New limits to SFI.

Steevo · Mar 25, 2024

Bignor Farmer said:
They should just come up with a scheme that hands the money out equally based on the amount of land that you farm

That sounds so complicated.....just imagine how long it would take to set up such a system from scratch.

Oh hang on a moment!!

Steevo · Mar 25, 2024

DrWazzock said:
It’s still not very clever. Some farms on very poor land or on land or adjacent to sensitive areas, water catchments etc ought to be in 100% non production. Good land with little natural environmental capital should carry on farming maximising the efficiency of inputs. And it depends on size, geography etc.
A 25% limit taking none of the above into account is another stupid knee jerk reaction.

Sums it up perfectly.

Added to the fact it's been an awful autumn and many farms didn't get their autumn crops planted so have land empty that they are considering could work well in SFI to give them an income stream.

I could have sworn that the government ministers keep telling us they support the free market. In theory SFI offered that option to farmers by providing an alternative "commercial crop" they could grow for the government as a customer. A few years time and crop prices could rise and things could swing the other way - that's how markets work, they respond to supply and demand.

Steevo · Mar 25, 2024

AndrewM said:
Defra announces cap on SFI actions to maintain food production - Farmers Weekly

Defra has responded to industry concerns about food security by announcing a cap on the amount of some environmental incentives farmers in England can

www.fwi.co.uk

from the farmers weekly article, they have interpreted it as:

"New applicants to the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme will only be able to put 25% of their land into six SFI actions that take land out of food production."

"Defra says the six actions “were always intended to be implemented on smaller areas of the farm – something the new measures will protect”. The rest of the SFI actions will remain uncapped."

"
To date, Defra has received more than 15,000 SFI applications and issued over 14,000 agreement offers to farmers in England.
The vast majority of land in the SFI scheme continues to produce food.
However, about 1% of farmers that applied to SFI 2023 have applied to put 80% or more of their farm into these six non-productive actions."

If DEFRA really are worried about "food production" - a more logical place to start would surely be by ensuring that food production is profitable.

A good question to ask themselves would be "I wonder why some farmers are thinking these SFI options are more attractive than producing food".

It also surprises me that they are basing their decision making upon what 1% of "farmers" have chosen to do.

frederick · Mar 25, 2024

It would be interesting how many farmers have open claims at the moment.

I have an open claim even though as a dairy farmer i think it will be unlikely I sign up to much.

I would have thought a lot of farmers that were thinking about it have at least started the application process.

So it's actually worse than a lot of you are saying. There are people with an open claim that could still put 100% into wild bird seed sometime in the next month or so but there are those that haven't opened a claim that could open one tomorrow and only be allowed 25%.

Martin Holden · Mar 25, 2024

Clive said:
so where does this leave agreemnets that are already accepted with more than 25% ?

Precisely! they come up with a scheme and then before it’s really got going they move the goalposts. Are we as taxpayers paying for incompetent people? I thought Defra would have had some staff with common sense, surely?

goodevans · Mar 25, 2024

Nearly said:
Good luck to the ones who got the snout in the trough early.

But also possibly bad luck that in 3 years new capped levels and no workforce or machinery as they are all going down the road this year

Salopian_Will · Mar 25, 2024

It is the impact on the tenanted sector I was most concerned about. And I include the Contract Farming sector within that, as that is the new reality of tenant farming, as private landlords offering new FBTs is pretty much unheard of (around here anyway). It is not just those with businesses built around such relationships (often over generations of hard work) but the farming community that goes along with it.

onthehoof · Mar 25, 2024

25% of total land so if you have 75% grass you can still put 100% of your arable into SFI

J 1177 · Mar 25, 2024

Lets be honest the reality Mr Tesco, Mr Aldi, Mrs sainsbury, Them, non binary co op. Have been on to the government saying what the utter feck are you doing. Our cheap food supply will dry up.
Theyve never paid any attention to us farmers, why start now.

