Countryside Stewardship (CS) Mid Tier: extensions for 2021 agreements
Source: gov.uk (2025-10-30)

Find out about extensions for CS Mid Tier agreements due to end in December 2025.

Defra have worked with the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) to offer one-year extensions to eligible Countryside Stewardship (CS) Mid Tier agreements.

A CS Mid Tier extension is when the end date of a CS Mid Tier agreement can be changed to a later date.

If your agreement has a 2021 start date and ends 31 December 2025, the RPA will check if it’s eligible for an extension and contact you by email or post.

If you’re offered an extension and want to accept it, you must reply by 27 November 2025 to let the RPA know.

Extensions will start 1 January 2026 and end 31 December 2026.

Why we are proposing CS Mid Tier extensions for 2025

The replacement scheme for CS Mid Tier is the Sustainable Farming Initiative (SFI), which is currently being reviewed.

Extending your CS Mid Tier agreement will allow:
- you to maintain the environmental outcomes you have invested in over the last 5 years
- your payments to continue
Eligibility

During the extension period, you must continue to:
- meet the CS Mid Tier eligibility criteria
- comply with the rules, terms and conditions of your existing agreement (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/countryside-stewardship-mid-tier-including-water-quality-capital-items-manual)
You must also let the RPA know of any changes to your circumstances (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/countryside-stewardship-get-funding-to-protect-and-improve-the-land-you-manage#contact-rpa).

Sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs)

If you have a SSSI on your land and you accept an offer to extend your agreement, you must contact Natural England to get consent (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/request-permission-for-works-or-an-activity-on-an-sssi).

Natural England will complete a technical assessment of CS Mid Tier agreements which contain SSSI land to check:
- the current land management is still appropriate for the SSSI features
- they can give consent without amending the option choices or prescription details, and without the need for additional capital works
You must not carry out any work on the SSSI land during the extension period until you receive consent.

Management control of the land

You must continue to have management control of the land that is included in your agreement for the extension period.

If you do not own the land, you may have to get your landlord’s consent to continue with the agreement if:
- there are any changes to management control of the land under the landlord’s consent during the extension period
- your current arrangements will end during the extension period
If you will not have management control of the land in your agreement for the extension period, you’ll need to:
- complete a Land Ownership and Control form (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/countryside-stewardship-land-ownership-and-control-form)
- return the completed form by 27 February 2026
Options, supplements and capital items

You cannot use an extension to add, remove, or replace options in the current agreement.

Options and supplements with a duration of less than 5 years cannot be extended.

Any incomplete capital items will be removed from the agreement – you cannot add new capital items to your agreement.

Arable options

You can accept your extension offer if your agreement includes arable options which you may not continue in 2026. For example, if you have already cultivated (or plan to cultivate) the area used for the option for another purpose.

If you do not want to continue the option, you will need to remove or reduce the area from your 2026 annual claim.

If you want to continue the option, you may need to re-establish the area in spring 2026 to meet the option’s aims.

For example, for option ‘AB15: Two year sown legume fallow’ the land is usually established in autumn. If you want to accept your extension offer but you’ve already cultivated the area, you can either:
- remove or reduce the area from your 2026 annual claim
- re-establish the area in spring 2026, if needed
Responding to your offer

If your agreement is eligible, the RPA will contact you by email or post to offer an extension.

If you want to extend your agreement

You must reply to the email (or return the reply slip attached in the letter) by 27 November 2025 to let the RPA know.

If applicable, contact NE to get SSSI consent (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/request-permission-for-works-or-an-activity-on-an-sssi).

Your existing CS Mid Tier agreement will be extended to 31 December 2026.

You’ll need to submit an annual claim in the normal way.

If you do not let the RPA know by 27 November 2025, you will not be able to extend your agreement.

If you do not want to extend your agreement

If you do not want to extend your agreement or cannot meet the conditions of the extension, let the RPA know.