The 2023 version of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) has been announced
The SFI pays farmers to adopt and maintain sustainable farming practices that can protect and improve the environment. The recent update to the scheme includes improvements such as bringing forward new actions that were not originally due until 2024, applying a £20/ha management payment (up to 50ha) and allowing farmers to choose both SFI actions and other environmental land management options, such as Countryside Stewardship, on the same land parcels.
The actions available for 2023 are split into the following groups – Actions for; soils, moorland, hedgerows, integrated pest management, nutrient management, farmland wildlife on arable and horticultural land, farmland wildlife on improved grassland, buffer strips and low input grassland. The table below shows the available actions and their respective payment rates.
To provide flexibility, you can choose which SFI actions to do and what area/length to do them on. There are no mandatory combinations of actions and no min. or max. areas. Some actions are static, so will remain on the same parcel for the full 3 year agreement, but others are rotational, meaning they can be ‘completed’ on a different parcel each year of the agreement. In this case, the scheme allows for different areas each year, to account for different field sizes within a rotation. A smaller area can be included within the rotation, as long as its at least 50% of the area entered into the action in the first year.
Annual payments will be made up of payments per ha, depending upon the actions chosen, the SFI management payment (£1000 maximum per SBI), and any other additional payments, such as the £265 for the moorland standard. The total annual payment is divided and paid in quarterly instalments, with the first payment usually being made in the 4th month after your agreement starts.
The Sustainable Farming Incentive is designed for landowners farming their own land and tenants occupying farmland. It is not designed for landowners who rent out their land and do not farm it themselves. Applications are due to open in August. The scheme may be able to provide valuable income for your business as the Basic Payment Scheme phases out by 2027.
If you would like to know more about the scheme or would like to discuss applying, please contact Rebecca on 07510071772.
