Look beyond payments: Maximising SFI long-term benefits

Assessing Sustainable Farming Incentive options

Agrovista’s new Rural Consultancy national manager Hamish Wardrop is urging farmers to look beyond the headline value when choosing Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) options and to focus instead on the longer-term benefits they can help create.

“In many cases, overall levels of support will be lower than farms have been receiving under BPS [Basic Payment Scheme],” says Hamish.

“In order to extract the maximum benefit from SFI, I believe we have to fully embrace all of the actions rather than treating them as box-ticking exercises to attract an immediate payment.

“It is our job to help our customers make the most of these opportunities and ensure the best mix is chosen for their farming system, delivering positive environmental impacts whilst complementing the productivity of the farm in the longer term.”

Agrovista Rural Consultancy support for choosing SFI actions

Agrovista is, in the main, a technical company, focused on growing crops as successfully and profitably as possible, says Hamish.

“Agricultural policy has evolved and is now very much tied in with production, so it makes sense to maintain this technical approach when choosing SFI actions.”

The Rural Consultancy team works closely with their agronomist colleagues to achieve this, he adds.

“Farmers don’t want something out of a textbook when seeking advice.

“They want to know what will work for them in practice and how to implement those options on the ground.

“This provides much of the information we need to decide together which options are most suitable.

“It’s a very efficient and cost-effective way of implementing these schemes as seamlessly as possible.”

Hamish brings a wealth of practical farming experience and farm business consultancy knowledge to his new role.

He comes from a Hampshire-based farming family. He obtained a degree in agriculture from Reading University and has a master’s degree in land management.

He qualified as a surveyor in 2005 and worked in private practice until he started his own farm contracting and consultancy business in 2009, before joining Agrovista’s agronomy team in 2022.

Hamish Wardrop, national Rural Consultancy manager © Agrovista

In his new role he will oversee Agrovista Rural Consultancy’s expanding team to help meet increasing demand as changes in agricultural policy gather pace.

Key areas include Countryside Stewardship, Environmental Land Management, nutrient planning and compliance with crop assurance.

Timely preparation essential to deliver SFI actions on farm

Many farmers have committed to SFI environmental land management options on their farms.

Careful preparation will be needed to ensure those plans are implemented on the ground as effectively as possible, and the clock is ticking.

The engagement with SFI among farmers has been very positive, says Agrovista’s head of rural consultancy, Hamish Wardrop.

Many have entered the scheme already, some are still considering which options are best suited to their farms, while others have waited for the recent announcement of the 2024 actions before applying, reflecting the welcome flexibility of the application process.

“However, putting something down on paper is one thing, but putting it into practice is another,” says Mr Wardrop.

“I believe it is essential for farmers who now have their plans in place to gear up as soon as possible to implement those agreements on farm.”

In many cases the simplified handbook leaves farmers flexibility to decide how to implement actions, so long as the aims are met.

“This flexibility is fantastic, but it is essential that farms deliver on this,” he comments.

“When the weather does finally improve, many farms will have a huge workload this spring, but SFI commitments still need to be built into the plan, otherwise there is a real risk that they will be left to the last minute.

“It is far better and cheaper to establish these options correctly in the first place than having to come back and do it all again.”

Companion cropping – a real positive to come out of SFI

Mr Wardrop believes there are some real positives to come out of SFI, provided the job is done properly.

“Companion cropping is a very popular option; for example, buckwheat and berseem clover in oilseed rape and field beans with wheat, and we will see a huge increase in the amount of land that will be managed this way.

“This increased acreage will no doubt accelerate the knowledge base within the industry and, as farmers fine-tune their approach to this action, we hope to see some real agronomic benefit.

“However, extensive companion cropping does create a logistical challenge as it can require additional passes and/or different machinery requirements.

“Farmers and contractors need to prepare well in advance,” he advises.

© Agrovista

Areas committed to rotational SFI actions also need careful consideration

These include multispecies cover crops ahead of spring cropping, and winter bird food, which has to be sown in spring or early summer to provide enough seed over the winter months.

“That may sound obvious enough, but the challenging autumn and winter have played havoc with many farms’ rotations and cropping, which will have a knock-on effect into next year.

