Published: 14/08/2024 By Lucy Carnell
Under the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), farmers and land managers, including those submitting applications for the first time, have access to an increased number of offerings. Animal health, precision farming, and Agroforestry are included, as are expanded offers for upland farmers and tenants on short-term contracts, as Rural Partner Lucy Carnell explains.The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) pays farmers and land managers to adopt or maintain sustainable farming and land management practices that protect and benefit the environment, support food production, and improve productivity. Under the “expanded” SFI offer, farmers, growers, and land managers can choose from 102 application actions.
From the Summer of 2024, there will be a controlled rollout of the new SFI offer for those applying for the first time (i.e., those who have never claimed BPS). Payments will include options for precision farming, Agroforestry, a new and expanded offer for upland farmers, and more actions for tenants on short-term contracts. More than 50 simplified actions from Mid-Tier Countryside Stewardship will merge into SFI to streamline the application process, including several where durations have been reduced from five years to three years to align with the needs of tenant farmers.
The expanded scheme will also offer the actions from SFI 2023, some of which will have been updated to reflect the feedback from the farming industry.
As part of SFI, farmers who keep cattle, sheep, and pigs can also apply for funding to pay for a vet to visit their farm and carry out an “Annual Health and Welfare Review” of their livestock.
Capital Grants are open for applications all year round. These grants are standalone capital grants that can be used to support and complete SFI actions, existing Countryside Mid Tier options, Higher Tier, and wildlife offers. Capital grants are three-year agreements offering items to achieve specific environmental benefits for:
- Boundaries, trees, and orchards
- Water quality
- Air quality
- Natural flood management
- Planting new hedges - £22.97 per m
- Hedgerow laying - £13.52 per m
- Cattle fencing - £6.34 per m
- Sheep fencing - £7.47 per m
- Concrete yard renewal - £33.64 per m²
- Roofing - £72.50 per m²
To explore the options that might be open to you, please get in touch with Lucy on 01935 382901 or our Rural Grants experts (below) in your nearest office. Meanwhile, we invite you to visit our stand at Gillingham & Shaftesbury, Melplash and Dorset County Shows this summer.
Rural Grants
