SFI26: What options are open to arable farmers?

For growers who were locked out when the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) closed abruptly last March, the government’s February announcement on the scheme will have come as a relief.

While SFI26 comes with fewer actions, a £100,000 cap and the restriction of just one agreement per farm, there is still plenty on offer for arable farmers.

Defra claims the latest version is simpler, fairer and more transparent.

See also: Analysis: What SFI26 offer means for farm businesses

Targeted changes

The number of options available has been reduced from 102 under SFI24 to 71.

Defra says actions were removed because of either low uptake or inadequate environmental benefit, while the actions that have been prioritised offer value for money and contribute to the government’s Environmental Improvement Plan targets for water quality and biodiversity.

Gone are payments for management plans covering nutrients, integrated pest management (IPM) and soil, as well as recording hedgerows and hedgerow trees.

The only endorsed action in SFI24, species-rich grassland, has been struck from the list.

Overall, attention has been paid to stopping productive land being taken out of food production, which was a criticism of the SFI in its previous guises.

This means there are changes to payment rates for winter bird food, legume fallow and herbal leys (see “Reduced payment rates on arable actions”).

A restriction on increasing the area of rotational actions beyond their level in the first year has been introduced, and AHW7 enhanced overwinter stubble has been added to the 25% area limit cap.

In addition, no SFI26 agreement can be worth more than £100,000 a year.

Also relevant to arable units is that all actions are now for a three-year duration rather than five. Surprisingly, despite its rate reduction, the legume fallow action remains uncapped by area.

Will SFI be here for the long term? That is the question many within industry are asking.

Farmer thoughts

Farmers Weekly spoke to two growers who missed getting their SFI24 applications approved and are now considering their options.

Michael Kavanagh, Chadlington Farm Partnership, Oxfordshire

Michael Kavanagh © Richard Stanton

Despite having three SFI24 agreements pending last March and being unable to progress them when it closed, Oxfordshire farm manager Michael Kavanagh won’t be able to make an application to SFI26 in June.

Because there is a very small existing SFI23 scheme on some of the land, he is not eligible for the first application window and will have to wait until the September window opens before submitting new plans.

“I was heartened to see some of the SFI26 detail, as my worst fears on caps and limits haven’t been realised,” he says. “We forfeited around £80,000/year on each scheme this time last year.”

While he will be devising one big scheme across the farm for the September window, Michael says some of the land originally earmarked for SFI actions is now part of the longer-term Evenlode Landscape Recovery project.

“That’s a complication that I will have to look into,” he says. “The three farms have now become one business, so the restriction of just one SFI26 agreement per farm won’t change our direction.”  

He is disappointed at the substantial payment rate reduction for herbal leys, as there are already 40ha of them on the farm, where they work well for the business and the environment.

“We have some legume fallow as well, although I’m not a big fan of it, as it seems to encourage blackgrass rather than be part of the solution,” he says.

In the meantime, he is hoping an imminent planning decision will go the farm’s way and work on a new grain store can begin.

Mike Purnell, Whitbread Farms, Bedfordshire

Mike Purnell © Mark Lord Photography

Two SFI24 applications had to be scrapped last year by farm manager Mike Purnell when Defra pulled the plug, and he is keen to be able to continue with the commitment the business has made to nature recovery and biodiversity.

“On this farm, it isn’t about chasing the money with environmental schemes,” he says. “They are used to complement what we are already doing and reduce any impact that farming practices can have.”

Like Michael Kavanagh, he will have to wait until September for his main SFI26 application due to an existing Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier agreement and a very limited one under SFI24, but does have a separate farm of 22ha that is eligible for the June window.

“There is less flexibility and scope with such a small area of land, but we will be able to apply for actions such as no-till and zero insecticides, which is standard practice here.”

Mike is keen to get organised well in advance of the September window for two other applications for separate farm businesses, so that he doesn’t suffer a repeat of what happened last year.

“By the time the Rural Payments Agency had got back to me about queries and any conflicts with our last applications, the scheme had closed,” he recalls.

“So we’ve lost a year of income from delivering environmental services.”

He likes the look of SFI26 but has concerns about the future of the scheme and the budget allocated.

“I understand that the annual value of an agreement can’t exceed £100,000, but we don’t yet know if there will be an SFI27 and an SFI28. How far will that money have to stretch?”

In addition, waiting for a CS agreement to finish before being accepted into a new scheme means that there could be a funding gap, he adds.

“We need a system that allows us to get all the administrative detail sorted and finalised before the application windows open. Starting from scratch at a very busy time of year isn’t ideal.”