The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) is now open for applications via the Rural Payments service. Through the SFI, farmers will be paid for looking after the natural environment in the course of their farming. This initial offer will pay farmers for taking care of their soil or assessing the condition of moorland. In this post, we'll share more about the application process.
Local Nature Recovery is the improved and more ambitious successor to the Countryside Stewardship scheme in England. In this post, we’ll provide further detail on what Local Nature Recovery will pay for and explain how we will be working with you over the course of the year to develop the detailed scheme design.
The Tenancy Working Group exists to ensure that new environmental land management schemes work for tenant farmers. The group is very keen to hear directly from tenant farmers and it has developed a survey to gather views.
In February, we launched the first round of the Landscape Recovery pilot. Landscape Recovery is 1 of our 3 environmental land management schemes. To support potential bidders, we hosted a webinar to share information on the application process and answer questions from those thinking of applying. As you can imagine, we received a lot of questions on the day. In this post, we summarise some of the most-asked questions and our replies.
Through tests and trials, we want to understand the role that land management plans could play in our future schemes. In the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot, we provided farmers with 3 different land management plan templates. Each template was developed through tests and trials. One of these templates was developed by the Growing the Goods test and trial group. Watch the final video to see farmers and growers who took part in the Growing the Goods Test & Trial. They share their experience of developing a land management plan.
We plan to launch the Sustainable Farming Incentive in June. Today we can share the final standards and payment rates, our approach to the applications process and how to prepare, In this post, I’ll provide an overview and share links to further information on GOV.UK. I’ll also explain how farmers have directly shaped the scheme through the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot, tests and trials, engagement sessions, co-design activity and discussions.
In the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot, we provided farmers with 3 different land management plan templates. Each template was developed through tests and trials. Farmer Martin Hole took part in the Cuckmere and Pevensey Levels test and trial. He explains how the vision for his farm, and the landscape in which he lives, has been supported by land management planning.
Today we published a blog post with news about our 3 environmental land management schemes and Countryside Stewardship payment rates. In that post, we explained how the schemes fit together and the timings for them. In this post, we'll share a bit more information about eligibility and what the schemes will pay for.
Last week we published details on how the new Sustainable Future Incentive scheme will work in 2022. The Sustainable Farming Incentive in 2022 is very much a starting point. We are rolling out the scheme incrementally. We want to test, learn and improve as we go, and expand the scheme to fit the available budget each year. In this post, I'll give you an idea of how the scheme will expand over the next few years.
I recently joined the Sustainable Farming Incentive team to help develop some of the standards for 2022/23. In particular, those focused on upland farming and moorland management. In this post, I'll share more about the Moorland and Rough Grazing Standard.
