This page is of specific interest to farmers, landowners and tenants, who may have land within, or close to, the Project's target area.

• Funding and support payments under the new Environmental Stewardship Scheme for a wide range of financial measures;
• Easier access to Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) with full assistance to develop the application;
• Free impartial, confidential, financial and environmental advice, linked to your particular farming enterprises;
• Potential additional future funding, through the Grazing Marshes Project, for specific work, in addition to that available under agri-environment schemes.

• Entry Level Stewardship (ELS), available on all agricultural land and currently guaranteed, without a selection process, providing all the scheme rules are met.
   
• Higher Level Stewardship (HLS), a far more advanced scheme with valuable capital and annual payments that must be combined with an ELS or similar Organic Entry Level Scheme (OELS). The scheme aims to deliver significant environmental benefits in high priority situations, such as the Lincolnshire Coastal Grazing Marshes.

Because this scheme requires much more planning and knowledge of your farm's environment, it is very likely that you will benefit from specialist help to develop an application that fits in with your farming operation and which can be justified on financial grounds.  If your land falls within the target area, all this work can be carried out by the Environmental Land Managment Officer.  This post is being funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation to encourage voluntary land management on farms in this area, due to its special environmental value and unique landscape character.

• managing, restoring or recreating grasslands.  Particular emphasis is being placed on retaining existing grassland and assisting livestock farmers who are so essential to maintaining the character and environment of the area;
   
• encouraging, through financial incentives, less intensive management of habitats such as grassland, to benefit wildlife that has declined due to more intensive modern farming systems;
   
• recreating grasslands to benefit declining species such as lapwing, redshank, curlew and snipe.  This may involve raising water levels, for which additional payments can be received;
   
• managing Special Sites of Scientific Interest (SSSI) or carrying out work around these, and other important, sites to ensure their long term sustainability.