Planning & Management
Breadcrumbs
Entry Level Stewardship (ELS)
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The aim of ELS is to encourage a large number of farmers across a wide area of farmland to deliver simple yet effective environmental management.
The key features of ELS are:
- ELS requires a basic level of environmental management.
- ELS is a voluntary, non-competitive scheme.
- There is a wide range of over 50 options to choose from (e.g. hedgerow management, stone wall maintenance, low input grassland, buffer strips, and arable options), to cover all farming types.
- You will receive a payment of £30 per hectare per year (except in extensively grazed upland areas) for all the land you enter into the scheme. In return for these payments, you will be required to deliver 30 points worth of options per hectare of the land in the scheme.
- Five-year agreements with automatic payments sent out every six months.
- Straightforward application procedure by completing a Farm Environmental Record.
- Monthly start dates for agreements. Our target is to provide an agreement within three months of receipt of a valid application.
How to apply
To apply for an ELS agreement please contact your regional office.
To help with your ELS application
- ELS Handbook 2nd edition October 2008
[2.8 MB] - ELS Handbook 1st Edition February 2005 - online version
- ELS Handbook 1st Edition February 2005 [1.2 MB]
- Example Options map [290 kB] (also large version Key to map )
- Example Farm Environment Record [280 kB] (also large version Key to Record )
- Additional forms to download
- Management of ELS grass margins to achieve isolation requirements for grass seed crops
- ELS Online
You can find out more about the scheme at Farm Advice Events.