For those farming less than 200 acres.

[DairyGrazing]

1) Have you been invited to be a pilot for the SFI ? I haven't applied, no. Only because we don't intend to be in England next year though else I would have.
Will you be taking up the invitation ? Doesn't apply.

2) How important are current BPS payments to your business ? About 30% of farming turnover in recent years but we have run the herd right down. Around 10% of total turnover (diverse incomes)

3) From what you know to date, do you see the SFI as being of relevance to your business ? Yes but will require compromise in what we do and payment isn't enough to offset this. It doesn't allow for silvopasture, for example, because it insists each tree has a buffer zone.

4) If it's not too intrusive, where do you see your farming business being in 5 years time ? Relocated, probably in Scotland, and highly agroecologically focused. May be 50 acres, may be 1000. Depends what's on the market that grabs our interest. Will be 100% debt free. Will be farmed for a moderate income and, hopefully, in partnership with new entrants to help them get established. May involve woodland blocks or, at least, shelter belts and silvopasture. Probably have let property. May have renewable energy scheme (we have PV here now). Possibly producing veg and salads for local consumption as well. May take farm subs but may do without them completely to aid management flexibility.

planning for a happier, quieter life.

I was looking at a place in the borders but i'm worried about Independence. There's been a lot of talk from the SNP about returning land to the people etc

 

[Bill the Bass]

1) No and no
2) It’s a nice to have but we would survive without it
3) Animal health will be importantish, low rate SFI will pick up land not in Mid Tier options - I expect it will generate around £2k a year for minimal change.
4) I can’t see us taking on more land because we can’t compete with Dairy for rents or with the like of Philip Day, a non domicile tax exile and our local ‘dyson’, to buy land. I suspect Tb or some type of carbon tax will finish sucklers in England in ten years so we will probably be growing silage and whole crop for the mega dairies.

 

[Hindsight]

my farm is not very big really, most of what we grow crops on belongs to others who claim their own BPS

Ditto, and there are plenty around who are like that.

As is the case in many places - contract and share farming being so common, more so for arable land. And why the number of holdings and businesses within farming statistics is 'false'. OK, all those small separate holdings will have different objectives and decision makers but to intents are part of one larger farm when it comes to the operational aspects.

 

[BrianV]

Purely for those farming less than 200 acres * please :

1) Have you been invited to be a pilot for the SFI ? Will you be taking up the invitation ?
2) How important are current BPS payments to your business ?
3) From what you know to date, do you see the SFI as being of relevance to your business ?
4) If it's not too intrusive, where do you see your farming business being in 5 years time ?

* Average farm size in England.

Given the current mess & confusion this crowd are currently in why would anyone expect any sensible outcome in the rules regulations & payments going forward, it is simply an exercise in transferring past farming subsidies to other form filling employment & nothing to do with helping farmers cope with change!

 

[bill and bens dad]

excuse my ignorance , but what is SFI ?? Single Farm Initiative??

 

[jackrussell101]

Current farmgate prices are masking the coming BPS shortfall.

I would be squawking alot now if we had the same situation of reducing BPS but with prices where they were in 2016 etc, I personally couldn't cope with that

 

[Jackov Altraids]

1) Have you been invited to be a pilot for the SFI ? Will you be taking up the invitation ?
2) How important are current BPS payments to your business ?
3) From what you know to date, do you see the SFI as being of relevance to your business ?
4) If it's not too intrusive, where do you see your farming business being in 5 years time ?


1) No.
2) That income will need to be replaced with something to continue
3) As a sustainable farm it should be completely relevant.
In practice, much of it is done already but the way SFI is currently structured, the costs of meeting each tier is greater than the payment on offer. This is purely in terms of productivity and doesn't include my professional time for managing it and the other costs involved.
4) It's very hard to predict and I'm very open minded. Among the likely options are;

Reducing stocking rates and working off farm
Becoming much more intensive.
Direct selling
diversification
Let the farm to a larger operation

I'm emotionally drawn to completely industrialising the farm as Red Tractor is pushing and destroying the wonderful, traditional and biodiverse meadows here as I'm so fed up of being penalised for doing the right thing.

 

[steveR]

Did I hear that the average farm size of a Groundswell attendee is 400 acres?

