NFU seeks more details on SFI hedgerow standard

The NFU is seeking further guidance from Defra about how farmers can comply with the entry-level hedgerow standard under the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme.

Defra has introduced a new standard under the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 2023 scheme that pays farmers in England to assess the condition of hedgerows and plan how they can be managed to improve wildlife and biodiversity.

The “HRW1: Assess and record hedgerow condition” standard pays farmers £3/100m for one side of eligible hedgerow per year.

See also: Strong farmer support for hedge planting – if it pays

The NFU says it is good standard that encourages farmers to look at their hedges and document their record and condition, helping them to think about how they can make them better.

However, the union has raised concerns about the levels of record-keeping that may be required under the HRW1, especially considering its relatively low levels of pay.

Farmers must assess the condition of all the hedgerows entered into the action and produce a written hedgerow condition assessment record. If they have already produced a written record in the past five years, they can use it to meet this action.

Detailed guidance

Voluntary guidance on how to assess and record hedgerow condition includes detailed guidance from the People’s Trust for Endangered Species and the Adams Hedgerow Management Scale, which farmers can use to assess hedgerow structure.

NFU vice-president David Exwood said the union was receiving calls from anxious farmer-members who are concerned about the level of workload necessary to meet the requirements for the standard.

Mr Exwood has 62km of hedgerow and 250 parcels of land on his own mixed farm in Horsham, West Sussex, and he is concerned the HRW1 hedgerow standard may be too onerous and many farmers will need to hire a consultant – which would cost more money than they can recoup from completing the standard.

“We want to encourage farmers to fill these in [HRW1] and do their own assessment, but the way they [Defra] have worded it is more open and that’s the challenge,” he said.

Defra response

But Defra says the guidance is only voluntary and there is no standard format for the assessment and it could be completed as a simple survey.

A Defra spokesperson said: “Farmers only need to assess the condition of their hedgerows and produce a written record of that.

“We are not prescribing what assessment they use, but have provided voluntary supporting guidance to aid them.

“We will look at the guidance as part of our ongoing work to make sure everything is as clear and workable as possible for farmers and delivers the intended outcomes.”