Northern Ireland Farming with Nature Scheme Changes 2026

If you do not spend your week reading statutory rules, this one can look like a wall of legal language. But the Farming with Nature Scheme (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026 do something quite practical: they change what Northern Ireland farmers can be paid to do for wildlife, soil and water. According to the legislation published on legislation.gov.uk, the rules were made by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs on 4 June 2026 and come into force on 25 June 2026. They amend the 2025 scheme rather than replace it, so the best way to read this is as an update to a scheme farmers may already know.

This matters because agri-environment schemes are one of the main ways governments try to pay for public goods on farms. In plain terms, that means money is offered for actions such as planting hedgerows, fencing off watercourses, creating margins for insects and birds, or keeping living cover on arable land over winter. **What this means:** the state is not only asking farms to produce food. It is also paying, and increasingly specifying in detail, how farms can help protect habitats, cut pollution and keep rivers cleaner.

One important number changes straight away. In regulation 8(2), the figure of £9,500 is replaced with £20,000. The text also removes regulation 9 from the 2025 rules and rewrites some technical enforcement provisions drawn from older EU farm regulations. For most readers, the easier way to think about it is this: the scheme is getting broader and, in at least one key payment figure, more generous. At the same time, it becomes more exact about seed mixes, planting density, fencing, evidence and the number of years an action must stay in place.

The hedgerow rules show that shift very clearly. A new hedgerow must now go where no hedgerow exists, or where there is a continuous gap of 10 metres or more. Each new length must be at least 10 metres long, use at least three native species from the approved list, and average six native plants per metre. Farmers must protect it on all sides from grazing livestock or wildlife, control weeds and keep records of what was planted. Just as important are the places where planting is barred. The new rules say hedgerows must not be planted on permanent grassland sensitive areas, against an existing hedgerow, on the field side of a 2 metre riparian buffer strip, under the shade of an existing treeline or woodland, or against a stone wall. That is a reminder that not every green-looking action helps nature in every place; location matters as much as intent.

Watercourse protection is another big theme. Riparian buffer strips must be created alongside a watercourse, or on both sides of an internal watercourse. They must be either 2 metres or 7 metres wide, fenced continuously along the relevant length, and finished by 28 February 2027. Where the strip is 7 metres wide, a gate and two posts must be installed every 150 metres, or part of that distance. The strip then has to remain for at least 15 years from 28 February 2027. That long retention period tells you what policymakers are aiming for. A buffer strip is not meant to be a quick seasonal gesture. It is there to keep livestock back from banks, reduce dirty run-off, slow erosion and give a watercourse a protected edge. The regulations also say access for maintenance must stay open, which matters because river management still has to happen.

The tree planting rules are equally specific. New trees cannot be planted within 5 metres of a designated watercourse, on flood defence areas, on riparian buffer strips, within hedgerows or on permanent grassland sensitive areas. Where planting is allowed, farmers must use at least three native tree species, plant a minimum of 0.05 hectares at 2.5 metre spacing, and reach a rate of 1,600 trees per hectare in the same plot. The maintenance duties are just as strong as the planting rules. Each tree must be supported and protected from livestock or wildlife, livestock must be excluded from the planted area, weed growth must be managed, evidence of the species used must be kept, and the trees must remain for at least 20 years from 28 February 2027. That is less a one-off planting grant than a long promise about how the land will be managed.

On arable land, the amendments open up a wider set of options. Winter stubble can be retained on cereal, oilseed rape, protein crop or linseed land, but not on maize stubble or under-sown crops, and not on permanent grassland sensitive areas. Farmers must leave at least 0.1 hectare, avoid inorganic fertiliser after harvest, avoid non-selective herbicides before or after harvest, and keep the stubble in place until 15 February 2027 without grazing or cutting it. Multi-species winter cover crops are also tightly defined. They must be on arable land, cover at least 0.1 hectare, use at least four species from two or more plant families, and stay in place until 15 February 2027. No inorganic fertiliser is allowed. If you are wondering why governments pay for this, the answer is fairly practical: covered ground is better at holding soil, slowing run-off and giving birds and insects something to use outside the main growing season.

The scheme also adds or rewrites several habitat-friendly field options that many readers will recognise from wider agri-environment policy. Farmers can create unharvested cereal margins, grass margins and flower-rich grass margins on arable land, usually between 3 and 12 metres wide and in minimum areas of 0.1 hectare. These areas come with strict limits on fertilisers, lime and plant protection products, and they must be protected from livestock and machinery damage. The flower-rich option has an earlier establishment deadline of 30 September 2026, while the grass margin must be established by 28 February 2027 and then kept for at least five years. Herbal leys and enhanced herbal leys are included too. Both must avoid permanent grassland sensitive areas and both ban inorganic fertilisers containing nitrogen. The enhanced version goes further, requiring richer species mixes and saying the crop must not be cut for forage. For wildlife, pollinators and soil condition, these measures can be valuable because they create more varied plant cover than a simple grass-only sward.

One of the quiet but important legal changes is the move from the older phrase 'permanent grassland area' to a more precise definition of 'permanent grassland sensitive area'. The regulations describe these as environmentally sensitive peat and wetland areas covered by bird and habitat protections. The rules also define machinery broadly, from digging machines and bulldozers to tractors, quad vehicles and fork-lift trucks, which matters when features such as margins have to be protected from damage. Enforcement is also spelled out more clearly. The amended cross-compliance rules say a minimum penalty for non-compliance is a warning letter plus mandatory training, especially on a first breach of an underpinning requirement. The maximum penalty can still be severe: up to 100% of all payments made or due in that scheme year, plus exclusion from all schemes for the next two scheme years. **What this means:** this is not only a grant menu. It is a contract with real conditions, and DAERA is signalling that farmers will be expected to learn the rules as well as sign up to them.

Finally, the regulations make space for farmers who already carried out some work between 19 June 2025 and 31 March 2026. If they planted hedgerows, created 7 metre riparian buffer strips or planted trees under the earlier rules, they are not ignored. Instead, the new instrument sets out follow-on duties such as weed control, replacing dead plants, keeping fences stock-proof and finishing related work by 28 February 2027. That tells you something useful about how agri-environment policy works in practice. Governments do not simply announce a scheme and walk away; they keep adjusting the small print as they learn what works, what needs tighter protection and where public money should be steered. For readers trying to make sense of this change, the headline is simple: Northern Ireland is asking farms to do more carefully targeted work for nature, and it is being much clearer about the standards that come with the money.