalities of converting to organic production. We contribute to the England Catchment Sensitive Farming Delivery Initiative, which aims to reduce the pollution of surface-water bodies caused by farming operations.

We also develop and demonstrate innovative approaches to sustainable land management in partnership with organisations, individual land managers and specialists. Examples include the Grazing Advice Partnership, the Deer Initiative, and the Woodland Initiatives Network.

Regulations

Certain regulations have been introduced to encourage better land management practice and to protect the natural environment. We have responsibilities in connection with some of these regulations, for example the Heather and Grass Burning (England) Regulations 2007. Find out more in Regulation and licensing.

What else is Natural England doing?

The Prince's Countryside Fund

As part of our engagement with the corporate responsibility charity Business in the Community, we have been involved in the establishment of a new source of grant funding for rural communities.

The Prince’s Countryside Fund aims to reconnect consumers with countryside issues and is providing grants to projects which help to improve the sustainability of British farming and the rural economy. The fund compliments other schemes available to support farmers and land managers in managing our countryside in ways that improve the environment, such as our Environmental Stewardship.

Soils for Profit Project

In the South West region the Soils for Profit Project is working with farmers to help them improve their management of soils, nutrients and manure.  The project aims to help make farm businesses more efficient and improve profitability, whilst reducing their environmental impacts.

Open Farm Sunday

As part of our contribution to 2010 International Year of Biodiversity we sponsored Open Farm Sunday, which was held on 13 June.  We ran on-farm children’s activities at forty of the participating farms across England. Open Farm Sunday provides an opportunity for farmers to invite their local community to get out onto a farm and see how farmers produce good food and support a healthy natural environment.  

The Campaign for the Farmed Environment

We are a partner in the industry-led Campaign for the Farmed Environment. Both Natural England and the Campaign seek to increase the uptake of Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) and gain greater benefits for the natural environment.

Farm-specific one-to-one advice, workshops and events are available to help farmers choose the right options in the right place and manage them effectively. For more information please go to our farm events page.

A series of four leaflets show how to make the most of ELS options for farmland birds, farm wildlife, cleaner water and healthier soil, and the historic environment. The leaflets were produced in conjunction with the Campaign and a number of partner organisations and are available from our publications catalogue.

For more information visit the website of the Campaign for the Farmed Environment.

Countryside Farmer of the Year Award

We sponsored the 'Countryside Farmer of the Year Award', as part of the Farmers Weekly Awards 2009. The awards champion environmentally-friendly farming across the UK, and showcase the achievements of farmers and land managers. The award was won by a Lincolnshire farmer.

Previous awards made to environmentally-friendly farmers:

Related articles

Environmental Stewardship

An agri-environment scheme for farmers and land managers to deliver effective environmental management on their land.

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