What should the replacement for SFI look like?

[DrWazzock]

Morality is a subjective subject. Overall my farm will use far less chemical pesticides, far less potentially river polluting fertiliser, create less plastic waste, use a bit less diesel and it will be a haven and food supply for various birds, bees and butterflies... what is so morally wrong about that?

Nothing. But it’s a free for all and is leaving producer’s feeling like the poor relation and a bit of a mug. That’s not right. It’s questionable how much birdseed we need in one area as well. Stuff like that hasn’t been thought through. Even now on 200 acres I could put in 50 acres of birdseed. Do you really think that’s sensible?

 

[texelburger]

Overall it’s quite good but needs payments for pulse crops and high protein forage crops like Lucerne as both are great for the environment. Some form of new entrant type scheme where the rent they pay is capped, the landlord gets a payment to compensate for a lower rent and inheritance tax relief is kept whilst they are part of the scheme. With the amount of capital required and contract farmers just getting bigger the future of the industry needs a leg up. Some form of flooding payment as well for people near big towns who’s farms are left to flood would also be good but would be big £s and would only pay out when flooding occurs.

I suggested protein payments to Janet Hughes.Good for the environment by improving our soils,less importing of Soya,Palm oil,Maize grain etc so lessening our carbon footprint.
She was not interested at all.

 

[farmerm]

Nothing. But it’s a free for all and is leaving producer’s feeling like the poor relation and a bit of a mug. That’s not right. It’s questionable how much birdseed we need in one area as well. Stuff like that hasn’t been thought through. Even now on 200 acres I could put in 50 acres of birdseed. Do you really think that’s sensible?

From a business economics point of view, perhaps it is... I am a bit more cautious, @8% birdseed

 

[farmerm]

I suggested protein payments to Janet Hughes.Good for the environment by improving our soils,less importing of Soya,Palm oil,Maize grain etc so lessening our carbon footprint.
She was not interested at all.

That was an old policy, they don't like going backwards, got to keep it fresh with new ideas Perhaps better than protein payment would have been access to fungicides and herbicides for legume crops that work and are cost effectively priced... With so few actives available Spring Bean production is almost organic these days!

 

[Huno]

I suggested protein payments to Janet Hughes.Good for the environment by improving our soils,less importing of Soya,Palm oil,Maize grain etc so lessening our carbon footprint.
She was not interested at all.

Dont make statements like that... you will end up being moderated... naughty..

 

[DrWazzock]

I’d imagine they are scared of directly subsidising production as it will scupper trade deals for other products and services.

 

[yellow belly]

IACS money would have to go the active farmer. Simple as that.

lamb a sheep calve a cow plough a straight furrow and lay a hedge should be the minimum requirements

jocking a part how do you define an active farmer

 

[yellow belly]

Crop sale and input invoices in the name of the claimant

An agents charter

 

[delilah]

to be fair there are pages and pages of good advice back when janet interacted on here , they were only interested so they could say it was co design (co blame) very few of the good ideas (@delilah put forward) were taken on board because it didnt fit the narrative of those feathering their own nests ,

The only land use to get an area payment should be PP. Given that CS is closer to that than is SFI, someone needs to be brave enough to put SFI down to experience and pull the plug.

It's not really Janet's fault, the only mistake she made was to listen to expert farmers. Nothing good ever came from listening to experts. They have, by definition, tunnel vision.

 

[andybk]

The only land use to get an area payment should be PP. Given that CS is closer to that than is SFI, someone needs to be brave enough to put SFI down to experience and pull the plug.

It's not really Janet's fault, the only mistake she made was to listen to expert farmers. Nothing good ever came from listening to experts. They have, by definition, tunnel vision.

Not many PP farmers in the circles they move in and we are not big NFU contributors either .

 

[turbo]

lamb a sheep calve a cow plough a straight furrow and lay a hedge should be the minimum requirements

jocking a part how do you define an active farmer

Very easy,if you are selling produce and buying inputs you are an active farmer!

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

That would upset the likes as the RSPB who have no wish to actively produce...

But the RSPB, NT and any other so called "Charity" should not receive the money anyway.

 

[farmerm]

But the RSPB, NT and any other so called "Charity" should not receive the money anyway.

I would agree but they have successfully lobbied differently.

