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Why we’re putting area limits on some SFI actions

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Sustainable Farming Incentive
Up on the hill the farmer is turning the grass to help it dry and so get a crop of hay rather than sileage. Photo taken in High Birkwith.

Since we opened the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) for applications, we’ve continued to refine the scheme. One of the things we’ve been monitoring is the impact of those actions which take land out of food production. In this post, we’ll explain why we’re putting area limits on some SFI actions.

The evidence we use to develop our environmental land management schemes 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: environmental land management schemes
A patchwork of fields including sheep and cows taken in the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire.

We’re committed to ensuring that the policies underpinning our environmental land management schemes are based on the very latest and best possible evidence. One evidence source is the recently published qualitative environmental impact assessment (QEIA). In this post I’ll give an overview.  

The future of hedgerow protections in England: consultation response

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Future Farming and Countryside Programme

In June 2023, we launched a consultation on hedgerow protections in England. Today, we published the summary of the responses alongside the government's response. This includes proposed exemptions to the requirements. In this post, I'll share a summary.

FiPL spotlight: improving nutrient use and reducing nitrate and phosphate pollution in the Broads

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Payments to support parks, National Landscapes and the Broads
Person in a green field being down to test nutrient levels

In this Farming in Protected Landscapes spotlight post, we hear from Juliette Howlett of the Broads Authority. Working with the Waveney Farming Cluster, this FiPL project seeks to improve the efficiency of nutrient use and reduce nitrate and phosphate pollution.

Farming Equipment and Technology Fund 2024: guidance now available

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Payments for equipment, technology and infrastructure
Three cows walking through tall grass in Lewes

The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) 2024 includes 3 grants to help you buy items to improve productivity, manage slurry and improve animal health and welfare. Today, we published the grant guidance on GOV.UK. In this post, I’ll give an overview, include links and share details of an upcoming webinar on 12 March for you to learn more.

A test and trials spotlight: Weald to Waves

Posted by: and , Posted on: - Categories: environmental land management schemes
Thumbnail image showing a clip of a participant at a desk with a map

Farmers and land managers participating in Weald to Waves share their experiences of taking part in tests and trials. The test is part of a wider project, led by Knepp Estate, which aims to build a wildlife corridor stretching from Ashdown Forest to the Sussex coast. Along the way, they share with us how they brought together farmers on the route to develop group agreements, management plans and funding mechanisms for the corridor.

Spotlight on updates and additions to livestock and grassland offer

Over the past few weeks, we've summarised the updates to our environmental land management offer by farm type. These posts follow last month's Agricultural Transition Plan update. In this post, we’ll focus on the updated offer for livestock and grassland farmers. 

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

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Payments to support 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 post I'll shine a light on the 3,000th project and share details of an upcoming spotlight series.

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. This post is for arable and horticultural farmers.