The rural professional services team at Halls in Shrewsbury is encouraging farmers to apply for the UK Government’s new Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), which is accepting applications from August.
SFI pays farmers to adopt and maintain sustainable farming practices over a three-year agreement. Farmers get paid for taking actions that support food production and improve farm productivity and resilience, while also protecting and improving the environment.
A suite of actions can be applied to different areas of the farm, depending on land use. SFI will be available in its full and final form by the end of 2024. New actions include hedgerows, integrated pest management, nutrient management, farmland wildlife, buffer strips and low input grassland.
The Government has updated the SFI payment rate for low input grassland action to make the rates the same for upland and lowland areas.
“SFI offers farmers more flexibility and control than previous stewardship schemes and management options, particularly in respect of managing permanent grassland with low inputs,” said Louise Preece, associate director and head of rural professional services at Halls. “Under SFI, farmers will be able to supplementary feed, whereas in Mid Tier Stewardship, they cannot.”
For more information about applying for SFI, contact Louise and the Rural Professional Services team at Halls on Tel: 01743 450 700 or email: louise@hallsgb.com .
A suite of actions can be applied to different areas of the farm, depending on land use. SFI will be available in its full and final form by the end of 2024. New actions include hedgerows, integrated pest management, nutrient management, farmland wildlife, buffer strips and low input grassland.
The Government has updated the SFI payment rate for low input grassland action to make the rates the same for upland and lowland areas.
“SFI offers farmers more flexibility and control than previous stewardship schemes and management options, particularly in respect of managing permanent grassland with low inputs,” said Louise Preece, associate director and head of rural professional services at Halls. “Under SFI, farmers will be able to supplementary feed, whereas in Mid Tier Stewardship, they cannot.”
For more information about applying for SFI, contact Louise and the Rural Professional Services team at Halls on Tel: 01743 450 700 or email: louise@hallsgb.com .