Bramble · Mar 25, 2024

frederick said:
It would be interesting how many farmers have open claims at the moment.

I have an open claim even though as a dairy farmer i think it will be unlikely I sign up to much.

I would have thought a lot of farmers that were thinking about it have at least started the application process.

So it's actually worse than a lot of you are saying. There are people with an open claim that could still put 100% into wild bird seed sometime in the next month or so but there are those that haven't opened a claim that could open one tomorrow and only be allowed 25%.

Whats do you think an ‘open’ claim please? I registered for it and have done a HEFER assessment but not filled in any options.

One of the DEFRA press releases says the old rules scheme will be closed to new applicants at midnight tonight

Andy26 · Mar 25, 2024

Steevo said:
I find it interesting that they used the word "farmers" rather than just "applicants"

Probably should of used 'Business people.

Andy26 · Mar 25, 2024

Bramble said:
Whats do you think an ‘open’ claim please? I registered for it and have done a HEFER assessment but not filled in any options.

One of the DEFRA press releases says the old rules scheme will be closed to new applicants at midnight tonight

An application open, you have still time to open one.

essex man · Mar 25, 2024

Steevo said:
If DEFRA really are worried about "food production" - a more logical place to start would surely be by ensuring that food production is profitable.

A good question to ask themselves would be "I wonder why some farmers are thinking these SFI options are more attractive than producing food".

It also surprises me that they are basing their decision making upon what 1% of "farmers" have chosen to do.

Indeed, they could spend their time cutting costs to farmers by decreasing regulation.
Cutting tax on things like red diesel.
Burning down the red tractor.
Instead they spend their money on increasing bureaucracy in order to grow bird food rather than human food.
They can't run anything effectively.

Bramble · Mar 25, 2024

Andy26 said:
An application open, you have still time to open one.

RPA are already on to that. ‘Unable to connect to webpage’, either everyone is logging on now or they have decided to take down their login website for the night

onthehoof · Mar 25, 2024

Bramble said:
Whats do you think an ‘open’ claim please? I registered for it and have done a HEFER assessment but not filled in any options.

One of the DEFRA press releases says the old rules scheme will be closed to new applicants at midnight tonight

What % of your land is going in the 6 options

L P · Mar 25, 2024

Grass And Grain said:
Looks like it's going to be unfair.

We're only going to be able to get 25% SFI options, but existing agreement holders have no cap.

What a mess.

The bits they've capped have nothing to do with sustainable farming practice.... might wipe the smile off faces laughing their way to the bank for not farming! I think the small print allows them to amend, I'll have to look back through the agreement

Andy26 · Mar 25, 2024

L P said:
The bits they've capped have nothing to do with sustainable farming practice.... might wipe the smile off faces laughing their way to the bank for not farming! I think the small print allows them to amend, I'll have to look back through the agreement

I think AHL2 can be a better break than Num3, certainly better for black grass.

My AB9s clean of black grass, AB15 not so.

yellow belly · Mar 25, 2024

Steevo said:
If DEFRA really are worried about "food production" - a more logical place to start would surely be by ensuring that food production is profitable.

A good question to ask themselves would be "I wonder why some farmers are thinking these SFI options are more attractive than producing food".

It also surprises me that they are basing their decision making upon what 1% of "farmers" have chosen to do.

The 1 % made the headlines when payment by area rarned the top 1% 500000 or more

topground · Mar 25, 2024

Andy26 said:
An application open, you have still time to open one.

RPA site down from 17.15 tonight planned maintenance. What a happy coincidence!

J 1177 · Mar 25, 2024

On another note, trust. Janet Hughes stated on here that they wanted to build relationships with farmers, lighter touch etc. Well thats out of the window in all of 5 seconds. SAME OLD DEFRA. Not to be trusted.

New limits to SFI.

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0 %

Up to 25%

25-50%

50-75%

75-100%

100% I’ve had enough of farming!

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