This Week in Farming: SFI, sunflowers, and manure in court

Welcome back to This Week in Farming, your one-stop shop for the best Farmers Weekly content from the past seven days.

First, here’s your markets (opens as PDF), with a notable slide in the price of red diesel which, with field work well under way, may be very useful.

Now, on with the show.

SFI slams shut

Inheritance tax may still be the biggest governmental grievance for Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh growers, but English farmers were astounded this week when Defra shut the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme to new applicants without warning.

Described as the “cruellest betrayal” by the Country Land and Business Association and a “shattering blow” by the NFU, the news also saw environmental NGOs react with concern.

That’s understandable when many might be thinking along the same lines as this Bedfordshire farmer – about which environmental projects to rip up.

In my editorial, I ponder whether we should have seen this moment coming, while we also have initial advice from farm consultants on what steps to take next – particularly if you’re among the farmers who are shut out.

The news came this week of the NFU’s latest survey of farmer sentiment, with confidence in the sector now at an all-time low.

Diversification decision

For some, these developments may renew interest in other sources of non-farming income.

This week, we also have an update on why developers are rushing to sign up landowners for renewable energy projects after the government changed the approval process.

Others will be eyeing up cost savings, and for maize growers, this piece on how one farmer cut costs and improved work rates by moving to a strip-till drill will be of interest.

Driver’s views

Hanging on to older kit for longer (or buying used rather than new) is a popular way of keeping hold of cash, and that’s exactly what the machinery team have been focused on this week.

They’ve spoken to three drivers with a lot of experience piloting older-but-popular tractors in the 180-200hp bracket – the John Deere 6155R, the Massey 7718 Dyna-6, and the New Holland T7.210.

In other notable news, John Deere has revealed a crowd-pleasing rule change to make it easier for owners and independent workshops to carry out maintenance and repairs rather than require a main dealer callout.

Crop disease focus

There may have been a cold snap at the end of this week, but plenty of work is under way, so the arable team have pulled together all the latest topical disease control advice.

With the launch of two new fungicides last season, the market is more crowded for products to use at T1 and T2 – we ask the experts what to consider.

Tackling ramularia in barley can be a particularly tricky issue, so freelancer Alice Dyer runs through what these new products mean for this disease in particular.

And finally, our expert Crop Watch agronomists provide their weekly update on what’s happening in each region, with pigeons, grassweeds and disease all debated.

Who’s up and who’s down?

It’s been a tough week for the NFU, not just with the SFI news, but also after losing a significant High Court battle over the legal status of chicken manure.

In a move which may impose additional burdens on poultry producers, the judge sided with charity River Action and Herefordshire County Council to declare manure must be deemed waste, rather than a by-product.

There’s a bright future for one of the UK’s most dazzling crops though – sunflowers – according to co-operative United Oilseeds, which opened the first UK marketing pool for the crop last year, and it is anticipating a return in the region of £450/t for growers.

Listen to the podcast

Don’t forget to tune in to the FW Podcast, with Johann Tasker, Louise Impey and Hugh Broom.

You’ll find it anywhere you listen to podcasts, or free to listen to on our website.