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Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) Minister Andrew Muir, announced his intention to roll out the first phase of the Farming with Nature (FwN) Package at last weeks Balmoral Show.
The FwN Package aims to support farm businesses across all land types, to make substantial contributions to environmental improvements and sustainability. The Package will roll out in phases and it is anticipated that the first phase, the FwN Transition Scheme, will commence in June 2025, subject to legislation.
The FwN Transition Scheme aims to increase the extent of habitats on farmed land across the north. The actions available will create new habitats, provide new green infrastructure, protect watercourses and contribute to carbon sequestration on farms.
Five actions will be available in the first year with a range of items to support their implementation:
- Planting new hedgerow
- Creation of riparian buffer strips
- Farmland tree planting
- Retention of winter stubble
- Multi-species winter cover crop
Speaking of the announcement, Minister Muir said: “The Farming with Nature Package is one of the key priorities within my Department’s Sustainable Agriculture Programme and I am delighted to start the roll out of the Package, starting with the FwN Transition Scheme in June 2025.
“My ambition for the FwN Package is to scale up nature friendly farming. I want to see farmers being rewarded for delivering environmental public goods, alongside food production, with the FwN Package becoming a strong and attractive enterprise on farms. It will be introduced in phases to support farmers to turn the tide on biodiversity loss by increasing the quantity, quality and connectivity of habitats in the farmed landscape.”
It is proposed to build on the first phase with an expanded scheme opening for applications again in 2026. Participation in 2025 will not exclude entry in 2026.
It is planned that the FwN Transition Scheme will be followed by the FwN Landscape Projects, which is in development and will focus on supporting groups of farmers to deliver landscape scale environmental improvement. Additional phases of FwN will focus on delivering environmental actions in priority habitat areas and protected sites.
The FwN Package is being developed through close engagement with external and internal stakeholders. A forum for key stakeholders from the agricultural industry and environmental sector was formed in June 2024 to provide input into the Package development.
See more about the sustainable agriculture programme at www.daera-ni.gov.uk
