SFI - Self Help and Tips

[yellow belly]

Starting a thread with solutions to application

please keep it to practical solution there are other threads for rants and complaints

 

[yellow belly]

First one

when filling in hedgerow lengths ignore the rpa system length they obviously know it is wrong and complicated and are being pragmatic that farmers know what a hedge is

just fill in the metres on the ground you know you have this includes gaps up to 20 metre ect see the guidelines

 

[4course]

Having seen this post been up 5 days without a single reply makes me think that all farmers are either internet users of the highest order and can follow the whats now become 60or 70 thousand words in options instruction and claim forms and have fully understood the options and the effect on their business or probably it seems arnt doing anything about sfi .

My tip which looks like wont be read or needed by many is to make sure when youve loaded your options and filling them in on the field/parcel page that when pressing the accept button you ensure youve gone over the page and done it there or you will have missed some and once done record on the back of a cereal box (not fag packet these days) what youve done because when you get to the check bit it only shows the amount in money over 3 years for each option and doesnt give you a parcel by parcel printout which makes life difficult to ensure youve not missed anything or added the wrong things you wanted to do on the wrong fields before pressing go!!

 

[farmerm]

Having seen this post been up 5 days without a single reply makes me think that all farmers are either internet users of the highest order and can follow the whats now become 60or 70 thousand words in options instruction and claim forms and have fully understood the options and the effect on their business or probably it seems arnt doing anything about sfi .

My tip which looks like wont be read or needed by many is to make sure when youve loaded your options and filling them in on the field/parcel page that when pressing the accept button you ensure youve gone over the page and done it there or you will have missed some and once done record on the back of a cereal box (not fag packet these days) what youve done because when you get to the check bit it only shows the amount in money over 3 years for each option and doesnt give you a parcel by parcel printout which makes life difficult to ensure youve not missed anything or added the wrong things you wanted to do on the wrong fields before pressing go!!

Internet user of the highest order, or are like me still awaiting on invitation a week after "expressing interest" or like ostriches burying head in sand and ignoring it. To be fair having read the previously unworkable version of the scheme I was taking the ostrich approach until a week ago

 

[steveR]

Internet user of the highest order, or are like me still awaiting on invitation a week after "expressing interest" or like ostriches burying head in sand and ignoring it. To be fair having read the previously unworkable version of the scheme I was taking the ostrich approach until a week ago

As an

I will look forward to hearing how you get on, if, as and when, your invitation is proffered.

 

[farmerm]

As an View attachment 1138653 I will look forward to hearing how you get on, if, as and when your invitation is proffered.

Well having just walked my OSR "crop", paid for legume fallows and bird food starts to look rather appealing..... The management plans are easy money for a wet day. I've various unproductive areas which would earn far more in an SFI option than a poor crop or permeant fallow. My neighbor just summitted an application for £50K over 3 years.. To put it in context I think 3 years full BPS would have given him closer to £90K ... His SFI comes with some costs and some lost production but on balance it looks a far lower risk than most break crops and probably a lot more profitable than just carrying on and pretending nothing has changed. Compared to what was previously being mooted there is a lot of flexibility now. If next year OSR jumps to £600/t he can cut his SFI area right back and crop more. SFI isn't going to make many of us wealthy, moorland farmers are sunk, but unless there is industry wide agreement that we will go all French and block the roads until BPS payments are reinstated.... just got to think outside the box and squeeze out from SFI what I can.

 

[4course]

Well having just walked my OSR "crop", paid for legume fallows and bird food starts to look rather appealing..... The management plans are easy money for a wet day. I've various unproductive areas which would earn far more in an SFI option than a poor crop or permeant fallow. My neighbor just summitted an application for £50K over 3 years.. To put it in context I think 3 years full BPS would have given him closer to £90K ... His SFI comes with some costs and some lost production but on balance it looks a far lower risk than most break crops and probably a lot more profitable than just carrying on and pretending nothing has changed. Compared to what was previously being mooted there is a lot of flexibility now. If next year OSR jumps to £600/t he can cut his SFI area right back and crop more. SFI isn't going to make many of us wealthy, moorland farmers are sunk, but unless there is industry wide agreement that we will go all French and block the roads until BPS payments are reinstated.... just got to think outside the box and squeeze out from SFI what I can.

thats the % i.e 50 of what full bps is what I can get to anything more and it either costs to do or reduces/ changes farm structure or other viable profitable crops
. Tip number 3 just to keep us roughly on thread dont just go on what other folk say they are doing cos when you get into the nitty gritty of it you will find it doesnt work it really is an individual farm scheme ( and needs a lot of thinking cos it wont just affect the next 3 years )as my pals are all doing different things all our farms though similar are different if you see what I mean .

