rural payments agency

Written by Eva Osborne-Sherlock from Agriland The eighth round of the Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund has opened today (Monday, October 23) for applications. The £2.5 million fund encourages collaboration between groups of farmers, foresters and other land managers to improve local...

Slurry Infrastructure grant: guidance now available for round 2 Written by Thomas Proudfoot In April I blogged about the outcome of the first round of Slurry Infrastructure grants. In that post, I said we were planning to launch two further, larger rounds in Autumn 2023 and 2024. I’m...

SFI webinar for organic farmers: register to attend Written by Becky Briggs Leonard Bentley On 13 October, we’re holding a webinar on the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) for organic farmers and growers. Christopher Stopes, Co-chair of the English Organic Forum will introduce the...

Like the thread title? No, me neither but now I’ve got your attention, read on I would like you to read the following extract from Jeremy Clarkson’s article in yesterday’s Sunday Times magazine…. ”In my first year of farming I made a profit of £114. That will look like a dream result when I...

Has anyone ever autumn established SFI AHL2 after a crop off winter wheat, grown fast seeding crops such as mustard and then gone into a spring barley late March early April? Probably a good reason why it isn’t being done!

Written by Eva Osborne-Sherlock from Agriland Farmers will have additional time to complete their Countryside Stewardship 2024 applications as long as they were started before the deadline of today (Friday, September 15). The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)...

Written by Eva Osborne-Sherlock from Agriland The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra’s) calf housing and welfare grant is now open for applications. Grants of between £15,000 and £500,000 are available for cattle keepers to co-fund new and upgraded calf housing. The...

Written by Eva Osborne-Sherlock from Agriland The Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) has said it and its members need honesty from the Department for Environment, Food and and Rural Affairs (Defra) on the delivery of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). The TFA said it held meetings today...

Apply now for a calf housing grant Written by Gwyn Jones Credit: Katie Hunt I’m pleased to say that you can now take the first step to apply for the Calf Housing for Health and Welfare grant. In this post, I will explain how. I’ve been closely involved in the co-design of this grant, so I...

Recently had a RPA inspection,2 days on farm checking crops grown on last return.Then we needed to supply paperwork for 5/6 fields which amounted to 90 pages of regulation and records,no problems found,all these records have now been returned,then another inspector turned up at half hour notice...

Annual Health and Welfare Review: making it easier to apply, comply and export Written by The Team In February, we launched the Annual Health and Welfare Review. The Review, a funded annual vet visit, allows farmers to concentrate on the specific health and welfare priorities of their...

Written by Michelle Martin from Agriland The deadline for applications for the 2024 Countryside Stewardship mid-tier agreements has been extended until Friday, September 15. The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) said it has been extended to allow more people to submit applications online...

Introducing Animal Health and Welfare Infrastructure grants Written by The Team Katie Hunt We're pleased to share the next steps of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. Through the first round of the Animal Health and Welfare Equipment and Technology grant, over £19 million will be...

Written by Michelle Martin from Agriland Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) advance payments will be issued to farmers on August 1, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has confirmed. These advance payments will comprise up to 50% of the total annual BPS payment. Once again, BPS payments are being...

Countryside Stewardship: Higher Tier agreements to start in 2024 Written by John Place Alison Day The window for applications for Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier closed on 28 April 2023. Mid Tier and Wildlife Offer agreements are still open for applications until 18 August 2023. A...

SFI: more ways to enhance your income, productivity and the environment Written by The Team Alison Day This year, the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer will be bigger and more flexible. Today, we published the SFI Handbook on GOV.UK. It sets out all the actions we will pay for and...

Afternoon all, Today we've published a handbook containing all the detailed information about the sustainable farming incentive offer for this year. The handbook is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sfi-handbook-for-the-sfi-2023-offer An overview blogpost is here...

Written by Michelle Martin from Agriland The government will start accepting applications for what it has called the “new and improved” Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) in a controlled rollout from August. During the initial roll out period, when farmers sign into the Rural Payments...

More time to suggest productivity and slurry items Written by Gordon Jones Alison Day We recently asked you to help us shape the list of items under the Productivity and Slurry theme of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF). The survey was due to close on 3 July. However, in...

Written by Charlotte Morrey from Agriland Three years after the UK made the decision to leave the European Union there has been much speculation and conversation from politicians and businesses alike as to how it has affected the country and whether Brexit was one big mistake. Hearing from...