- Location
- Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos
Dear @Janet Hughes Defra ,Morning all
Today we'll be publishing some information about how the sustainable farming incentive will work when we start rolling it out from next year in England.
I'll post the links here as soon as they're online, and will be here on this thread over the next few days to answer your questions about it.
Update:
Here is a link to our programme blog, with links to the documents we've published today and an explanation of what we're doing and why: https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/2021/12/02/sfi-standards/
Also:
Here is a direct link to a document setting out how the sustainable farming incentive will work from 2022: https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...ng-incentive-how-the-scheme-will-work-in-2022
Here is a link to a speech George Eustice, Secretary of State, made this morning: https://www.gov.uk/government/speec...tary-speech-at-cla-conference-2-december-2021
And here is a link to a statement in Parliament about progress in delivering our new schemes:
Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament
Information from UK Parliament on written questions & answers, written statements and daily reports.questions-statements.parliament.uk
Thank you for your help and the various answers you have posted on TFF.
I note that this thread has grown to over 40 pages now.
New schemes such as SFI are a little frightening to many of us, but we must look at them and not be put off by the various sceptical soothsayers.
When SFI was announced earlier in 2021, I was advised that if we are already in a Mid Tier Stewardship Scheme, SFI would not be available to us.
I have 3 questions that I’m sure are highly relevant to many Farmers/Mangers in a very similar situation as me:
This Farm has taken advantage of an MTS agreement which ends on 31/12/21.
It effectively took out 30% of our arable area, it being our worst/least profitable/loss-making arable lands, all of which was put into MTS. It is one of the best things we have ever done here!
We have applied for a new MTS scheme to take over as from 01/01/22 and are awaiting news of its approval.
Apart from moving an area of GS4 (Grass and Legume rich pasture) to another part of the farm, so as not to allow the original area to become designated as PP (Permanent Pasture), all other MTS areas stay the same.
We have also been converting our remaining arable cropped area from a plough based system into Direct-Dilled cereal crops. The idea being to raise SOM by approximately 0.2%/year and all the advantages these will give us as well as to the Environment.
At a meeting I went to recently, I was told that Direct-Drilling does qualify for SFI payments on that arable land, providing that the same land isn’t in our MTS area.
Q1: Is this correct?
Q2: If so, what sort of payment rates would we qualify for?
Q2 a) Our MTS AB9 Winter Bird Food areas are now either replaced annually or biannually by Direct-Drilling. Would these also qualify for SFI?
Also, it is our intention to go into the proper ELMs scheme as and when it fully starts (2024?).
We already know that we could end our MTS early and switch into ELMs, which we will do if or as soon as our gross support income exceeds what the remaining reduced BPS and MTS payments will come to.
Q3: If we have also taken advantage of an SFI agreement as regards our Direct-drilling, will we also be allowed to convert this into ELMs, or will we stuck with the SFI for the full 3 years?
I am sure your answers will help many others in similar situations.
Thanks very much in advance,
@Two Tone.
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