That does surprise me... Fair enough on the pure arable farms, but my take from idle chit chat was mixed farms were much smaller than the 400ac... However, The Cherry's database will know better

 

[Wombat]

No
Years like last year more so
No
Still here

The thing that concerns me is the conservation we use bps for, when I dig a pond out I don’t worry about it as the bps covers it, same with gapping hedges and having 6m margins on all the water courses they are covered from bps, now that money is no longer there though kind of things will stop. And no I am not going into any 5 yr schemes as I don’t trust the rpa

So I think we will diversify and intensify and so I see it having the opposite effect for us to what they want.

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

my farm is not very big really, most of what we grow crops on belongs to others who claim their own BPS

Ditto, and there are plenty around who are like that.

A very common business model these days. I wonder if DEFRA etc. are actually aware of that?

 

[Formatted]

1) Have you been invited to be a pilot for the SFI ? Will you be taking up the invitation ?
2) How important are current BPS payments to your business ?
3) From what you know to date, do you see the SFI as being of relevance to your business ?
4) If it's not too intrusive, where do you see your farming business being in 5 years time ?

1) Yes, Yes
2) Its about 20% of our turnover
3) Some parts seem fairly simple and easy to integrate in our business practice
4) We'll have hoovered up all the ground all the old boys have given up because they can't farm without BPS and can't work a computer so can't access SFI

 

[adam_farming]

Purely for those farming less than 200 acres * please :

1) Have you been invited to be a pilot for the SFI ? Will you be taking up the invitation ?
2) How important are current BPS payments to your business ?
3) From what you know to date, do you see the SFI as being of relevance to your business ?
4) If it's not too intrusive, where do you see your farming business being in 5 years time ?

* Average farm size in England.

1) No, would rather watch and learn for a few years, like anything new.
2) Not very, and putting effort in to making it even less so. This applies to every income stream on the farm though.
3) Yes, in that I am interested in a relatively consistent income stream that isn't linked to a volatile commodity market or weather conditions that requires me to change very little of what we already do in order to claim it.
4) More diversified than it already is, otherwise I will have died of boredom.

And no, no one forced me to say that even though I'm very aware it's basically what the government want farmers to say/do/think

 

[steveR]

Purely for those farming less than 200 acres * please :

1) Have you been invited to be a pilot for the SFI ? Will you be taking up the invitation ?
2) How important are current BPS payments to your business ?
3) From what you know to date, do you see the SFI as being of relevance to your business ?
4) If it's not too intrusive, where do you see your farming business being in 5 years time ?

* Average farm size in England.

I had an "informal" enquiry and was declined on the basis I was still in CSS. It turned out I could actually enter the Pilot but again declined of the grounds of sanity as more info became available.

BPS paymenst are very important to the business, however, I have been re-jigging to help us try and survive the next few years.

In 5 years time, SFI/ELMs will potentially be important, but so much in the air still, so that all I can say is, maybe.

Ticking along with numerous income streams. As many "off farm" sources of money as possible. Retirement beckons so maybe that will be a decider, IF a sprog wishes to come back and farm. that will be the biggest decision for us.

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

And no I am not going into any 5 yr schemes as I don’t trust the rpa

This is a huge issue for ANY scheme the government create in future. I keep trying to raise it but nobody seems willing to address it....

 

[neilo]

excuse my ignorance , but what is SFI ?? Single Farm Initiative??

‘Sustainable’ is the new buzzword.

SFI = Sustainable Farming Incentive.

 

[DairyGrazing]

I don't why there hasn't been more focus on the fact that BPS is a small part of turn over but a massive part of profit.

 

[Hindsight]

I don't why there hasn't been more focus on the fact that BPS is a small part of turn over but a massive part of profit.

DEFRA is very much aware of that, especially for upland ruminant grazing areas.

 

[Kidds]

The best question asked by one attendee started with " Have any of you actually ever been on a farm? "

And if they ever do venture onto a farm it sure as hell won't be mine.

 

[DairyGrazing]

DEFRA is very much aware of that, especially for upland ruminant grazing areas.

Our consultant is seriously worried about nearly all of his upland farms. Only ones that are doing well have hyrdo schemes or something non ag horse riding, motor cross, holiday lets etc

 

[DRC]

This webinar is tonight . I wonder what assurances it’ll give those of us in the tenanted sector .