In the most recent episode of the RPA podcast, we answered some of the commonly asked questions received in relation to the 2023 offer of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). We recognise that new questions may arise as even more farmers take up the opportunity.
- Why should I apply to SFI?
SFI offers benefits for both for the productivity and resilience of your farm and for the environment it exists within. In the SFI scheme, there are 23 actions to choose from, sitting across eight areas – soil health, moorlands, hedgerows, integrated pest management, nutrient management, farmland wildlife, buffer strips and low input grassland. By applying sustainable food production practices on your farm, you could improve soil health, enhance farmland biodiversity or help mitigate the impact of extreme weather - all of which help look after your farm in both the short and long term.
You can also enter as much land as you want and choose how many actions you do. Then, once you’re in SFI, you can add more land and actions to your agreement each year as needed. How you complete the actions is up to you.
We’ve made continuous improvements to our schemes, making it as easy and straightforward as possible to apply. For agreements issued in 2024 and onwards, your first payment will be four months after your SFI agreement starts. After that you’ll be paid every three months, so you have regular, reliable income.
- What sort of thing can farmers get paid to do under an SFI agreement?
Once a farmer has received their agreement for the SFI scheme, they will be paid over a three-year period to take environmental land management actions - to support farmers to manage land in a more sustainable way. There is also the opportunity to receive a one-off payment for a vet to visit your farm annually to review the health and welfare of your livestock and give you advice about improvements that could be made.
- How will gaining an SFI agreement impact the agricultural activity?
The environmental land management actions in SFI will have benefits for both the environment and agricultural productivity. The scheme will help make agriculture more environmentally sustainable – but it’s also about farmers continuing their vital role in producing food and has been designed with this aim in mind.
- Are farmers who have existing Countryside Stewardships agreements still able to apply?
Applicants are able to have a Countryside Stewardship or Environmental Stewardship agreement and an SFI agreement at the same time. This means you can combine SFI actions with other scheme options, providing even greater flexibility. However, applicants should be aware that actions must be compatible, and they can’t be paid for the same action twice. Further information on this is given in both the ‘SFI Handbook’ and the ‘How to Apply’ guide which can be found on GOV.UK.
- What actions should farmers who are considering applying take to prepare and ensure their application is accepted?
Firstly, farmers need to make sure their land data is up to date. All farmers planning to apply should check their details on the Rural Payments Service and make any changes that are needed to avoid delays later in the process – mapping changes on average take around 2 weeks to process so it’s best to ensure these are processed before starting an application. We’ve published numerous resources to help advise applicants on how to do this. This includes the Handbook for the SFI 2023 offer, which sets out the full details of this year’s SFI offer, to make sure farmers could plan ahead for their applications and autumn planting – this includes a section on 'What you should do before you apply for an SFI agreement'. We also issued a ‘How to Apply’ guide in September and published an accompanying video setting out how to apply for your agreement.
- What routes are available to submit applications through?
The best way to apply is online through the Rural Payments Agency application portal, where it’s straightforward to submit your application and manage your agreement. Once you’ve submitted your application, the RPA will issue your agreement which will start the month after you accept it. However, if you can’t apply online, for example if you don’t have access to the internet or a computer, call us on 03000 200 301 and we can help you.
- How many farmers have already secured their agreements this year?
We now have over one thousand live agreements and over 300 further offers with customers! Some of these farmers have already received their payment within the first month of opening the scheme and we continue to make advance payments of 25% in the first month for agreements that started in October and November, this will continue until the end of this year.
- Are farmers who already have an SFI22 agreement still able to apply to this year’s SFI offer?
Farmers who’ve got an ongoing SFI22 agreement are still able to apply to for the 2023 offer and won’t need to take any other measures. RPA will work with those agreement holders to work out the best transition between agreements for them.
- Are those who enter an SFI agreement this year still be able to add in new SFI actions that will be introduced in the future?
Yes, of course. Farmers will be able to ask us to upgrade their SFI agreement each year, towards the end of the first and second years of your agreement. This will allow them to add more SFI actions and eligible land. Alternatively, if an applicant doesn’t want to wait for the anniversary of the agreement, they can begin a new application for the additional actions on land, either within the current SFI agreement or new land.
- Can a farmer delay the start of their SFI agreement to align with either harvest or planting season?
SFI has a rolling application window, so you can apply at the right time for you. When you receive and accept your offer the agreement will begin on the first of the following month.
- Will tenant farmers be able to enter all the schemes?
We’ve designed SFI with tenants firmly in mind and we’ve been working closely with the Tenant Farmers Association on the issues that matter to the farmers that they represent.