 

[farmerm]

thats the % i.e 50 of what full bps is what I can get to anything more and it either costs to do or reduces/ changes farm structure or other viable profitable crops
. Tip number 3 just to keep us roughly on thread dont just go on what other folk say they are doing cos when you get into the nitty gritty of it you will find it doesnt work it really is an individual farm scheme ( and needs a lot of thinking cos it wont just affect the next 3 years )as my pals are all doing different things all our farms though similar are different if you see what I mean .

absolutely

 

[Hampton]

Having seen this post been up 5 days without a single reply makes me think that all farmers are either internet users of the highest order and can follow the whats now become 60or 70 thousand words in options instruction and claim forms and have fully understood the options and the effect on their business or probably it seems arnt doing anything about sfi .

My tip which looks like wont be read or needed by many is to make sure when youve loaded your options and filling them in on the field/parcel page that when pressing the accept button you ensure youve gone over the page and done it there or you will have missed some and once done record on the back of a cereal box (not fag packet these days) what youve done because when you get to the check bit it only shows the amount in money over 3 years for each option and doesnt give you a parcel by parcel printout which makes life difficult to ensure youve not missed anything or added the wrong things you wanted to do on the wrong fields before pressing go!!

Or are waiting for defra to send the application form which could take 4 weeks

 

[yellow belly]

Sitting back and waiting for the tips
Or to busy farming and looking at in a couple of weeks

 

[4course]

Sitting back and waiting for the tips
Or to busy farming and looking at in a couple of weeks

ha nearly right ,I am as they say on final checking though having had a walk/cycle round today reckon I could add a few hedgerow trees here and there or where they wont cause a nuisance in future years i.e 20 plus not 3 or upset the landlords. Plus busy sowing proper crops that really are for the public good and it takes me a while to wind down then up again to read and do paperwork as got to be in the mood . ho ho

 

[yellow belly]

Companion cropping
beans are an option in wheat
any others that get through a prem on wheat
how low a bean seed rate
any small seeded beans

 

[4course]

Companion cropping
beans are an option in wheat
any others that get through a prem on wheat
how low a bean seed rate
any small seeded beans

Im experimenting with a multi species cover crop plough beans in sow wheat take beans out in the spring just be careful which autumn herbicide used aparently it qualifies for sam2 at £52/ acre wheras IPM 3 pays £22/ acre to me not worth the hassle of weed control and harvest etc, though could scatter a bit of mustard seed about in june /july and leave it after harvest to act as a catch crop but im hoping next year that will be on offer post harvest .but it doesnt pay enoughas it stands.

 

[Hindsight]

Im experimenting with a multi species cover crop plough beans in sow wheat take beans out in the spring just be careful which autumn herbicide used aparently it qualifies for sam2 at £52/ acre wheras IPM 3 pays £22/ acre to me not worth the hassle of weed control and harvest etc, though could scatter a bit of mustard seed about in june /july and leave it after harvest to act as a catch crop but im hoping next year that will be on offer post harvest .but it doesnt pay enoughas it stands.

Absolute scam, isn't it.

 

[spin cycle]

Sitting back and waiting for the tips
Or to busy farming and looking at in a couple of weeks

Good thread...weldone

I've only just seen it

 

[4course]

Absolute scam, isn't it.

ah but a scam is when you are going out of your way to rob somebody im just trying to earn the kings shilling, whilst caring for the public good ,apparently ! ho ho

 

[Treg]

thats the % i.e 50 of what full bps is what I can get to anything more and it either costs to do or reduces/ changes farm structure or other viable profitable crops
. Tip number 3 just to keep us roughly on thread dont just go on what other folk say they are doing cos when you get into the nitty gritty of it you will find it doesnt work it really is an individual farm scheme ( and needs a lot of thinking cos it wont just affect the next 3 years )as my pals are all doing different things all our farms though similar are different if you see what I mean .

Spot on, think how the options fit your own farm .

 

[Treg]

Did my application yesterday, do your homework first , the site is easy to use.
I like that you pick your options first then when you get to each field the options come up and you tick which apply to that field.
Be patient, it was very glitchy, did 2 fields then error try later came up on the screen , did alot of clicking here and there and eventually moved on without losing what I done, did 10 more fields ok then got the glitch every field learnt to click back a page then reload and everything was accepted
50% more than my Bps so happy.

 

[yellow belly]

Absolute scam, isn't it.

Bps was money for crosscompliance is that more or less of a scam
When we had linseed area payment was that a scam
Or a protein crop payment
Or fhds where one farmer got a grant to expand a dairy farm and 3 got a grant to give up and keep beef cattle
Or going back further
Lime or ploughing up grants
Those that embrace change can do well

 

[Hindsight]

Bps was money for crosscompliance is that more or less of a scam
When we had linseed area payment was that a scam
Or a protein crop payment
Or fhds where one farmer got a grant to expand a dairy farm and 3 got a grant to give up and keep beef cattle
Or going back further
Lime or ploughing up grants
Those that embrace change can do well

Indeed.