Sustainable farming incentive

With phased reductions in BPS payments well underway details have now been released regarding the 2023 Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer.

Phased applications are due to start in August and you can apply for a 3-year SFI agreement to undertake environmental land management actions with the aim of managing land in a more sustainable way.

The 2023 offering has learnt from previous pilot schemes, it is more flexible and has a greater number of grassland options than have been available in the past. It is possible to add new options into your agreements after it has started and to change the areas of rotational options each year to fit in with cropping plans more easily. Payments will also be made quarterly to aid cashflow and you are able to claim an annual management fee of £20 per ha up to a maximum of £1,000.

There are no capital items available under the SFI, however capital funding options are currently available through Countryside Stewardship.

It is possible to apply for the SFI scheme alongside a current or new countryside stewardship agreement if the options are not resulting in ‘double funding’ through carrying out the same option on the same parcel of land.

Full details of the scheme options and payment rates are available on www.gov.uk