For those farming less than 200 acres.

delilah

Member
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.
 
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Grass And Grain

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Yorks
Only do bits of sfi that work for your farm.

50% of land dedicated to new mid tier equivalent.

Plenty of spare grain storage. Class R PD to storage let.

Drive tractor for neighbour with your freed up time.

Consider using contractor.
 

7610 super q

Never Forgotten
Honorary Member
Interesting thread. I tried to find out the average farm size on here, but failed miserably. Google suggests the average size is 200 acres, but that must surely include the hobby/ good life / horsey farms ? If it is the case there must be more @7610 super q 's about than Clive's....
I'm in Wales, so have no clue whatsoever about future payments, green or not. Current SFP is negligible, but does pay for a S/H implement every second year. Every operation has to pay. No selling hay and straw for £15/ bale. No room for major machinery repairs. Other income streams a must. Wouldn't touch SFI type schemes with a bargepole. No contact with WAG/ Farming Connect for 15 years. Long may it continue.
IMO these schemes & Farming Connect should be boycotted. We need to draw a line in the sand. £30-70 / acre payments are not acceptable in the 21st Century.
 

topground

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
North Somerset.
Yes and Yes
BPS always reinvested so investment will be reduced.
No
It will be influences other than SFI such as the beef price being at or above current levels that will determine where my business is in 5 years.
Dog and stick currently, the dog is nervous but he doesn’t have a mortgage or kids to support.
 

AndrewM

Member
BASIS
Location
Devon
Interesting thread. I tried to find out the average farm size on here, but failed miserably. Google suggests the average size is 200 acres, but that must surely include the hobby/ good life / horsey farms ? If it is the case there must be more @7610 super q 's about than Clive's....
I'm in Wales, so have no clue whatsoever about future payments, green or not. Current SFP is negligible, but does pay for a S/H implement every second year. Every operation has to pay. No selling hay and straw for £15/ bale. No room for major machinery repairs. Other income streams a must. Wouldn't touch SFI type schemes with a bargepole. No contact with WAG/ Farming Connect for 15 years. Long may it continue.
IMO these schemes & Farming Connect should be boycotted. We need to draw a line in the sand. £30-70 / acre payments are not acceptable in the 21st Century.

2019
Size bandNumber of holdings (thousand)Hectares (thousand)
under 20 hectares
41.3​
317.6​
20 to under 50 hectares
21.4​
711.1​
50 to under 100 hectares
17.9​
1,284.1​
100 to under 200 hectares
14.0​
1,968.4​
200 hectares and over
11.5​
4,924.4​
Total
106.1​
9,205.6​
Average farmed area (hectares)
86.8​
Average farmed area on holdings with >=20 hectares of farmed area (hectares)
137.2​

nearly 40% of holdings are 20Ha 50 acers or less.

more than 50% land area farmed by bussinesses over 500acres
 

holwellcourtfarm

Member
Livestock Farmer
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. :facepalm:

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.
 

Hawkes

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
devon
1.Yes I have been asked to join the pilot.
2. We can manage without it, as have off farm enterprises.
3. At the rates being shown and the level of faff and expense required to get it, I am not sure I will bother at all.
4. 5 years time, grass let to young keen sheepish folk, arable use more contractors and my children can decide.

It is difficult to know if worth being part of the pilot even, I have spent a couple of days trying to get my head around the pages of waffle only to see such meagre payments and not inconsiderable expense necessary to get them, I am unsure about how useful it will be to continue. The £5k on offer is now only for the first year, to be "reviewed" second year. ( that means reduced) . I listened to a zoom presentation last week as part of the process and it was deeply unimpressive. The best question asked by one attendee started with " Have any of you actually ever been on a farm? " . That must have got a wry laugh from every person watching.
 

Flat 10

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Fen Edge
2019
Size bandNumber of holdings (thousand)Hectares (thousand)
under 20 hectares
41.3​
317.6​
20 to under 50 hectares
21.4​
711.1​
50 to under 100 hectares
17.9​
1,284.1​
100 to under 200 hectares
14.0​
1,968.4​
200 hectares and over
11.5​
4,924.4​
Total
106.1​
9,205.6​
Average farmed area (hectares)
86.8​
Average farmed area on holdings with >=20 hectares of farmed area (hectares)
137.2​

nearly 40% of holdings are 20Ha 50 acers or less.

more than 50% land area farmed by bussinesses over 500acres
I think that’s very misleading as I can’t be untypical with 3 bps claims on the land I farm.
 

holwellcourtfarm

Member
Livestock Farmer
The best question asked by one attendee started with " Have any of you actually ever been on a farm? " . That must have got a wry laugh from every person watching.
If you need to ask a question like that you probably already know the answer.... :(

And how many of the "trusted advisers" that DEFRA are insisting will help us all to make the best use of the new schemes have ever actually run a successful fram business themselves too?

I know one (nameless) chap near here who was a FW poster boy in the 1980's and ran a big arable operation went bust 3 times then became an assurance inspector :rolleyes:
 

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
Interesting thread. I tried to find out the average farm size on here, but failed miserably. Google suggests the average size is 200 acres, but that must surely include the hobby/ good life / horsey farms ? If it is the case there must be more @7610 super q 's about than Clive's....
I'm in Wales, so have no clue whatsoever about future payments, green or not. Current SFP is negligible, but does pay for a S/H implement every second year. Every operation has to pay. No selling hay and straw for £15/ bale. No room for major machinery repairs. Other income streams a must. Wouldn't touch SFI type schemes with a bargepole. No contact with WAG/ Farming Connect for 15 years. Long may it continue.
IMO these schemes & Farming Connect should be boycotted. We need to draw a line in the sand. £30-70 / acre payments are not acceptable in the 21st Century.

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

Ffermer Bach

Member
Livestock Farmer
2019
Size bandNumber of holdings (thousand)Hectares (thousand)
under 20 hectares
41.3​
317.6​
20 to under 50 hectares
21.4​
711.1​
50 to under 100 hectares
17.9​
1,284.1​
100 to under 200 hectares
14.0​
1,968.4​
200 hectares and over
11.5​
4,924.4​
Total
106.1​
9,205.6​
Average farmed area (hectares)
86.8​
Average farmed area on holdings with >=20 hectares of farmed area (hectares)
137.2​

nearly 40% of holdings are 20Ha 50 acers or less.

more than 50% land area farmed by bussinesses over 500acres
Did I hear that the average farm size of a Groundswell attendee is 400 acres?
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 76 43.4%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 62 35.4%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 28 16.0%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 3 1.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,284
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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