AHDB plugging SFI

topground

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
North Somerset.
1C81AF62-1F54-4A0D-9237-D97F4ACD1D77.jpeg
Ruminant News turned up here yesterday, a magazine published by AHDB.
The extract above seeks to publicise their Horizon report which sets out (with a number of caveats) how SFI will deliver a profit. As with all of these reports the figures used and the assumptions made are not made available.
I wonder what was factored in for the time, frustration and dissatisfaction of farmers having to deal with DEFRA and it’s multiple agencies.
Not enough for me I have no doubt.
What does the collective think of this article?
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
They all pee in the same pot. So they’ll all do what they can to oil the wheels of each other’s gravy trains.
Why anybody bothers with SFI I’ll never know. With food shortages looming and prices through the roof it’s a stupid distraction that needs binning urgently. It’s only purpose is to employ civil servants and keep all that expensive bureaucratic infrastructure running.
A few quid an acre for what will end up as hours arguing the toss on the DEFRA helpline. No thanks. Been there, done that, got the T shirt and the grey hair.
 
Crikey, heaven forbid AHDB try and show what money is available and how to get it. Would be a pretty poor show if they didn’t. I think their review is pretty clear that SFI is not a direct replacement for current subsidises…

Do you honestly see this as a good use of your levy money?

ADHB be going the way of the potato board in no time at this rate and about time too.
 

Salopian_Will

Member
BASE UK Member
Location
Shropshire
Do you honestly see this as a good use of your levy money?

ADHB be going the way of the potato board in no time at this rate and about time too.

it is minimal expenditure. Not everyone is on Internet forums.

I cannot speak for all sectors but the ahdb do a lot of good work in the arable sector. They just need to be better at making people aware how they can reach the information.

This place is becoming a bit of an echo chamber for everyone to moan about anything and everything.
 

Grass And Grain

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Yorks
My takeaway is a very marginal increase in net profits, or a decline in net profits if trying to do the intermediate or higher levels (if you don't already practice the prescriptions).

Yes I could have worked that out for myself. In fact I'd done back of fag packet calculations to come up with similar conclusions.

AHDB shouldn't have spent any more than a few hundred pounds working this out and presenting the info. Farmers can get a quick assessment by just glancing at the AHDB article, so maybe that's fair enough AHDB work

Thinking positive, it might do us a favour long-term. DEFRA now have an initial assessment and advice from AHDB to their levy payers, which suggests SFI isn't going to be worth bothering with, and can in fact give you a negative margin, unless you are already doing those practices.

The real dissatisfaction of this thread should be aimed at DEFRA. Independent assessment by AHDB shows participation in some SFI standards is going to have a negative effect on net farm profits.

Nice one DEFRA
! I really am quite perplexed DEFRA could conjure up such a complex and hopeless SFI. They can't surely expect anyone to take up SFI when the farmer is going to be worse off. So their target uptake will be over optimistic, and hence any environmental benefits will be minimal due to the poor uptake.

SFI is a wasted opportunity.

They couldn't have got it so badly wrong if they had tried. Disaster.

Personally I'd sack the whole lot of them and get a few straw chewers from tff to redesign. That is, unless, the intention was for low uptake, save DEFRA budget, or get the uneducated peasants to subsidise government climate change mitigation responsibilities.

I've just proof read the above text, wondering if it was too harsh. Conclusion, post this post unedited, it's not too harsh. That's sad.
 

MrNoo

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Cirencester
This place is becoming a bit of an echo chamber for everyone to moan about anything and everything.
I think because a lot of unnecessary costs and complications occur due to these orgs and people are pee'd off with it. There comes a time when enough is enough.
I suspect it’ll just get worse (or better) depending on your viewpoint
 

Salopian_Will

Member
BASE UK Member
Location
Shropshire
I think because a lot of unnecessary costs and complications occur due to these orgs and people are pee'd off with it. There comes a time when enough is enough.
I suspect it’ll just get worse (or better) depending on your viewpoint
I think this thread is a casing point. The ahdb was trying to inform, which is its role. The cynicism leads to a slagging off.
 

teslacoils

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire

Grass And Grain

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Yorks
I think this thread is a casing point. The ahdb was trying to inform, which is its role. The cynicism leads to a slagging off.
They were (trying to inform). Provided it was done by already employed staff, then it was a reasonable thing for AHDB to do.

However, it doesn't take a genius to work out for ourselves and come up with a similar conclusion, yet tailored specifically to our own farm situation.

