New changes to the SFI 24 offering.
In January DEFRA announced what it’s calling “the biggest upgrade” to the UK’s farming schemes since Brexit. Meaning, this summer around 50 new actions will become available under the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). On top of this many of the current options in the 2023 scheme have increased in value such as Winter Bird Food increasing to £853/ha, Integrated pest Management Planning rises to £1,129 and the Nutrient Management Report payment is £652.
Additional payments which will be available to apply for in the summer will cover areas such as precision farming with payments for variable rate application of nutrients, mechanical weeding and remote sensing weed spraying. New payment for soils on arable land such multi-species summer or autumn cover crops, no till farming and specific payments for maize to grow early maturing hybrids that are harvested early, and cover established.
Some of the actions for farm wildlife are also attractive with payments such as £596 for leaving whole crop stubble over the autumn and winter. There are also several organic options including conversion payments and ongoing management payments.
To those who are involved in Countryside Stewardship agreements you may well have seen many of these actions before, but the move of these over into the SFI with its shorter agreement length and more flexibility is a welcome change and should open these up to more farmers.
Should you still apply for SFI 2023 this spring?
In short, yes. Spring is a good time to apply for the SFI as it allows you to maximise some options by having your annual review strategically timed the following spring. When the new options launch you can simply apply with a new application to benefit from this right away or incorporate them into your next annual review.