 

[Hindsight]

Personally I would not allow size of more than 1 acre for birdseed plots and not too close to dwellings to avoid vermin problems. That’s why it should stay in CS : so that it can be screened to see if it’s sensible along with most of the other options. CS maybe needed streamlining a bit but they’d got it working reasonably well. Basic Payment needed leaving alone save for making cropping or grazing a qualifying requirement. Then it’s all value for money : food supply security with the higher standard than imports properly funded and sensible environmental goods delivered for payment. Croppers are happy. Greenies are happy.

The restriction in CS for AB9 of 5 hectares per land parcel with sowing by june 15 seemed to me perfectly reasonable. I will wager a penny these sorts of reasonable restrictions will return and apply from the Summer. But possibly not retrospectively. But we shall see.

 

[Jackov Altraids]

Just check but may well breach WTO treaty arrangements for direct production support.

To me, the great tragedy of SFI, is what it could/ should have been.
This government had a once in a generation opportunity to write sustainable farming into our new trade agreements.
They said they would but didn't.
It would not be against WTO to require all food in the UK to meet the SAME requirements.
I think it is the agreements they have signed that will prevent it from happening now, rather than WTO.

Despite that, I still think it would be possible to pay a direct production support for food produced to an agreed 'sustainable standard'. This could be like any other premium and easily justified.
But the SFI doesn't know what sustainable production is, it is merely an extension of Countryside Stewardship.

 

[Hindsight]

To me, the great tragedy of SFI, is what it could/ should have been.
This government had a once in a generation opportunity to write sustainable farming into our new trade agreements.
They said they would but didn't.
It would not be against WTO to require all food in the UK to meet the SAME requirements.
I think it is the agreements they have signed that will prevent it from happening now, rather than WTO.

Despite that, I still think it would be possible to pay a direct production support for food produced to an agreed 'sustainable standard'. This could be like any other premium and easily justified.
But the SFI doesn't know what sustainable production is, it is merely an extension of Countryside Stewardship.

Hi yes, i have said to clients when discussing and explaining SFI it is just another Stewardship Scheme. But one where DEFRA has given away control. Which they are now seemingly going to recover.

 

[Henarar]

It's not really Janet's fault, the only mistake she made was to listen to expert farmers. Nothing good ever came from listening to experts. They have, by definition, tunnel vision.

Don't experts live a long way away

 

[Bury the Trash]

To me, the great tragedy of SFI, is what it could/ should have been.
This government had a once in a generation opportunity to write sustainable farming into our new trade agreements.
They said they would but didn't.
It would not be against WTO to require all food in the UK to meet the SAME requirements.
I think it is the agreements they have signed that will prevent it from happening now, rather than WTO.

Despite that, I still think it would be possible to pay a direct production support for food produced to an agreed 'sustainable standard'. This could be like any other premium and easily justified.
But the SFI doesn't know what sustainable production is, it is merely an extension of Countryside Stewardship.

If that on a small livestock farm ,in reality now sfi seems to be proven to be lining arable farmers pockets thats about all.
From barley barons to birdseed barons all done from a comfy seat.

 

[delilah]

Don't experts live a long way away

Mark Twain: An expert is an ordinary person from another town.

 

[DrWazzock]

The irony is that in a year like this when possibly every grain could be needed across Europe due to
a) atrocious weather and
b) war in Europe,

production is simply not being supported.
Those of us who are persevering with crop production against all the odds created by the weather and present low prices are made to look like fools from an immediate commercial perspective as DEFRA has made any option other than cropping so much more attractive from a profitability and risk persiective. Oilseeds and beans are a commercial non starter, cereals dubious. We as producers are left with high stakes gambling on a price recovery that might occur due to supply shortages after harvest and if those shortages don’t occur we will lose our shirts big time possibly running out of working capital to sow next years harvest, exacerbating the production downward spiral.
Simply reducing area of non crop public goods does nothing to change the present poor returns and high risk associated with cropping.
I can hardly believe that the government has removed the incentive to produce, at a time when the risks to security of supply have never been so high in my lifetime.
SFI is a seriously stupid policy as it lacks any direct encouragement to produce nor provides any buffering of producers from economic and climate shocks at a time when that production could be needed most. Sorry to sound alarmist but put simply, tre way the weather looks out of my window this morning, as it has looked for 8 months, this government is sleepwalking to a food supply disaster.