We’ve ensured that more tenant farmers can access SFI than has been the case under previous schemes. This includes farmers with tenancies on a ‘rolling’ year-by-year basis, who can enter that land into SFI – if they expect to have ‘management control’ of it for the 3-year duration of their SFI standards agreement.
Tenants may need to get their landlord’s permission – that will depend on the terms of their individual tenancy agreement. In practice, most SFI actions will work alongside tenancy actions, but it’s the tenant’s responsibility to confirm this. However, (unlike Countryside Stewardship) SFI doesn’t specifically require tenants to confirm landlord permission as part of application process.
- What should farmers do if they’re unsure about switching to SFI?
Start by taking a look at the guidance out there and making a judgement, based on what you think is best for your land and business – and you can find guidance at www.gov.uk/future-farming. There’s a lot of great opportunities available in the scheme so it’s definitely worth taking a look to avoid missing out!
- What’s coming next for SFI?
We’re rolling out SFI environmental land management actions incrementally. As the scheme expands each year, more SFI actions will be introduced, so the scheme keeps developing and the full set is available by the end of 2024. You’ll be able to add more actions and eligible land to your SFI agreement each year.
29 comments
Comment by Caroline posted on
Thank you for the above Q and A's.
I wondered if you could give me some advice on IPM4 - No use of insecticide on arable crops and permanent crops?
When does this Option begin, is it a cropping year or at the start of the Agreement? i.e for an Agreement which will commence on 1st January, do you apply for the crops that are in the ground now or those that will be planted next autumn, or in the spring? In addition if it is for the crops in the ground now, is no insecticide based on the crop going forward from the start of the agreement. Or is it no insecticide over the entire crop cycle ? i.e if the crop received insecticide in the autumn would they be eligible or not? Thank you.
Comment by vickiallonby posted on
Hi Caroline, thank you for your query. I have passed it over to the SFI team and we will come back to you with a response as soon as possible.
Comment by Richard Curtis posted on
I have a smallholding of some 18 acres. The fields are down to grass and I breed sheep. All the fields and all farm boundaries are hedged, that take some maintaining.
Can you advise if I am eligible for SFI and what for.
Thank you
Comment by vickiallonby posted on
Hi Richard, thank you for your question. What actions you are eligible for will depend on your land use/cover and any other agri-environment agreements you have. The SFI handbook will give you information on the scheme and to check if you are eligible, please read section 3.1.2 - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sfi-handbook-for-the-sfi-2023-offer. If you have any specific questions on the scheme, you can contact us either by email at ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk (please put 'SFI' and your SBI number in the subject header) or by phone on 03000 200 301. I hope this helps.
Comment by Paul Crawley posted on
We seem to have alot of SHINE polygon archaeology across our farm that is making us ineligible for some of the sfi options that we would like to enter as they very much suit our system. When will there be options available that I can enter shine land into. As feeling very disadvantaged and excluded from sfi23.
Comment by vickiallonby posted on
Thank you for your query. We forwarded this to the SFI team and understand that you have now had a response.
Comment by Amanda Burton posted on
Very interesting question as lots of farmers farming small parcels of land are feeling overwhelmed with the change from BPS and aren’t committing to the new schemes. Please can we have some online presentations for those of us farming small land parcels in the uplands.
Comment by vickiallonby posted on
Thank you for your query. We forwarded this to the SFI team and understand that you have now had a response.
Comment by Daniel posted on
I was intending to use the IPM4 option across parts of arable area, tHowever a lot of my fields have 4-6m grass margins in place under an existing CS agreement to protect water courses, but the SFI rules will only allow me to claim whole fields for the IPM4 option. So if I have a 50ha field, which has 1ha of grass margin and 49ha of arable crop, your rules mean I cannot claim IPM4 across the 49ha cropped area, even if the entire 50ha receives no insecticide. You are therefore encouraging farmers to either continue using insecticides or to pull up these protective grass margins in order to claim the IPM4 payments. Do the RPA intend to review the SFI rules for this option so that farmers in existing CS agreements who are trying to protect their water courses are not penalised??
Comment by vickiallonby posted on
Thank you for your query. We forwarded this to the SFI team and understand that you have now had a response.
Comment by Nick Wilkinson posted on
I’m thinking of entering SFI.
The NUM3 rotational legume fallow sounds perfect for me. The wording says that I can’t use any pesticides on it ONCE it is established. I’m planning to set it at the end of august. Could I use propyzamide to help control the blackgrass which would greatly increase my chances of getting it established properly.
Comment by vickiallonby posted on
Thank you for your query. We forwarded this to the SFI team but they need some more information to give a full response. Please can you email ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk with your query and any further information you can provide. Please mark your email subject with 'SFI' and your SBI number. The team will then look into this for you.
Comment by Simon posted on
Hello, we are in stewardship and now entering SFI - we wish to put in more margins but SFI will not allow this - can we get round this or do we need to apply for the additional margins on the stewardship agreement.
