Shropshire Farming Talk: Farmers ‘should be encouraged’ by incoming changes to incentive

One of the three components of the agri-environment scheme ELMS (Environmental Land Management scheme), the SFI aims to pay farmers to adopt and maintain sustainable farming practices which protect and improve the environment. The scheme has recently been revised, with applications for the latest version expected to open online in early August.

Most remarkable of all of the changes to this year’s SFI is the structure itself. The 2022 SFI employed ‘standards’ – introductory and intermediate levels – which resulted in differing rates of pay. However, the 2023 SFI moves away from the ‘stacking’ idea of standards and instead adopts a ‘pick and mix’ system composed of 23 actions which looks to be very similar to the well-known structure of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS).

Under this system, each action group has been split into three independent elements: ‘plans’, ‘plots’ and ‘prescriptions’.

The plans option will be paid at a fixed rate, either per year or per agreement, and apply to the whole holding. Surprisingly, most actions available under this tier mirror standard compliance under a typical Red Tactor farm assurance protocol. These SFI actions intend to build upon existing regulations in an attempt to exceed the regulatory baselines across the country.

The plots option will mirror CSS options for environmental crops, i.e. pollen and nectar flower mixes and buffer strips. This tier is particularly important in the current climate where the loss of basic payment scheme (BPS) will remove the incentive to leave field headlands for nature. Therefore, this option should ensure that the environmental crop area doesn’t reduce as a consequence of the delinking of BPS.

The prescriptions option will provide the opportunity to modify crop growing techniques on a rotational basis in order to enhance environmental benefits, i.e. the transition from conventional systems to regenerative farming – such as intercropping, no-till and cover crops. This will be accessible through integrated pest management, nutrient management and arable break cropping.

Additional changes to the original SFI scheme include the option for ‘single entity’ SFI applications for common land and shared grazing agreements. Similarly, tenant farmers will be able to enrol in shorter agreements which do not require landlord consent. Furthermore, three options from the SFI 2022 soil standards have been dropped: add organic matter, single species winter cover and minimise bare ground. In the revised SFI 2023, other private/public schemes can be used in addition to SFI so long as the activities and outcomes are compatible and there is no double funding.

Favourably, the 2023 SFI should be more comprehensible to farmers who are familiar with CSS mid-tier. The revised structure will improve the feasibility and flexibility of SFI, especially where basic options can be layered alongside other schemes.

SI 2023 is more tailored and accommodating of individual farm needs, and ‘pick and mix’ options can be added where the generation of further income is required. Overall, these latest changes will provide a profitable alternative to food production, where this in no longer viable, or a supplementary income which encourages sustainable food production.

Will Davies, consultant in the food and farming team at Savills