New limits to SFI.

[Huno]

The only land to receive an area payment should be PP. Which is just another way of saying that no cropped land should be able to be entered in its entirety into a scheme.

If they have finally worked that out, then good. Should have feckin listened on day 1.

But they didnt did they mate???

 

[serf]

The only land to receive an area payment should be PP. Which is just another way of saying that no cropped land should be able to be entered in its entirety into a scheme.

If they have finally worked that out, then good. Should have feckin listened on day 1.

To late , it's all been ripped up to put bird seed in ....

 

[Highashgrange]

The early adopters are the ones that will be inspected so they can claim some money back.

 

[delilah]

To late , it's all been ripped up to put bird seed in ....

Probably. It was a dark day indeed when Janet went to Groundswell and had her head turned by the muppets. All of this could and should have been avoided.

 

[Huno]

The early adopters are the ones that will be inspected so they can claim some money back.

YES... a thread recommending this has been passed to Ricardo Energy and Farmers Weekly letters as they spoilt it for everyone else... BPS anyone??

 

[gone up the hill]

Government ensures food production remains primary purpose of farming
· New measures reaffirm food production a key part of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) alongside protecting the environment.
· New applicants to SFI will only be able to put 25% of their land into six SFI actions that take land out of direct production.
· The six capped actions will continue to play an important role in supporting farmers primary role – to produce food.

New measures reaffirming how our environmental land management schemes work alongside food production by limiting the amount of land farmers can take out of of productive actions under the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) have been announced today (Monday 25 March).
While there has been only limited evidence to date of farmers entering large amounts of their land into actions that take away food production, some of these actions were being used more than intended in a small number of cases. The changes will ensure the scheme continues to support farmers to produce food sustainably alongside improving the environment.

The scheme is designed to have maximum flexibility and to be simple to apply for, however we always said we would learn and adapt as new information became available. So, following feedback from the farming community, which has been considered throughout the development of SFI, there is consensus on the need to put in place some targeted restrictions.

Under the changes, SFI applicants will only be able to put 25% of their land into six SFI actions that take land out of direct food production. The actions are:

• Flower-rich grass margins
• Pollen and nectar flower mix
• Winter bird food on arable and horticultural land
• Grassy field corners and blocks
• Improved grassland field corners or blocks out of management
• Winter bird food on improved grassland.

The six actions will continue to play an important role in supporting sustainable food production but were always intended to be implemented on smaller areas of the farm - something the new measures will protect.

Farming Minister Mark Spencer said:

“Food production is the primary purpose of farming and today we are taking action to clarify this principle.

“The six actions we are capping were always intended to be implemented on smaller areas of land, and these changes will help to maintain this intention and continue our commitment to maintain domestic food production."

The UK’s farming schemes pay farmers to take actions that improve the environment alongside sustainable food production. SFI has been popular with farmers and to date we have received over 15,000 applications and issued over 14,000 agreement offers. The vast majority of land in the scheme continues to produce food – SFI pays farmers to do this in a more sustainable, resilient way that’s good for both food production and the environment.

Other measures the government is taking to protect food security and ensure we continue to produce at least 60% of the food we consume here in the UK include a new annual UK-wide Food Security Index to capture and present the data needed to monitor levels of food security and a commitment to hold the Farm to Fork Summit annually.

More information regarding the timing of the implementation of the cap will be released in the coming weeks.

Notes to Editors

• Around 1% of farmers that applied to SFI 2023 have applied to put 80% or more of their farm into these six non-productive actions. The vast majority of land in SFI is in actions that involve producing food, but in more efficient, sustainable ways to support both resilient food production and the environment.
• Farming and food production relies upon a healthy and functioning natural environment and any actions in SFI that take land out of production do it temporarily for (1,2 or 3 years) and to enable pollinators, natural pest management, soil fertility etc to recover and improve. This makes food production more resilient.
• The aim is to ensure that we get the balance right in the percentage of a farm that we will fund to take these actions. 25% is the right level to cap these 6 actions at to achieve this, because taking more land than that out of production on any given holding is unlikely to benefit the environment or food production. The rest of the SFI actions will remain uncapped, and we continue to encourage farmers to join SFI.