Comment by vickiallonby posted on
Thank you for your query. We forwarded this to the SFI team and understand that you have now had a response.
Comment by Jen Elderkin posted on
Hi. I wondered if it’s possible to come out of some mid tier options (ab7, ab8, ab9), and exchange them for SAM3 in the SFI. We are in 2/3 years for the mid tier scheme. We are not wishing to wholesale exchange our mid tier schemes, just tweak it a bit. Thanks.
Comment by vickiallonby posted on
Thank you for your query. We forwarded this to the SFI team but they need some more information to give a full response. Please can you email ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk with your query and any further information you can provide. Please mark your email subject with 'CS/SFI options' and your SBI number. The team will then look into this for you.
Comment by Bruce posted on
I would ask that we have clear definitive guidance on the payments due and foregone for either keeping a 2022 SFI or ending it early in favour of a 2023 SFI. We need to know the parameters, then we can make a balanced judgement as to whether we see out the 2022 agreement or cancel and switch.
Comment by vickiallonby posted on
Thank you for your query. We forwarded this to the SFI team and understand that you have now had a response.
Comment by S E WATTS posted on
Have been drafting up several SFI applications - does the indicative total value agreement figure have to be divided by 3 to give the estimated amound due per annum ?
Also can you claim an IPM and NMP payment for low input grassland ie there will be no work to do on these reports as there are no sprays or fertiliser applied...
Comment by vickiallonby posted on
Thank you for your query. This has been passed to the SFI team and we will respond as soon as possible.
Comment by RPA Editor posted on
In answer to your query, yes, the total agreement value divided by 3 is indicative of the yearly payments - these are also on the application summaries broken down. NUM1 can be done with all SFI actions except MOR1, so you can combine with IPM1, IPM2 or IPM3 but not all together. Please read the SFI handbook carefully for each of the IPM actions before choosing to make sure they are compatible. I hope this helps but if you need any further assistance please can you email ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk including your SBI number.
Comment by trevor gospel posted on
I would like to know a herbal lay is defined and how a field qualifies as herbal for sfi payment.
Thank you Trevor Gospel
Comment by vickiallonby posted on
Thank you for your query. This has been passed to the SFI team and we will respond as soon as possible.
Comment by Catherine Johnston posted on
We have telephoned the helpline today to ask about how IPM4 should work with a start date of 1st January as the only crop getting sprayed is barley. We intended to enter all the fields in wheat but some of those will go into barley in August/September, before the annual review date. They had no idea and appeared to just be looking at the handbook and saying what pages relate to IPM4. The FAQ schedule shows this as a question with no answer as yet.
With a rolling start date there needs to be a way to notify where the rotation does not align with the agreement year. Otherwise IPM4 can only be used as an option if an agreement is starting on 1st September unless the applicant is able to commit to not spray any crops at all.
Comment by vickiallonby posted on
Thank you for your query. This has been passed to the SFI team and we will respond as soon as possible.
Comment by RPA Editor posted on
In answer to your query, for IPM4 it may be possible to have a standalone agreement just for IPM4 that ties in with your cropping year. If you need any further assistance, please email ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk with your SBI number.
Comment by Katie Louise Hilton posted on
I am an agent dealing with numerous SFI applications for arable farmers and having lots of issues with the IPM4 option having to be placed across the whole field parcel. It means farmers can't apply for the buffer strip or wildlife options including AHL1, AHL3, AHL4 or IPM2 so we are not able to build a comprehensive SFI agreement.
Farmers coming out of CS this December thinking they would be able to combine everything into one SFI agreement are penalised because they are finding they can't shift over what was AB1, AB8 or SW1, for example, into SFI. Or, they have to choose not to do IPM4. The money available to farmers under SFI is scarce enough without having to choose between what should be eligible options for the whole farm. Please can you confirm if this issue is going to be resolved with the system update over Christmas? I note that someone else has already asked this question but you haven't published the answer, which would have been useful.
Comment by RPA Editor posted on
Thank you for your query. I have passed this to the relevant team and will respond as soon as possible.
Comment by RPA Editor posted on
In relation to IPM4 across a whole field, the advice is to enter IPM2 or AHL1 first, then add IPM4 on the remaining area. Then you should be able to reduce the SFI eligible area for IPM4 by following the guidance at section 5.1.7 of the SFI handbook. When the warning message comes up, enter an area into IPM4 for less than the available SFI area, then press ‘Update SFI actions application for on land parcel’. The SFI available area will change so you can reduce the IPM4 to make sure it isn’t overlapping with IPM2/AHL1. Unfortunately this will not work for AHL3 or AHL4 at the moment but we are working to release a fix as soon as possible.