The Sustainable Farming Incentive 2023 is out of the bag – South East Farmer

At this farm, the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) is going to be utilised on land which is already out of ‘traditional production’. The client has been out of an environmental scheme since 2014 and is looking to enter back into a scheme on the proviso that it will offer some flexibility and practicality for years to come.

It’s important to remember that success in any agri-environmental scheme comes from fitting the scheme around the farm rather than the farm around the scheme, and being realistic with desired outcomes.

So this opened up two options for this farm; either mid-tier countryside stewardship or the SFI. Based on the additional flexibility offered within the SFI, this is a better option for this farm.

As the SFI is not competitive, there is no issue with early commitment, especially around the establishment of winter cover crops. It is worth noting that the rules do, however, give 12 months to establish the mix.

The agreement length is also slightly shorter; three years with SFI but five years with mid-tier. There is also the attraction within the SFI of a management payment. This is worth £20/ha for up to 50ha. Given this farm’s size at 228ha, this works out at the maximum annual payment of £1,000.

Working through the various SFI actions available, soil analysis and the production of a soil management plan is already being done, so that’s £1,400 towards the cost of this.

Similarly, the farm is already utilising winter cover crops, and although the payment is not particularly substantial, it does go towards plugging the gap with seed costs.

There are ample hedgerows on this farm, and not all of them have been entered into the scheme, to allow ongoing flexibility. However, there is some money to be had for the management and assessment of hedgerows and hedgerow trees within the SFI; this is not an option to be hung up on here as it makes up a small proportion of the total value.

This farm is already carrying out integrated pest management (IPM) as part of the service from its Hutchinsons’ agronomist, so it makes sense to utilise the IPM plan, giving an annual payment just shy of £1,000.

The farm is also looking to improve its public image, with regular visitors to the site in the form of business units, so flower-rich margins, blocks or in-field strips provide good visual, habitat and nectar benefits and other beneficials within the field.

The ‘no insecticides’ action has not been applied for here as, after discussions with the agronomist, the risk/reward was out of sync for this action on this farm, with too much risk associated with not using insecticide.

The nutrient management plan can, however, be well implemented as it is already produced annually by the agronomist. Combined with the soil management plan, this creates a practical document to refer to in terms of improving soil health.

Using the legume fallow which can now be rotational provides an opportunity to use this as a break crop and improve fertility and as part of a grass weed control strategy.

The farm has historically utilised winter bird food options so is interested in bringing those back into a scheme for 2023.

The grassy field corner option is also a great addition to the 2023 SFI offer as it provides an option for those fiddly field corners which are too small to drill with a mix or perhaps unsuitable for standard cropping. This option allows natural regeneration, so there is no need in most cases to seed.

The farm also bolsters several grass buffer strips on the arable land. These are primarily unproductive strips next to hedges, ditches and environmental features and offer a network across the farm to join up habitat. Consider areas on the farm which are already out of production which fit well within the SFI.

Finally, we have also made use of the low-input grassland option, with 10ha of permanent grass used to graze some beef cattle which are produced and sold locally.

Combining all the actions considered above brings the amount for this farm through SFI payments to a nice annual income of £28,064.

Although this payment is not equal to the farmer’s annual BPS income, this scenario hopefully shows the farm is already carrying out several actions which allow for ongoing productive and sustainable farming on this holding.