Far from easy

[Chris123]

Completed our Sfi application a few days ago now and would not describe the process as easy at all. There are a lot of compatibility issues that the system will not allow mostly supplements on base options. The help line is mixed spoke to one bloke who was very knowledgeable on the whole thing and seemed to know the scheme inside out, but all they can do with the issues is log them to be sorted down the line. My advise if your on the helpline would be put the phone down and start again if you get the wrong person though as another didn’t even know what the options I was having the problem with were and was no help at all.
I ended up changing options on quite a number of fields due to the issues just to get the application in, rather than miss another months payments. I’ve also left ground out which I couldn’t put alternative options on to hopefully put in a future application.
Think it may be simpler once all the problems have been taken out of the system but I spent far longer putting the application together and on helplines than I had hoped.
Overall I would rate it all as pretty poor given how long the scheme has been in the process of being put together

 

[DrWazzock]

It doesn’t help that it’s a three year agreement.
The area of various rotational options will vary hugely for me due to different field sizes and different crops and I’m not sure how much adjustment is allowed annually or how you report that. Can’t see why it couldn’t have been an annual agreement like BPS.
Then there’s the “prone to soil erosion” criteria. Clear as mud really.

 

[haymaker80]

Completed our Sfi application a few days ago now and would not describe the process as easy at all. There are a lot of compatibility issues that the system will not allow mostly supplements on base options. The help line is mixed spoke to one bloke who was very knowledgeable on the whole thing and seemed to know the scheme inside out, but all they can do with the issues is log them to be sorted down the line. My advise if your on the helpline would be put the phone down and start again if you get the wrong person though as another didn’t even know what the options I was having the problem with were and was no help at all.
I ended up changing options on quite a number of fields due to the issues just to get the application in, rather than miss another months payments. I’ve also left ground out which I couldn’t put alternative options on to hopefully put in a future application.
Think it may be simpler once all the problems have been taken out of the system but I spent far longer putting the application together and on helplines than I had hoped.
Overall I would rate it all as pretty poor given how long the scheme has been in the process of being put together

Exactly the same issues here. I ended up putting the application in with a couple of options missing due to incompatibility issues. To top it all off, I'm still waiting for an offer 5 weeks after putting the application in! Previous application for SFI23 I had an offer within 3 days.

 

[yellow belly]

It doesn’t help that it’s a three year agreement.
The area of various rotational options will vary hugely for me due to different field sizes and different crops and I’m not sure how much adjustment is allowed annually or how you report that. Can’t see why it couldn’t have been an annual agreement like BPS.
Then there’s the “prone to soil erosion” criteria. Clear as mud really.

you can increase and reduce the area of each rotational action to suit each years areas

 

[Chris123]

Exactly the same issues here. I ended up putting the application in with a couple of options missing due to incompatibility issues. To top it all off, I'm still waiting for an offer 5 weeks after putting the application in! Previous application for SFI23 I had an offer within 3 days.

Any idea when the agreement will start then, thought if I had it in by the end of the month as it was all automated it would start the following month. Had to wait 7 months for approval of our last mid tier, shambles!!!

 

[Bramble]

Hutchinsons SFI advisor told me yesterday that any 2024 extended SFI contracts filled in in the last month or so were unlikely to get approval until after the budget, so there wasn’t any rush to get anything filled in.

All subject to the Treasury continuing with the funding

 

[Andy26]

Hutchinsons SFI advisor told me yesterday that any 2024 extended SFI contracts filled in in the last month or so were unlikely to get approval until after the budget, so there wasn’t any rush to get anything filled in.

All subject to the Treasury continuing with the funding

If that's correct, looking at a November 1st start date at the earliest.

 

[Chris123]

Hutchinsons SFI advisor told me yesterday that any 2024 extended SFI contracts filled in in the last month or so were unlikely to get approval until after the budget, so there wasn’t any rush to get anything filled in.

All subject to the Treasury continuing with the funding

if that is the case it’s an absolute joke, I was just about to ask when people who have been accepted have had their agreements start after completing an application. Won’t be doing any of the options for this winter then if thats the case!
100mill off the annual ag budget from this year supposedly as an underspend on previous year wonder what we will be left with after this farce.

 

[Nearly]

I may have missed the boat on sfi, intentionally, but not rushing to jump on board now. I saw a couple of rats packing their bags.
Wait and see again.

 

[haymaker80]

Any idea when the agreement will start then, thought if I had it in by the end of the month as it was all automated it would start the following month. Had to wait 7 months for approval of our last mid tier, shambles!!!

None whatsoever. I think it's all got to be checked manually. I emailed last week to see what's going on and got this back....

"We are currently working on all applications and we aim to complete processing and notify you of the outcome as soon as possible."

 

[steveR]

Hutchinsons SFI advisor told me yesterday that any 2024 extended SFI contracts filled in in the last month or so were unlikely to get approval until after the budget, so there wasn’t any rush to get anything filled in.

All subject to the Treasury continuing with the funding

What a surprise....

 

[PeterPrestbury]

Well, there's supposed to be an rpa sfi webinar at the end of September, so l imagine this question will keep being asked until its answered.

 

[PeterPrestbury]

There is also a rumour going around that continued funding for environmental schemes will come at the expense of cancelling the budget for remaining bps payments.

 

[yellow belly]

any one had a extended sfi approved
if so then rumours spread by others are wrong

100 million saving can be got by not extending the farm investment fund

any cut in environmental payments will be headline in the Guardian with the environmentalists kicking up a fuss

the sfi is virtually all environmental based

 

[Grass And Grain]

Hutchinsons SFI advisor told me yesterday that any 2024 extended SFI contracts filled in in the last month or so were unlikely to get approval until after the budget, so there wasn’t any rush to get anything filled in.

All subject to the Treasury continuing with the funding

If our application comes back with 1st Nov start date, then we'll leave it until end of next summer. More time lost without any BPS replacement

 

[gone up the hill]

Hutchinsons SFI advisor told me yesterday that any 2024 extended SFI contracts filled in in the last month or so were unlikely to get approval until after the budget, so there wasn’t any rush to get anything filled in.

All subject to the Treasury continuing with the funding

By extended contracts does that mean new applications for SFI 24 ? ( where the farm currently has no SFI scheme )

Or does it mean people who already have an SFI scheme running but want to add options etc to it?

 

[gone up the hill]

There is also a rumour going around that continued funding for environmental schemes will come at the expense of cancelling the budget for remaining bps payments.

Well unless they open up SFI24 for general applications sooner rather than later that is a complete nonsense as it will mean 1000s of farms will have all BPS payments removed and are being stopped from applying for SFI at the same time.

 

[Chris123]

Well unless they open up SFI24 for general applications sooner rather than later that is a complete nonsense as it will mean 1000s of farms will have all BPS payments removed and are being stopped from applying for SFI at the same time.

Exactly then we are losing the money from the future ag pot bud due to it not being spent in last two years when it’s inaccessible, almost like the role out of Sfi has been done this way to achieve that objective.

 

[DrWazzock]

I’m not applying anyway till I know how much autumn drilling I can or can’t get done. A three year agreement in an annual business like farming is a bit mad really. Not sure I want the constraints and as the payments are only for income foregone, not a top up like BPS, is it even worth the hassle. We’ll see, but if the weather lets us get drilled up, I don’t think we will be applying for much other than a few buffer strips and a small amount of birdseed in awkward corners.

 

[gone up the hill]

@livestock 1 have you seen the comments on this thread?