There are three actions for nutrient management in the current Sustainable Farming Incentive offer, all of which aim to optimise the use of nutrients and manage them more efficiently, so reducing costs and delivering environmental benefits on farm.

In this article, we take a look at NUM1 (assessing nutrient management and producing a report) and NUM2 (establishing and maintaining legumes on improved grassland), asking what growers are expected to do, where the actions can be carried out, how much farmers will be paid, and what evidence they will be expected to keep.

For more detail on NUM3 and the best time to establish a legume fallow, refer to the separate article in this month’s Arable Insights.

See also: SFI 2023: What’s on offer for arable farmers

As an overview, all three of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) nutrient management actions encourage farmers to take a closer look at their current approach to nutrient management and consider where it could be improved, says Chloe Timberlake, associate farming consultant at Ceres Rural.

“Crucially, they’re not saying you have to reduce your inputs,” she points out.

“The actions will encourage you to reduce your reliance on artificial fertiliser and make better use of organic manures, but they’re not setting reduction targets or making specific demands about soil organic matter.”

They are also applicable to most farms, regardless of size and enterprise mix, and should help with the development of long-term plans to improve nutrient use efficiency.

“Both NUM1 and NUM2 are easy to do,” says Chloe. “In contrast, NUM3 needs more thought and planning.”

She adds that across the SFI there are other actions that also support nutrient management – with SAM2 winter cover crops and SAM3 herbal leys both good examples.

NUM1 – Assess nutrient management and produce a report

NUM1 is an agreement-level SFI action, meaning it doesn’t apply to just specific areas of land. Instead, it covers all relevant areas of the farm.

All the other SFI actions can be done with NUM1, which pays £652/year. For that, farmers have to work with a Facts-qualified adviser to complete a nutrient management assessment and then produce a report.

This must take place within the first 12 months of an agreement starting, and must then be reviewed every year for the length of the agreement, advises Chloe.

“If you already have an existing plan, it can be used, providing it was written in the past 12 months,” she adds.

“If you don’t, you can find suitable templates online. Most Facts-qualified advisers will have a version they use which is acceptable for this action.” 

There is no standard format for the plan, confirms Greg Crawford, farm business resilience consultant with Niab.

He agrees that it’s one of the easier actions to complete and comes into the category of “things that you are already doing that you can claim for”.

While you can choose how to produce the report, there are already requirements through Red Tractor and other assurance schemes that mean most farm businesses will be familiar with the procedures involved and what should be recorded, he suggests.

For most, the plan must show how the nutrient and pH requirements of the crop have been calculated, results from soil tests done on pH, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium levels in the past five years and the nutrients that are being supplied from organic sources, such as crop residues, manures, legumes and so on.

The other essential information is the amount of fertiliser you need to apply so it does not exceed the crop’s requirement.

“You are expected to keep a written record and have evidence to show that the adviser is Facts-qualified,” confirms Chloe.

© Tim Scrivener

NUM2 – Establish and maintain legumes in improved grassland

NUM2 pays £102/ha for establishing and maintaining legumes in improved grassland, so it’s an action that is most likely to appeal to mixed and dairy farms, or those focused on grass production.

The aim is to have legumes growing from spring until early autumn, helping to manage nutrient efficiency and protect the soil surface, as well as support an integrated pest management approach.

It can be done on temporary grassland or improved permanent pasture and it is a rotational SFI action.

That means it can be put in place on the same area of eligible land each year, or it can be moved each year.

It is compatible with SAM1, IPM1 and NUM1 – all the actions that involve producing plans.

“As with all the SFI actions, the ultimate aim is to have an environmental outcome,” stresses Chloe.

“Including legumes in swards should result in more nitrogen fixing and lower fertiliser rates. They also offer much more benefit to wildlife if they have the chance to flower.”

It is up to growers whether they use one or more types of legume and whether they add them to an existing sward or sow a mix of grass and legumes.

“The important thing is that the legumes do get established during the first 12 months of an agreement and that they are then maintained across the area.”

An obvious approach with NUM2 is to put clover into improved grassland, she highlights.

“It’s the cheapest and easiest way to achieve this, and of course there will be swards that meet this description already.

“At £102/ha, it’s not the highest payment, so it’s likely to be more attractive where it can be used to maintain existing areas.”

There are no thresholds on what population of legumes you need to have, she says.

Greg points out that the low-input grassland options – LIG1 and LIG2 – pay more at £151/ha, but are both static actions with more restrictions.

“That’s why planning of agreements is so important, as some of the actions are easier to do than others.

In terms of evidence required for NUM2, growers should take photographs and keep any supporting documentation, such as invoices.