This Week in Farming: SFI 2026, NFU elections and inventions
Emma Reynolds and Tom Bradshaw © Adam Fradgley/NFU Welcome back to This Week in Farming, your one-stop shop for the best Farmers Weekly content from the past seven days.
First, here are your markets figures (opens as PDF).
Keep an eye on that rising red diesel price as the oil price continues to edge up, with traders edgy about the US naval flotilla parked on Iran’s doorstep.
Now, on with the show.
About the author
Major SFI update…
Defra secretary Emma Reynolds took to the stage at the NFU Conference this week to deliver a major update on the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), the flagship environmental scheme for English farmers.
The scheme will reopen for new applicants with farms less than 50ha in size in June. A second window opens in September for farms of all sizes.
The granular detail on payment rates by option is available on the Defra farming blog, and we’ll have further expert analysis next week.
Meanwhile, Welsh farmers will able to apply for funding under the new Sustainable Farming Scheme from 2 March.
…but wider concerns persist
Resilience was the theme of NFU Conference this year, with Tim Lang, a professor in food policy, giving another sobering lecture on how vulnerable the UK is to an attack on its food supply chain – with threats of many types becoming increasingly likely.
Set against this, initiatives such as the SFI are welcome but appear as sticking-plaster solutions in service to the status quo, as I argue in my editorial this week.
In his opening speech, NFU president Tom Bradshaw also warned of falling domestic food production, while also defending his “stay in the room” policy on inheritance tax and calling for the forthcoming refresh of the bovine TB strategy to be fit for purpose.
Grass masterclass
A sniff of sunshine this week was enough to bring thoughts of spring bubbling to the surface, and right on cue we have a clump of articles on grassland management.
See if any of these are suitable for your situation:
- Advice on feeding a home-mixed ration to pregnant ewes
- Six tips on producing grass silage at optimal dry matter
- Three ways for dairy units to make on-off grazing work
- Benefits of hay over silage for outwintered suckler cows.
The future of farming: Less farming?
Doing a better job than last year at growing crops is still the ambition of plenty of arable farmers and the report from our recent Agronomy Exchange conference includes a fascinating look at how farm management company Velcourt is tackling yield caps and disease.
Yet with commodity markets in the doldrums and area payments (in England) receding into the rear-view mirror, ever-greater numbers of farmers are pursuing ventures well beyond food production, such as these solutions being adopted by five arable farms.
Designing and making kit in the workshop straddles both of these efforts – it can save money at home and can earn a few quid as well if you end up making kit for other people.
We’ve rounded up a good chunk of finalists and winners from our annual Inventions Competition this week.
Check out these five creations designed to make livestock handling simpler and the rest of the competition on the machinery channel.
Who’s up and who’s down?
Feeling glum this week will be David Exwood and Rachel Hallos, who were given the boot as NFU deputy and vice-president this week in the NFU council officeholder elections.
Feeling cheerful will be NFU president Tom Bradshaw, and the new members of his top team – Paul Tompkins and Robyn Munt.
Listen to the FW Podcast
Don’t forget to tune in to the Farmers Weekly Podcast, with Johann Tasker, Louise Impey and Hugh Broom.
This week, the team recorded a special episode at NFU Conference, including an exclusive interview with farming minister Angela Eagle.
You’ll find it anywhere you get your podcasts, or listen free on the FW website.