Interim environmental scheme announced in Wales

The Welsh Government has announced a new interim environmental scheme beginning January 1st 2024, due to run until the end of the calendar year. It will be brought in as Glastir Advanced, Glastir Commons and Glastir Organics contracts end on the 31st December this year.

The announcement of the new scheme follows a letter signed by CLA Cymru alongside the other farming unions and environmental lobby sent to Lesley Griffiths (Welsh Government Rural Affairs Minister). This letter demanded the extension of Glastir contracts for 2024 in the run up to the introduction of the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) in 2025.

While as an organisation we do have reservations about the ability of the Welsh Government to develop a new scheme in a limited amount of time, it is positive they have committed funding to the rural sector. CLA Cymru will be actively involved in developing the scheme over the coming weeks and will ensure the positive aspects of Glastir are built upon. The application window for the scheme will open in Autumn with the full budget announced before applications open.

The new scheme will allow additional farms to participate, beyond existing Glastir contract holders, and will focus upon protecting habitats. An important benefit of the new scheme is that current Glastir advanced contract holders will now be eligible to apply for the Glastir small grants programme that they couldn’t previously access.

Throughout the recent Royal Welsh Show, members of CLA Cymru met with the Welsh Government to discuss the scheme alongside other central farming issues. We have a clear role to play as key stakeholders to shape the scheme and will be communicating with members throughout the process.

If you have any questions about the initiative or wish to discuss in more detail, please get in touch with fraser.mcauley@cla.org.uk.