New limits to SFI.

new range rover, new skis, nice holiday etc etc ……. it wasn’t a subsidy ever given to farmers ( they just pretended they did !) , it was a subsidy for landowners and there is no way you can justify that to tax payers, it REALLY did take the pee ……. as a landowner (who farms) at least i can be honest enough to admit that

That honestly isn't where the vast majority of farmers in Wales spent it. It really is a lifeline for a lot beef and sheep farms and smaller family farms. It is definitely flawed but the alternatives are too.

FWIW the SFI clearly seemed mental from the start. Big money for legume fallows etc isn't a public good, there was no cost/ benefit on the potential wildlife or ecological recovery it was going to do. Don't get me wrong I'd have jumped at it too but it was clearly unsustainable
 

lloyd

Member
Location
Herefordshire
i have to EARN those profits by providing the tax payer with something in return for their payment, i have to farm land, to get the best from it i have to produce BOTH food and public good / natural capital

I got my BPS dole cheque just for being wealthy enough to own some land ! - many of the richest people in the UK got theirs as well, they didn’t need to farm anything or provide any public goods whatsoever

BIG difference……. like Huge difference !
Except for you seem to not understand that farming is subsidised in the
EU and the USA which is the main setter of agricultural commodity prices.
 
i have to EARN those profits by providing the tax payer with something in return for their payment, i have to farm land, to get the best from it i have to produce BOTH food and public good / natural capital

I got my BPS dole cheque just for being wealthy enough to own some land ! - many of the richest people in the UK got theirs as well, they didn’t need to farm anything or provide any public goods whatsoever

BIG difference……. like Huge difference !

Yes but the taxpayer has decided that they don't actually want to pay you so much after all now because the perception of value for money has dwindled.

The number of farmers I spoke to last year who were able to buy the very expensive fertiliser (as a result of govt imposed sanctions) because of the SFP buffer was high. We may have been looking at a loss less production if we didn't have it, the SFP is not just about money its about keeping the flow of money
 

BrianV

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Dartmoor
new range rover, new skis, nice holiday etc etc ……. it wasn’t a subsidy ever given to farmers ( they just pretended they did !) , it was a subsidy for landowners and there is no way you can justify that to tax payers, it REALLY did take the pee ……. as a landowner (who farms) at least i can be honest enough to admit that

sfi is somewhat better in that respect but stil missed opportunity - the key to ag subs is making sure FARMERS get them not landowners (investors) it’s not easy to achieve that however

the cap is a good idea in that respect BUT this inconsistency and moving of goalposts really is not on when we are making often life changing business decisions
BPS was fine in principle as it helped all farmers whether large or small irrespective of their farming type, the crass mistake was not capping the payments so large landowners took the taxpayer for a ride, SFI is now far worse as it is now benefitting large landowners yet again but this time at the expense of smaller farmers!!!
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
The fact is that if land was just left alone with no payments at all, it would revert to natural habitat. This idea that you have to pay farmers to rave it about every year, drill non native bird seed and other stuff is just a very thin veneer of a justification to continue paying wealthy landowners public money.
There are over winter covers hereabouts about to be mullered by heavy discs. That’s just great for Skylark nests isn’t it? They are safer nesting in my winter wheat.🤷‍♂️
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 105 40.5%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 94 36.3%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 39 15.1%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 5 1.9%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.2%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 13 5.0%

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