This Week in Farming: SFI storm, Welsh calm and Zetor moves

Welcome back to another edition of This Week in Farming, your regular roundup of the best content from Farmers Weekly.

Here’s the latest market prices (opens as PDF), with gains across the board this week on livestock and cereals.

And despite word reaching me of infuriatingly long delays for the tup taxi, it was a good day for vendors at the Builth Wells NSA ram sale.

Now, on with the show.

SFI scramble

Anger is still sizzling among the many farmers in England who missed their chance to get an SFI application in on Tuesday (22 September) after the money disappeared within six hours.

Prominent environmentally focused farms, such as the Allerton Project, missed out due to technical issues despite exhaustive preparation, along with many other farmers such as those our chief reporter Philip Case spoke to.

The NFU have blasted it as an absolute shambles, given how vital the funding would have been to many farms this year that are in a tough financial situation.

In my editorial, I wonder whether this will be a low point in the SFI timeline, or whether worse is still to come.

Welsh rule changes

In contrast, this week saw Welsh Cabinet minister for rural resilience and sustainability Llyr Gruffydd respond to the impact of this summer’s drought by extending the slurry spreading window and restructuring scheme payments.

Advance payments under the Sustainable Farming Scheme Universal Layer and Basic Payment Scheme will rise from 70% to 80% of estimated eligible claim values.

The announcement, just a day after the SFI debacle, will surely have given Plaid Cymru a moment of deep satisfaction.

Learning from the drought

Beyond political accommodations, farmers continue to learn from and adapt to the drought conditions.

Dorset vet Charlotte Fowler explains in this piece from deputy livestock editor Shirley Macmillan how “Soakers”, space, diet and shade all contributed to reducing heat stress in her clients’ herds.

Meanwhile, Brecon sheep farmer Tudor Roderick is considering putting up to a fifth of his farm down to lucerne after a smaller area of the deep-rooted crop kept lambs growing long after the grass had dwindled this year.

And deputy arable editor Emma Gillbard probes why this summer so much straw turned pink.

Chinese metal

Price wars have seen the quad bike market turned upside down in recent years, with challenger brands such as CF Moto taking over from the likes of Honda.

Now they too are being challenged by another wave of Chinese-made products, with QJMotor, part of the Geely Group that includes automotive brands Volvo, Polestar and Lotus the latest to enter the scene via importer Moto 73.

And in separate news this week, Czech Republic manufacturer Zetor has announced it is shifting production from its home country to India and China.

Who’s up and who’s down?

On the up this week is columnist Will Evans, who has brought the maize in despite the best efforts of the local council to block his road without warning.

And feeling glum this week are mechanical weeder manufacturers like Lemken, who have admitted the market for these herbicide-replacing products has not grown as fast as they anticipated.

Listen to the FW Podcast

Don’t forget to listen to the latest Farmers Weekly Podcast, brought to you by Johann Tasker, Hugh Broom and Louise Impey.

After an additional (bonus) podcast episode on Tuesday evening, focused entirely on the SFI situation, they pick up the story in their usual Friday episode, along with a look at commodity prices and proposed new code standards from Red Tractor.

You’ll find it anywhere you get your podcasts, or listen free on the FW website.