Summer cover crop and winter cover crop

[AlphaBravoPapaSux]

Reading the new SFI24 guidance I am exploring options to have both a summer cover crop and then overwinter cover crop. In order to qualify for both could I drill my summer cover crop, and then use my grass harrows with air seeder at a later date, to add some more seed for my overwinter cover crop, whilst not destroying the summer cover. Thus being able to claim both payments. Would this be possible?

 

[Derrick Hughes]

As both options use the same crops I find it hard to believe they would pay twice on the same piece of land , you would not even need to sow any seed

 

[ajd132]

I suspect you won’t be able to claim both on a lnd parcel in the same year

 

[cquick]

It also mentions the intention for each option is to go between two cash crops, so a cover following or preceding would be disallowed.

 

[AlphaBravoPapaSux]

Thanks all. So looking at the payment rates and how far south I am, I may as well do away with over winter covers, and just grow summer cover crops that I leave until spring

 

[Regenerator1]

Reading the new SFI24 guidance I am exploring options to have both a summer cover crop and then overwinter cover crop. In order to qualify for both could I drill my summer cover crop, and then use my grass harrows with air seeder at a later date, to add some more seed for my overwinter cover crop, whilst not destroying the summer cover. Thus being able to claim both payments. Would this be possible?

No.. double funding
.. they will Shut you down

 

[Regenerator1]

Thanks all. So looking at the payment rates and how far south I am, I may as well do away with over winter covers, and just grow summer cover crops that I leave until spring

Yes correct.. Best wishes

 

[T Hectares]

It also mentions the intention for each option is to go between two cash crops, so a cover following or preceding would be disallowed.

I went back and re-read the SOH3 rules and it can proceed a winter cover

 

[T Hectares]

I have been thinking including SOH3 in my SFI application

The 3 scenarios I’m thinking about are

1 - I grow SOH3 ahead of the SW6 winter cover I already have in CS, that’s seemingly allowed and the SW6 has to be established by Sept 15th
Probably not realistic after Wheat most years

2 - After OSR before wheat, slightly quieter time of year to establish, ie before OSR drilling and peak harvest, plenty of OSR vols to supplement the brassica requirement, just concerned about terminating it 2 weeks before drilling and BG control

3 - Use it before SB after WW, could work well as establishing it would get BG going and then spray it off end of Sept with remnants covering soil over winter, surely the requirement to terminate within 2 weeks of establishment wouldn’t be required with a spring cereal as it’s a summer cover ??

Any thoughts welcome !

 

[ajd132]

I have been thinking including SOH3 in my SFI application

The 3 scenarios I’m thinking about are

1 - I grow SOH3 ahead of the SW6 winter cover I already have in CS, that’s seemingly allowed and the SW6 has to be established by Sept 15th
Probably not realistic after Wheat most years

2 - After OSR before wheat, slightly quieter time of year to establish, ie before OSR drilling and peak harvest, plenty of OSR vols to supplement the brassica requirement, just concerned about terminating it 2 weeks before drilling and BG control

3 - Use it before SB after WW, could work well as establishing it would get BG going and then spray it off end of Sept with remnants covering soil over winter, surely the requirement to terminate within 2 weeks of establishment wouldn’t be required with a spring cereal as it’s a summer cover ??

Any thoughts welcome !

1 - if there time
2 - works well, we have done this after osr and are about to to start doing it after whole crop before wheat, on our soils the most weatherproof way to plant crops in the autumn.
3 - great point

 

[Badshot]

I have been thinking including SOH3 in my SFI application

The 3 scenarios I’m thinking about are

1 - I grow SOH3 ahead of the SW6 winter cover I already have in CS, that’s seemingly allowed and the SW6 has to be established by Sept 15th
Probably not realistic after Wheat most years

2 - After OSR before wheat, slightly quieter time of year to establish, ie before OSR drilling and peak harvest, plenty of OSR vols to supplement the brassica requirement, just concerned about terminating it 2 weeks before drilling and BG control

3 - Use it before SB after WW, could work well as establishing it would get BG going and then spray it off end of Sept with remnants covering soil over winter, surely the requirement to terminate within 2 weeks of establishment wouldn’t be required with a spring cereal as it’s a summer cover ??

Any thoughts welcome !

Why would you want to spray it off so early?
Why not in January?
Include enough frost killed species and it would thin naturally anyway.

 

[T Hectares]

Why would you want to spray it off so early?
Why not in January?
Include enough frost killed species and it would thin naturally anyway.

I’d use it on the worst BG situations, I have plenty of SW6 that goes over winter, but the worse BG fields would normally be sprayed off end of September and again before drilling, leaving spraying them until Jan/Feb when the SW6 is sprayed off can be a BG compromise in my experience

 

[Sleepeasy]

Could this be grown before Osr? Plant barley beans peas wheat annd Osr after barley spray out barley beans peas and wheat and keep the Osr?

 

[Brisel]

Why not follow SW6 (CS winter cover crop) with SOH3? Get 2 bites at blackgrass. Plant SW6, spray off once the weeds have seed heads emerged & resow with the summer SFI cover.

Source https://www.gov.uk/find-funding-for-land-or-farms/soh3-multi-species-summer-sown-cover-crop

 

[AlphaBravoPapaSux]

Why not follow SW6 (CS winter cover crop) with SOH3? Get 2 bites at blackgrass. Plant SW6, spray off once the weeds have seed heads emerged & resow with the summer SFI cover.

Source https://www.gov.uk/find-funding-for-land-or-farms/soh3-multi-species-summer-sown-cover-crop

Reading the guidance again, I think it’s allowed to go from summer cover, to winter cover, provided you re-sow a winter cover crop. IMO I don’t think there is enough value placed on the summer cover to go winter cover, followed by summer cover and forego a cash crop

 

[ConanPB]

Is it possible to follow summer cover with winter cover followed by low input harvested spring cereal?
This would start to stack up , possible direct drill payment to add on.
Have emailed RPA still waiting for a response on above question.

 

[Brisel]

Reading the guidance again, I think it’s allowed to go from summer cover, to winter cover, provided you re-sow a winter cover crop. IMO I don’t think there is enough value placed on the summer cover to go winter cover, followed by summer cover and forego a cash crop

I'd like a better paying alternative than spring beans, that not only has a higher gross margin, but actually does something for the soil & pollinators. Not much fun for ground nesting birds to be planting something in early summer though.

As I read it, there's nothing that say we can't do this.

 

[BenAdamsAgri]

If you are looking for stack all the cover crops together, its possible.

SOH1 no till £73
CSAM1 soils £6
CSAM2 winter covers £129
SOH2 sping covers £163
SOH3 summer covers £163
CIPM4 no insecticide £45
PRF1 vari rate fert £27

All those should be eligible to stack together but even so only comes to £606/ha

 

[Brisel]

Scenario 1 is a "normal fertiliser dose" which isn't reduced or increased using the break even ratio in RB209. Not applicable to spring beans, but I thought the above table helped keep SFI options in perspective when considering SFI instead of a cash crop.