Following the relatively successful uptake of Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 2023 agreements, the scheme has been expanded to offer 79 new actions to farmers and landowners in the 2024 version.

SFI pays farmers to take actions that can help improve farm productivity, make farms and food production more resilient, and improve the natural environment and climate. Countryside Stewardship Mid-Tier options have been improved and incorporated into SFI as actions, meaning there is now the choice of Stewardship paired with the flexibility of SFI.

Whilst some actions now run for 5 years, the majority still run for 3 years, with payments made automatically on a quarterly basis. Applications are open on a rolling basis, with agreements beginning on the 1^st of the following month from acceptance.

Some of the new actions most suited to our area include; Dry stone wall maintenance, Haymaking supplements, Lenient/cattle grazing supplements, Management of rough grazing for birds and Livestock management on moorlands.  

Applications are currently closed for SFI 2024 and will be opened in a controlled rollout over the remainder of June and the month of July. Farmers are encouraged to submit an expression of interest to try and gain an earlier invite to apply for the scheme. Otherwise, applications are expected to be open to all applicants by the end of July. New for 2024, farmers who have not previously claimed BPS are now eligible to apply for SFI agreements.

We will be contacting all our clients in an existing agreement over the coming weeks, to discuss whether any of the new options would be applicable to their farming systems. Those with existing agreements can apply again for the new options, having 2 agreements running at the same time.