Anyway, let's cut them some slack and say it was reasonable for AHDB to advise farmers on this matter. Now, what I'd really like them to do is go that extra mile, and really work hard for levy payers. Have they got the fire inside them to tell DEFRA what a dog's dinner SFI is, and what an earth are DEFRA doing encouraging AHDB's levy payers to take up SFI options which will have a negative effect on net margins.
 

gatepost

Member
Location
Cotswolds
Don't shoot the messenger comes to mind, I have already been to one meeting, where yet again there was a lot of discontent and disconnect, as folk kept saying, '' but I'm going to be worse off'' yep that's it, that's what removing subsidy payments to UK agriculture means, the end of my stewardship agreement coincides with the end of SFP, then according to the DEFRA prospectus, I could join up and receive enough to pay for a bit of electric by the looks of things, DEFRA is also very aware that ATM they aren't going to get many takers (according to an inspector I had a chat too) and that they also realize this will remove any form of control over what we all do, this is where RT comes in, in my mind, privatized control with no cost to the tax payer, neat?
 

beardface

Member
Location
East Yorkshire
My takeaway is a very marginal increase in net profits, or a decline in net profits if trying to do the intermediate or higher levels (if you don't already practice the prescriptions).

Yes I could have worked that out for myself. In fact I'd done back of fag packet calculations to come up with similar conclusions.

AHDB shouldn't have spent any more than a few hundred pounds working this out and presenting the info. Farmers can get a quick assessment by just glancing at the AHDB article, so maybe that's fair enough AHDB work

Thinking positive, it might do us a favour long-term. DEFRA now have an initial assessment and advice from AHDB to their levy payers, which suggests SFI isn't going to be worth bothering with, and can in fact give you a negative margin, unless you are already doing those practices.

The real dissatisfaction of this thread should be aimed at DEFRA. Independent assessment by AHDB shows participation in some SFI standards is going to have a negative effect on net farm profits.

Nice one DEFRA
! I really am quite perplexed DEFRA could conjure up such a complex and hopeless SFI. They can't surely expect anyone to take up SFI when the farmer is going to be worse off. So their target uptake will be over optimistic, and hence any environmental benefits will be minimal due to the poor uptake.

SFI is a wasted opportunity.

They couldn't have got it so badly wrong if they had tried. Disaster.

Personally I'd sack the whole lot of them and get a few straw chewers from tff to redesign. That is, unless, the intention was for low uptake, save DEFRA budget, or get the uneducated peasants to subsidise government climate change mitigation responsibilities.

I've just proof read the above text, wondering if it was too harsh. Conclusion, post this post unedited, it's not too harsh. That's sad.

The intention of SFI was always for low uptake. DEFRA can say to treasury "well we offered them money, but they say they don't want it". Treasury says "brilliant more dosh for the NHS etc". Gov dont really care as there's plenty of companies queuing up to buy land for carbon credits and rewilding without having to pay them a penny.
 

Grass And Grain

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Yorks
Don't shoot the messenger comes to mind, I have already been to one meeting, where yet again there was a lot of discontent and disconnect, as folk kept saying, '' but I'm going to be worse off'' yep that's it, that's what removing subsidy payments to UK agriculture means, the end of my stewardship agreement coincides with the end of SFP, then according to the DEFRA prospectus, I could join up and receive enough to pay for a bit of electric by the looks of things, DEFRA is also very aware that ATM they aren't going to get many takers (according to an inspector I had a chat too) and that they also realize this will remove any form of control over what we all do, this is where RT comes in, in my mind, privatized control with no cost to the tax payer, neat?

The intention of SFI was always for low uptake. DEFRA can say to treasury "well we offered them money, but they say they don't want it". Treasury says "brilliant more dosh for the NHS etc". Gov dont really care as there's plenty of companies queuing up to buy land for carbon credits and rewilding without having to pay them a penny.
Well that's three of us with the same opinion.

DEFRA say they want 70% uptake iirc, which is a poor target anyway, and now AHDB analysis tells us what we'd already worked out...it costs nearly as much to comply with SFI than the payment, and in many cases leaves a financial loss.

Not certain if DEFRA think we're all simple, if DEFRA haven't a clue what they're doing (being polite), or if DEFRA have tried to be smart with the old "well the offer of equal amount of cash to BPS was there, but the farmers chose not to take it".
 

farmerm

Member
Location
Shropshire
Well that's three of us with the same opinion.

DEFRA say they want 70% uptake iirc, which is a poor target anyway, and now AHDB analysis tells us what we'd already worked out...it costs nearly as much to comply with SFI than the payment, and in many cases leaves a financial loss.

Not certain if DEFRA think we're all simple, if DEFRA haven't a clue what they're doing (being polite), or if DEFRA have tried to be smart with the old "well the offer of equal amount of cash to BPS was there, but the farmers chose not to take it".
make that 4...
 

beardface

Member
Location
East Yorkshire
Well that's three of us with the same opinion.

DEFRA say they want 70% uptake iirc, which is a poor target anyway, and now AHDB analysis tells us what we'd already worked out...it costs nearly as much to comply with SFI than the payment, and in many cases leaves a financial loss.

Not certain if DEFRA think we're all simple, if DEFRA haven't a clue what they're doing (being polite), or if DEFRA have tried to be smart with the old "well the offer of equal amount of cash to BPS was there, but the farmers chose not to take it".

Funny thing is if we all actually sign up. Then they'd have to give us the cash they'd rather pump into the No Hope Service. Imagine George having to explain to Rishi " that we actually have to pay them now".
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.9%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 63 34.2%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.3%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 6 3.3%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,287
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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