Applications for the Sustainable Farming Incentive have been open since September 2023 The online portal was briefly closed down over the Christmas period however as of the 3rd January 2024 is back open for new applications.
Key Information:
All agreements are for a period of 3 years.
Applications are open all year round.
Agreements will start on the first day of a specified calendar month which will be confirmed in the final agreement offer.
All previous BPS eligible farmers can apply. As previous schemes you must have control of the land for the entire scheme length, tenant farmers are eligible however they must have management control of the land for the scheme duration. If you have applied for the Lump Sum Exit Scheme and taken it you cannot apply without this being repaid.
Key actions -
Below are a few of the key items that are available within the scheme -
SAM2 Multi Species winter cover crops £129/ha
SAM3 Herbal Leys £382/ha
HRW2 Manage Hedgerows £10 per 100m
IPM2 Flower-rich grass margins, blocks or infield strips £673/ha
IPM3 Companion crop on arable and horticultural land £55/ha
NUM1 Access nutrient management and produce a review report £589/year
SFI Annual Health and Welfare Review of Livestock
Eligible Livestock farmers can get paid for a vet or team chosen by a vet to visit their farm and carry out an annual health check of eligible livestock. There is no requirement to have a SFI land management agreement to apply for this.
Alongside the options above there are also a number of countryside stewardship grants available, many of which are stand along capital grants separated into four main categories -
Boundaries, trees and orchards
Water Quality
Air Quality
Natural Flood Management
For further information or assistance in making an application get in touch via the contact page.