Farming Podcast: making SFI work on our upland beef and sheep farm

Posted by: , and , Posted on: - Categories: Future Farming Podcast, Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot

In this episode of the Defra Farming podcast, regional engagement lead Michael Sturla talks to Robin and Christopher Milton. The father and son team farm beef and sheep on the Exmoor uplands and have a Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreement. They describe their experience applying for an agreement, the actions they're undertaking and the benefits.

Farming in Protected Landscapes: our progress and a spotlight on the 3,000th project

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Payments to support National Parks, National Landscapes and the Broads

Since launching in 2021, the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme has funded 3,000 projects across England. Together, these projects have created and improved more than 70,000 hectares (ha) of habitat for biodiversity, planted more than 100 miles of hedgerow, more than 100,000 trees  and conserved or enhanced 300 historic features, buildings and structures. In this …

The current offer for horticultural growers and farmers 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Countryside Stewardship, environmental land management schemes, Grants, Sustainable Farming Incentive
Brussel sprouts

The horticulture industry in England is diverse. As such, we and have a range of different offers available for farmers and growers. Whether you grow carrots or strawberries, daffodils or apples there is support you can access to help increase your productivity, improve the environment and innovate. In this post, we’ll summarise the schemes and grants …

Spotlight on new actions for arable and horticulture farmers

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Sustainable Farming Incentive
View through the alley of a Kentish vinyard

At the beginning of the month, we published a post which summarised the recent Agricultural Transition Plan update. The update includes the full range of new and improved actions plus the payment rates available this year. Following the update, we said we'd set out the offer for each farm type in a series of posts. …

Restoring the River Axe: a Landscape Recovery spotlight

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Payments to restore landscapes and ecosystems
Axe Landscape with two men in foreground with dog

In this guest post, vet Alasdair Moffett describes the work of the Upper Axe Landscape Recovery Project team. Their project aims to demonstrate that productive agriculture, the natural environment and a will to counter climate change can co-exist.

Apply for an Improving Farm Productivity grant

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Grants, Payments for equipment, technology and infrastructure

I’m pleased to say that you can now apply for an Improving Farm Productivity grant.  In this post, I'll explain some additional changes we've made to the offer, give you a recap of other aspects of the grant and include the links you'll need to get started. 

Watch: an SFI special from Oxford

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Conversations we're having, Sustainable Farming Incentive

Earlier this month, we attended both the Oxford Real Farming Conference and the Oxford Farming Conference (OFC). In this post, we share 2 videos. The first video is a session hosted by Jim Egan and Jonathan Baker on environmental land management and the agricultural transition. The second video features farmers John Geldard and Ben Taylor-Davies. …

Spotlight on new actions: agroforestry and improvements to our trees and woodland offer

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Payments to plant trees and manage woodland, Sustainable Farming Incentive
Sheep grazing among young trees

The Agricultural Transition Plan update includes the full range of new and updated Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) actions and the payment rates available in 2024. In this post, we focus on the new agroforestry actions and include improvements to the Countryside Stewardship (CS) offer for trees and woodlands.

Watch: future-proofing our farming business with SFI

Posted by: and , Posted on: - Categories: Sustainable Farming Incentive

Mother and son team, Tracey and Will, run a dairy and beef farm in Langley Mill, Derbyshire. In this film, they talk through the SFI actions they’ve included in their agreement, including herbal leys in rotational pasture, hedgerows, soils, legume mix with grasses and pest management. They describe how SFI helps them to balance the …