SFI 2023 was closed to new applications on 10th June. General applications opened for SFI 2024 on 22nd July although currently, to apply for the expanded SFI offer, an expression of interest form needs to be completed. The RPA then invites you to apply as part of a controlled roll-out. The expression of interest process should be removed later this summer.
So, what’s the difference? And what do you need to do to apply?
As a very general summary, SFI 2024 has a lot more options than SFI 2023 did (over 100 v 23!). Many of the 2024 options have been brought in from Countryside Stewardship and sometimes modified to fit better alongside other SFI options. A very common modification is reducing the time the options needs doing to 3 years, but some are for 5 years. Some options will also now require approval by Natural England or Historic England staff, one of these (GRH6) is due to open for applications soon, others will follow later in 2024. Payments are also planned to be available for having educational visits.
The application mechanism is broadly the same as it was for SFI 2023. If you already have an SFI 2023 agreement, you will need to do a separate, new, application for SFI 2024. This won’t affect the 2023 agreement you already have, it will just be additional to it, and be on a different start and finish time.
For an individual business, deciding how best to knit different agreements together will need to be considered during the application process. Some help from an agronomist or other farm adviser is probably a good idea, though there is no need to employ such a person.
An Introduction to SFI 2024
A summary of the 102 options and their ID codes can be found in ‘Annex B’, which can be found on the Government's SFI scheme information: Expanded offer for 2024 page on their website
Defra have attempted to help people interested in applying through this maze by introducing a funding selection tool. This tool allows you to select options you are most interested in via land type (arable, grassland, upland etc) and via ‘Area of interest’ option type (e.g. boundary management, soils, water quality, historic environment etc.).
The ‘areas of interest’ relate to how Defra views the option categories, which don’t always tally with how a grower might think. A third filter choice is whether the payments are considered as capital or revenue.
This tool can be accessed on the Find funding for land or farms page on the Government's website
Alternatively, it is quite easy to look at the list of options in the contents section of the PDF version of the handbook document, choose ones you are interested in, then click on the option title to go directly to the details of that option. This can be found on at Guidance.
Limited Area Options
There are currently ten options, referred to as ‘limited area options’ that count towards the maximum of 25% of the eligible farmed area rule that was brought in earlier this year. These are:
CIPM2: Flower-rich grass margins, blocks, or in-field strips
CAHL1: Pollen and nectar flower mix
CAHL2: Winter bird food on arable and horticultural land
CAHL3: Grassy field corners or blocks
CIGL1: Take improved grassland field corners or blocks out of management
CIGL2: Winter bird food on improved grassland
WBD3: In-field grass strips
AHW1: Bumblebird mix
AHW9: Unharvested cereal headland
AHW11: Cultivated areas for arable plants
You can select as many ‘limited area’ actions as you wish, but the total eligible area you enter into them must not be more than 25% of the total agricultural area of your farm.
For example, if the total agricultural area of your farm is 100 hectares, you must only enter up to a total of 25 hectares of eligible land into any combination of one or more of these ‘limited area’ actions.
For the purpose of these ‘limited area’ actions:
‘farm’ means all the land parcels linked to your Single Business Identifier (SBI) at the point you apply for an SFI agreement – these parcels are shown on your digital maps
‘agricultural area’ means the area in each land parcel that’s registered with an arable, permanent grassland or permanent crops land cover
Defra will keep this 25% limited area action rule under review, including whether it should apply to the following actions in future:
AHW3: Beetle banks
AHW5: Nesting plots for lapwing
AHW12: Manage woodland edges on arable land
SCR1: Create scrub and open habitat mosaics
You can use the SFI limited area actions calculator to help calculate your eligible area limit for your next application.
Summary of SFI 2024 Option types
This summary follows how Defra are categorising the options, to show how option types are grouped. Options carried over from 2023 now have a ‘C’ in front of their previous codes. So, for example, SAM1 is now CSAM1.
Soils
7 options, 1 plan and 6 land management options (mostly cover crops), including no-till farming.
Integrated pest management
4 options, 1 plan and 3 in-crop management.
Nutrient management
3 options, 1 plan and 2 for legume growing.
Precision farming
4 options for use of specific precision working equipment, including variable rate fertiliser application.
Boundary features
5 options, 1 for hedgerow condition assessment, 4 for hedgerows, hedgerow trees, banked hedges or dry stone wall management.
Buffer strips
8 options around either field headlands, ponds or trees.
Water bodies
9 options, 2 for actual management of the feature, and 7 for protection via either buffering or reducing inputs, including nil fertiliser.
Farmland wildlife (arable and horticultural land)
15 options for habitat creation or food provision, including over-winter stubbles.
Farmland wildlife (grassland)
10 options (soon to be 11) for habitat creation, food provision, or reduced inputs.
Species recovery and management
4 supplement options for rare native livestock breeds.
Heritage
5 options for management of traditional farm buildings, historic engineered waterbodies and archaeological features.
Moorlands
11 options, 1 for condition assessment and 10 for livestock management. Additional payment group applications on common land still included.
Organic farming
14 options specifically for organic farmers.
Agroforestry
2 options to maintain existing projects.
Some organic options are only for one - two years as they assist with organic conversion, whilst currently 10 options are for 5 years.
These are:
BFS6 (6-12m habitat margins by watercourses),
GRH6 (the soon to be available Natural England endorsed management of priority habitat species-rich grassland),
SCR1(creation and management of scrub habitat),
HEF5,6 & 8 (vegetation management on archaeological sites, and management of engineered historic waterbodies),
WBD4, 5 & 9 (arable conversion to grassland and reduced inputs on intensive grassland by environmentally sensitive watercourses).
Comentários