Coed Cadw welcomes launch of Wales' sustainable farming scheme

Coed Cadw, the Woodland Trust in Wales, has expressed cautious optimism at the upcoming launch of the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), describing it as a necessary first step in a far longer journey towards a just transition for the people of Wales.

Unveiled on 15 July, the SFS marks a significant policy shift in the way land management for public goods is supported in Wales. Whilst more work is needed to fully realise the scheme’s potential to deliver on nature, climate and social ambitions, Coed Cadw welcomes the collaborative approach taken during its development and sees it as a crucial foundation for sustainable land use in the years ahead.

The charity has been a longstanding contributor to the scheme’s evolution, engaging with farmers, environmental partners and policymakers to help ensure the scheme reflects sustainable land management principles. Over the past year, Coed Cadw has seen a positive shift in how stakeholders engage with the scheme’s design, and a growing coalition across sectors of organisations and individuals who are committed to ensuring the scheme delivers for people, nature and climate.

Coed Cadw is particularly encouraged by the inclusion of Universal Action 10, which aims to encourage tree and woodland planting tailored to individual farm businesses through the creation of tree and woodland planting opportunity plans, the delivery of which will be enabled through financial support in the optional and collaborative tiers, meaning farmers can decide how much and where planting is to take place. This farmer-led approach reflects a growing recognition that trees are not in conflict with productivity but, more often than not, enhance business resilience.

“Integrated approaches such as hedgerows, in-field trees, agroforestry and woodland grazing have the potential to deliver a wide range of benefits without removing land from food production,” said Kylie Jones Mattock, director at Coed Cadw.

“These measures can improve soil health, boost biodiversity, provide shelter and shade for livestock, and help protect against the impacts of increasingly extreme weather.”

The SFS also proposes payments for areas of maintained woodland and natural habitats, which Coed Cadw views as a welcome shift from previous schemes which often excluded wooded areas from financial support. Incentives for early adopters of tree planting and hedgerow creation are seen as another step in the right direction.

Coed Cadw emphasises, however, that the scheme must go further if it is to meet its full potential and deliver the additional benefits for nature and climate that are so desperately needed. The charity is calling for robust governance, regular monitoring and a significant uplift in funding for the scheme’s optional and collaborative layers – the areas that offer the greatest returns for biodiversity, climate resilience and public benefit. Additional investment, including blended finance models, will be essential to ensure these elements maximise social, environmental and economic benefits from land management in Wales.

Reflecting on the current provisions, Kylie Jones Mattock added:

“We welcome the recognition by the Welsh Government that sustainable land management delivers vital public goods such as clean air and water, carbon storage and cultural and community wellbeing. Framing these outcomes as a social benefit payment is important, as it reflects the interconnected value of land, people and place. These are not isolated outputs but the result of a reciprocal relationship between farmers, nature and society. We would encourage the Welsh Government to continue exploring how sustainable farming contributes across public policy areas, and to ensure that future investment reflects the full value of these contributions.

"By framing this as a social benefit payment, it is vital we retain a clear understanding that these benefits are not isolated outputs but emerge from the reciprocal relationship between land, community and ecological wellbeing. These dimensions are not separate – they are deeply interconnected. We would encourage the Welsh Government to continue exploring how sustainable land management can contribute across multiple areas of public policy, and to ensure that funding for these benefits is appropriately resourced across departments to reflect their broad and lasting value.”

Beyond policy, Coed Cadw is also focused on offering practical, grounded support for farmers and landowners navigating this time of change. Farming in Wales is at a turning point and, for many, the future brings uncertainty as well as opportunity. Through initiatives like MOREwoods and MOREhedges, Coed Cadw provides advice, funding and partnership to help integrate trees in ways that support both environmental goals and business resilience.

Across Wales, farmers working with Coed Cadw have demonstrated how well-placed trees can play a vital role in improving animal welfare, enhancing water and soil management, and protecting farms from climate shocks. From upland hedge planting in Powys to short-rotation coppice in the Vale of Glamorgan, their experiences point to a future where farming and woodland creation can go hand in hand.

Coed Cadw hopes that the new SFS will provide the structure, incentives and confidence needed for more farmers to explore how trees can support the resilience of their land, livelihoods and legacy.

Notes to editors

About Coed Cadw, the Woodland Trust in Wales

The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the UK with more than 500,000 supporters. With a vision of a world where woods and trees thrive for people and nature, today the Trust owns and cares for more than 1,000 woodland sites, covering around 33,000 hectares. These include over 100 sites in Wales, with a total area of 2,897 hectares.

The Woodland Trust has three key aims:

1. protecting the UK's rare, unique and irreplaceable ancient woodland
2. restoring damaged ancient woodland, nurturing precious pieces of our natural heritage back to life
3. establishing new native trees and woods to create healthy, resilient landscapes for people and wildlife.

Access to all Woodland Trust woods is free so everyone can experience the physical and mental benefits of trees.