“Changes in rotation need to factor in commitments made under SFI agreements.

“Where a situation is likely to impact this, farmers should seek advice as soon as possible.”

Mr Wardrop also advises careful choice of seed mixtures.

“The desire to minimise seed costs has led to some cheaper mixes in the market, but I would advise growers to think carefully and look at the contents.

“A good herbal ley, for example, should last several years and we want to optimise the agronomic benefit, so you can’t skimp too hard on the herbs.

“We need to ensure the mix is fit for purpose, both to deliver the soil health benefits and suit the stock that will be grazing it.

“An additional few pounds per ha is not much to pay for peace of mind and will likely be more cost effective in the long run.”

SFI – choosing herbicides in the preceding crop

Where options such as multispecies cover crops are to be grown, great care must be taken when choosing herbicides in the preceding crop, says Mr Wardrop.

Growers should observe following crop restrictions and plan accordingly to ensure that crops grown for SFI are not compromised by herbicide residues.

“The few examples above hopefully illustrate why I am convinced that planning is an integral part of implementing SFI successfully on farm,” says Mr Wardrop.

*For growers not yet in SFI, a cap of 25% of a farm’s area has been applied to six key SFI actions which may impact some plans. Agrovista’s Rural Consultancy team is available to help with these decisions and to help implement the best possible SFI agreements for your farm.

Maintaining profitability with the Sustainable Farming Incentive

It is our job to help our customers make the most of these payments and ensure the best mix of actions is chosen for their farming system.

This requires very careful consideration. In many cases overall levels of support will be lower than farms had been receiving under BPS, so it is essential that farms implement actions that can increase profitability.

Taking advantage of grants to fund more efficient practice, providing environmental benefits on less productive areas and using actions which benefit soil health are all areas which can contribute to the overall resilience of a farming business.

© Agrovista

Picking the right partner given what is at stake is essential.

Agrovista Rural Consultancy can draw on the necessary technical and business expertise required to fulfil those aims with an enviable track record in crop production, with more than 60 years of experience in the field.

In addition, we have had a Rural Consultancy arm for the past 20 years offering an extensive range of services across all sectors of farming, with a particular emphasis on stewardship schemes, nutrient planning/compliance and grants.

Agrovista’s technical approach to SFI – Lamport AgX

Our agronomists can, in many cases, draw on years of cropping information, including mapping and yield data, which they can share with their Rural Consultancy colleagues.

This gives us and our customers the information we need to decide together which options are most suitable and how we can incorporate these as seamlessly as possible into the farming business.

Agrovista is in the main a technical company, focused on growing crops as successfully and profitably as possible.

We maintain this technical approach in choosing SFI actions that deliver an environmental benefit whilst complementing the productivity of the farm.

Thanks to our comprehensive and well-established resources, we are well placed to do this.

For example, Lamport AgX, Agrovista’s flagship trials site in Northamptonshire, has been carrying out and evaluating trials work for the past 13 years, including soil health, cultural weed control and alternative/reduced inputs, all of which are now key areas within agricultural policy.

© Agrovista

This transition period presents both challenges and opportunity, and with the right advice, we believe farms can harness this new era, seeding improvements that can help boost a farm’s productivity and resilience.

Maximising SFI benefits

In order to extract the maximum benefit from SFI we believe that it is essential to fully embrace all of the actions rather than treating them as box-ticking exercises to attract a payment.

For example, providing multispecies winter cover crops (CSAM2) attracts a payment of £129/ha and, whilst most farms can implement this action for less than the payment rate, the real benefit comes from unlocking the soil health benefits which cover crops can provide if done correctly.

Another key example of this would be producing an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Plan (CIPM1). This action attracts an annual payment of £1,129 per annum.

Whilst the payment itself is attractive, we encourage growers to use this opportunity to revisit modern IPM practices.

We look to apply IPM to all areas of production from the soil up, as growing healthy competitive crops is an essential part of process.

With fertiliser use, our research programme has identified products and practices which can greatly reduce reliance on bagged fertiliser whilst maintaining yield and improving soil health.

Practices such as these not only provide considerable cost savings but also have a positive environmental impact.

For more information, visit our Rural Consultancy website area.