Am I eligible for the FwNT Scheme?

The information on this page relates to Year 1 of the Farming with Nature Transition Scheme.

For information relating to Year 2 please visit: Farming with Nature Transition Scheme - Year 2

To be eligible for FwNT Year 1 you must:

1. have held a DAERA category 1 or 2 Business Identification Number (Business ID); and

2. not have had a live EFS agreement (of any type) at the point of application.

Your land must been:

1. located in Northern Ireland,
2. land parcels which are currently mapped on the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS); and
3. under your management control.  Land should be under your management control for the duration necessary to carry out the selected action, per the specifications, and for any associated retention period, if applicable.

Land Eligibility

Actions will be available on land which is under your management control, on parcels mapped on LPIS.

Creation of a riparian buffer strip will be available on land with a watercourse, as defined by DAERA.  The application system will show land that is eligible for this action.  Land that does not show this action as available is not eligible.

Farmland tree planting cannot be carried out on permanent grassland sensitive areas, breeding wader or peatland sites as identified by DAERA. Any plot drawn for this action should not intersect with an ineligible feature (show on the map as purple hatching).

Retention of Winter Stubble and Multi Species Winter Cover Crop actions will be available on arable land, as determined by DAERA, subject to the specifications for each action as laid out below.

Land covered by FwNT actions will remain eligible for Farm Sustainability Transition Payment (FSTP)  and for Farm Sustainability Payment (FSP) from 2026 onwards.

For details on land eligibility for 2026 please see:
Guide to Land Eligibility

Conacre land is eligible where it is under your management control.

As the creation of a riparian buffer strip has a retention period of 15 years and farmland tree planting has a retention period of 20 years you should have management control of the land for the duration of relevant retention period.

The following land is excluded:

• Tier 1 – fields that are within sites designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), Special Protection Areas (SPA) and RAMSAR sites.
• Tier 2 – fields that are within sites designated as biological Areas of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI).
• Tier 3 – Northern Ireland priority habitats and species areas outside designated sites.