Are you Punished by SFI rules for doing the right thing ?
- Thread starter Huno
- Start date
Sustainable Farming Incentive guidance
What farmers need to know to get paid under the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and how to apply for this funding.
- Location
- North Yorkshire
Not looking good for us.
To establish a good viable cover crop we need to follow winter barley
I have already got a good diverse long rotation, 80 ha of winter barley every year on top of the 40 ha to precede OSR will seriously kill that rotation and do nothing positive for brome control.
Cover crops need to be cheap some of the pretty mixes can be scary prices.
With Beans and OSR in the rotation already I try to avoid legumes and brassicas in the mix as part of my long term IPM plan.
Introductory level only then but only if the amount of OM testing leaves a profit
To establish a good viable cover crop we need to follow winter barley
I have already got a good diverse long rotation, 80 ha of winter barley every year on top of the 40 ha to precede OSR will seriously kill that rotation and do nothing positive for brome control.
Cover crops need to be cheap some of the pretty mixes can be scary prices.
With Beans and OSR in the rotation already I try to avoid legumes and brassicas in the mix as part of my long term IPM plan.
Introductory level only then but only if the amount of OM testing leaves a profit
- Location
- Yorks
Can't get Intermediate SFI arable soils, on a chunk of land because DEFRA think they're already paying me for overwinter cover on AB15 type options.
That will then presumably prevent access to the higher tier soil standard when it is introduced the following year, because you can't get a higher tier until you've fulfilled the lesser tier.
The whole thing is an unnecessarily complicated mess imho. They couldn't have made it more complex of they'd tried.
That will then presumably prevent access to the higher tier soil standard when it is introduced the following year, because you can't get a higher tier until you've fulfilled the lesser tier.
The whole thing is an unnecessarily complicated mess imho. They couldn't have made it more complex of they'd tried.
- Location
- Derbyshire
can't get intermediate standard on grassland soils because 90% of our grassland is permanent pasture. To achieve the intermediate level, ironically grassland needs to be ideally in an 'arable' rotation to include herbal leys. 
It has been and still is a joke, permanent pasture and temporary grassland that is kept in grassland for longer before being put back in rotation you'd say was possibly the most environmentally friendly of all farmed land but you get bog all for doing it but the theoretical chance of being penalised if you need to change things. Same as the grant you can get for an arable direct drill but nothing for a grassland direct drill to enable us to sow all this wonderful clover and herbal mixes to improve existing pasture without tillage or spraying off.What planet are these bureaucrats on ?can't get intermediate standard on grassland soils because 90% of our grassland is permanent pasture. To achieve the intermediate level, ironically grassland needs to be ideally in an 'arable' rotation to include herbal leys.
I can't make the intermediate soils standard work on alongside our CSS agreement. Not being able to include the areas that are in SW6, AB15 & GS4 in the 70% ground cover calculation, and winter beans that also don't count (despite being drilled into a catch crop) I don't have enough area to fit in 20% mix species cover.
I understand the logic of not paying for the same outcome twice but the objectives of the SFI soils standard is "focused on improving soil health, structure, organic matter, and biology" or essentially what's happening underground, which isn't the same as the aims listed for the above CSS options.
I assume there are going to be similar conflicts with SFI & LNR which is why the details for LNR are so slow to be released
I understand the logic of not paying for the same outcome twice but the objectives of the SFI soils standard is "focused on improving soil health, structure, organic matter, and biology" or essentially what's happening underground, which isn't the same as the aims listed for the above CSS options.
I assume there are going to be similar conflicts with SFI & LNR which is why the details for LNR are so slow to be released
- Location
- Essex
I agree with you, except for the drill bit. You can get an overseeder on the small grant scheme, at least I did last year.
spin cycle
Member
- Location
- north norfolk
yes
Hindsight
Member
- Location
- Lincolnshire
And leaving the EU was the only way to have a less complicated bureaucratic agricultural support system. So said george Eustace in 2016 before the referendum. Deluded, fool or liar?
- Location
- East yorks
Liar
Undoubtedly.
- Location
- Caithness
He's an MP, everyone of them nowadays is all three rolled into one IMO.
Princess Pooper
Member
- Location
- East Mids
Unless it has changed since I last looked, can’t get any soils payment on unimproved permanent pasture in the lowlands. This land has been in old CSS then HLS for 20 years with no inputs and is not dominated by ryegrass so does not qualify as improved grassland, yet NO payment for the fantastic soil quality and protection. It was put into no input management on a flood plain to protect an aquatic SSSI suffering from phosphate enrichment, too. Another section is species rich hay meadow and a Local Wildlife Site with at least 600 years of permanent pasture creating enviable levels of organic matter.
Some of this land went into new CS agreement but not most of it as the grassland payment rates in Mid Tier are crap, but we can’t even get a SFI soil payment in it! I know that hopefully we will get a payment for the biodiversity element in future under a LNR scheme, but we can’t ‘stack’ onto a soil payment so we will be short changed. We need money to start replacing BPS now. After 20+ years of being a passionate advocate of agri-environment schemes (finalist in the old FWAG Silver Lapwing awards too), I am sadly disillusioned and fed up @Janet Hughes Defra
Some of this land went into new CS agreement but not most of it as the grassland payment rates in Mid Tier are crap, but we can’t even get a SFI soil payment in it! I know that hopefully we will get a payment for the biodiversity element in future under a LNR scheme, but we can’t ‘stack’ onto a soil payment so we will be short changed. We need money to start replacing BPS now. After 20+ years of being a passionate advocate of agri-environment schemes (finalist in the old FWAG Silver Lapwing awards too), I am sadly disillusioned and fed up @Janet Hughes Defra
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Morning - sorry to be slow to reply to this and sorry you're fed up and disillusioned.
The main way to get payments for permanent pasture at this stage is through CS. We updated the payment rates for CS this year, including for several of the grassland options, so I'd encourage you to take another look at that if you've not done so already: https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...hip-revenue-payment-rates-from-1-january-2022 For example GS2 (Permanent Grassland with very low inputs) price went up from £95 to £132 as of 1 Jan this year. However that is just for now - we will be paying for permanent pasture in new schemes, recognising the huge value of these areas, as you say.
We will be introducing payments for permanent pasture in SFI between now and 2024, and there will be options in Local Nature Recovery too as you say, and you will be able to stack these so long as we're not paying you for the same actions twice and the actions we're funding are compatible (eg we won't pay you to both create woodland and also manage grassland on the exact same piece of land). We'll be publishing more information about what we'll pay for in Local Nature Recovery this year so you can see what your options are and plan ahead. I very much recognise that you need this information as soon as possible.
I hope that helps allay some of your concerns but let me know if a conversation would be useful or if you have any more questions I can help with.
The tax tail (landlord) is wagging the management dog ( tenant) on this farm and SFI is not helping @Janet Hughes Defra