Defra to unveil final details on six new SFI standards

Defra is set to publish the final versions of six new standards added to the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), which will be available for farmers in England to apply for later this summer.

Detailed information on the six new SFI 2023 standards will be released in mid-June, with an official announcement possibly timed for the Cereals event at Thoresby Estate in Nottinghamshire (13-14 June).

Rules on how farmers and land managers will be able to combine different options within the SFI and with Countryside Stewardship (CS), the transition from the 2022 to 2023 SFI scheme, and how the management payment will work, will also be revealed.

See also: Defra adds six new standards to SFI scheme for 2023

“Everybody will have all the information they need to be able to choose between CS and the SFI and work out what they’re going to do,” said a Defra source. “It’s a big manual with everything in it, and that’s coming shortly.”

The six new SFI standards, which include payments for actions on hedgerows, pest management and nutrient management, will open for applications later this summer, but before September – quashing industry rumours that the launch of the scheme would be delayed until the autumn.

Defra will launch the new standards with a controlled rollout to ensure the online application process is working correctly, followed by a rolling window that will allow farmers to apply at a time that suits them.

Confidence is high within Defra that the IT system used by the Rural Payments Agency to process applications will work effectively. For example, some SFI 2022 scheme applications are now being processed in less than two weeks.

The additional six standards, added to the existing three 2022 SFI standards that are mainly based on improving soil health, will provide a “much broader offer” to enable farmers to build resilience into their farming systems and benefit the environment, added the source.

In September, Defra will announce its plans for CS and the SFI in 2024.

70% target

To help the UK government reach its environmental goals, Defra has set a target of enrolling at least 70% of eligible farmers in England to its Environmental Land Management programme by 2028, of which the SFI is the first component.

David Exwood, vice-president of the NFU, said: “We look forward to the scheme detail of the SFI 2023 offer being announced in the next week or two.

“There are many more standards and significant amounts of money available under the new offer. We want farmers to look at the detail when it’s announced, study it and understand what it might mean for their businesses.

“If they think there is something for it, then plan how you might work that into your cropping for next year and apply when the application window opens.”

Watch the Defra video on applying for SFI below.