The full list of actions to be capped at 25%:
IPM2: Flower-rich grass margins, blocks, or in-field strips
AHL1: Pollen and nectar flower mix (which should be growing in blocks or strips in a land parcel)
AHL2: Winter bird food on arable and horticultural land (which should be growing in blocks or strips in a land parcel)
AHL3: Grassy field corners or blocks
IGL1: Take improved grassland field corners or blocks out of management
IGL2: Winter bird food on improved grassland (which should be growing in blocks or strips in a land parcel)

Looks for much from the above they are also changing the rules for these options as well

> as they are now saying should be grown in blocks or strips in a land parcel

Which basically means not a whole land parcel so the 25% will have to be spread over several fields and not whole parcels.

 

[ajd132]

this was always going to happen, people dropping staff and kit trying to chase the easy money, was too good to be true

Agree with you. Farming is cyclical, always has been. Can’t have it both ways at first signs of trouble.

 

[gone up the hill]

Whole scheme is now un workable and very unfair to people that have not yet claimed.

They are now going to have two schemes within one scheme

Complete mess both for farmers and the RPA, will get very complicated for them working out payment rates/ rules etc for people already in the scheme and ones that have yet to join.

And does the 25% apply to all your land holding area or just the land that is not in CS schemes / eligible for options like over wintered bird seed??

 

[Huno]

Agree with you. Farming is cyclical, always has been. Can’t have it both ways at first signs of trouble.

Lots of people buying ploughs and selling direct drills this season for example

 

[Huno]

Whole scheme is now un workable and very unfair to people that have not yet claimed.

They are now going to have two schemes within one scheme

Complete mess both for farmers and the RPA, will get very complicated for them working out payment rates/ rules etc for people already in the scheme and ones that have yet to join.

And does the 25% apply to all your land holding area or just the land that is not in CS schemes / eligible for options like over wintered bird seed??

They will just pay up to 1 year compensation for those with options over 25%

 

[Huno]

They will just pay up to 1 year compensation for those with options over 25%

Thats what Robert Goodall from EFRA told me in the Lords bar anyway...

 

[serf]

What's betting the " help line " " doesn't work " all of a sudden and email enquiries only ....

 

[Nearly]

Then DEFRA will need more staff / parasites for the inevitable inspections to claw money back from the early applications for sfi.
It might be time to put junior's name on the overdraft and dust off my BSc and see if they'll give me a lectric Kia Thunderbird2 like the ear tag inspector hummed up in on Thursday.

 

[farmerm]

Looks like it's going to be unfair.

We're only going to be able to get 25% SFI options, but existing agreement holders have no cap.

What a mess.

Submit quick! The timing has not been announced yet. Either it will be retrospective to all or (hopefully) only for new applications after a date which has yet to be announced.

 

[lloyd]

Hallelujah common sense has prevailed.

 

[Andy26]

Submit quick! The timing has not been announced yet. Either it will be retrospective to all or (hopefully) only for new applications after a date which has yet to be announced.

Seen July muted as the start date for new Cap.

 

[gone up the hill]

Submit quick! The timing has not been announced yet. Either it will be retrospective to all or (hopefully) only for new applications after a date which has yet to be announced.

The date will be from today for sure regardless of when they actually announce the date.

Will also mean that with the rules both on % and rules on it now being only part parcels for these options means that it will be impossible to work on/submit new applications untill they update the computer systems to take this into account.

 

[farmerm]

It’s interesting that they haven’t included legume fallow (NUM3) in the 25% limit

Edit @DrWazzock beat me to it

shhhhh ffs

 

[farmerm]

At least arable legume fallow isn’t on the list. Max out on it. Presumably they don’t think it reduces production even though it will halve my wheat output.

Dont give them bloody ideas

 

[gone up the hill]

Seen July muted as the start date for new Cap.

That is pointless as anyone who wants to put most or a large % of their land into these options will now plough on and do it before then.

It could actually backfire and they get thousands of applications in before then taking large % of farms out of production.

The new rules either need to apply for all schemes regardless of when they were started or no schemes at all.