A contentious requirement for Welsh farms to have at least 10% tree cover in return for Welsh government environmental payments has been delayed until 2030.

Although the government is not budging on the 10% rule it has set for entry to the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), landowners will now have longer to comply, and also the figure will only apply on land which can support tree cover.

The SFS is set to start in 2025, replacing European Union payments that had been worth over £300m a year to Welsh agriculture, but details of payment rates will not be revealed until summer 2024, just months before the scheme begins.

Basic payments would be phased out by 2029.

In its latest announcement this month, the government said tree cover would not apply to unplantable areas on farms, such as roads, yards, hard standings, ponds and peatland.

Existing broad-leaf and coniferous woodland, scattered groups, and individual trees in fields and hedgerows greater than three metres can be included in the 10% threshold, and also orchard trees and trees within agroforestry systems.

Despite the changes, NFU Cymru insists the minimum 10% tree cover rule is still likely to be a barrier to many businesses signing up to the scheme.

In the opinion of its president Aled Jones, the SFS proposals frame sustainable land management “through the lens of the environment alone” but fail to recognise the core role of producing “safe, nutritious and affordable food”.

The 10% tree cover is one of 17 so-called ‘universal’ actions which all farmers must undertake in return for payments.

Among these are active management of modified peatlands to protect soil carbon stocks and developing thicker hedgerows for wildlife.

As well as worry about the tree cover requirement, lack of clarity on payments is another source of concern for farmers.

Aled Jones said the SFS proposals have been published against the backdrop of significant budget uncertainty, including a £37.5m cut to the Welsh government’s rural affairs budget in October and the end of Glastir the end of 2023.

The Welsh government said the SFS proposals had been shaped by feedback from farmers and the wider industry over the course of three consultations and two phases of co-design.

In response to this feedback it said the scheme would be accessible to all farmers in Wales from 2025.

Rural affairs minister Lesley Griffiths urged all farmers to respond to the consultation.

“No final decision will be taken on the SFS until after this consultation has taken place and the responses considered,’’ she said.