Taking part in a Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) farm walk has been described by one farmer as a 'huge advantage' in planning for the future.
GSC Grays, in partnership with NFU North, have hosted a series of walks to help farmers understand how the post-Brexit system of support can benefit their farm.
The aim is to give an overview based on how the host farm operates, allowing time for questions and discussion amongst the farmers in attendance.
The walks have taken place on farms in Thirsk, Northallerton, Lancaster, Skipton, Alnwick and South of York covering mixed farming operations along with arable, beef and sheep, upland and dairy.
Each walk takes half a day and finishes with lunch and networking for those in attendance.
James Mills, a sheep and arable farmer near York who participated, said the walks had been a 'huge advantage' to his business.
He said: “The starting point is that it is free and it gives you an opportunity to get another pair of eyes to look at the business and analyse what the options are.
“Sometimes it sticks in the throat that the Basic Payment Scheme has been divvied up and handed to folks who are not delivering on the ground.
"But once we looked at it in the context of SFI and understanding the intricate details behind the different standards, that is where the benefit does start to come back.
“It has kicked off conversations at home in terms of what we already do and what we can build on in the future if that is the direction that we choose to go in.
"We recognise we are not going to get it all back, but if we can get something to supplement the farming income we make then now is the time to do it.”
GSC Grays says it is able to provide half day on-farm SFI reviews to all farmers who have a valid SBI number.
This free service allows a consultant to advise on a case by case basis the SFI options that will work best for the farm and the objectives of the farmer.
The SFI half day review is delivered as part of the GSC Grays Farm Business Advice Service which is funded through Defra’s Future Farming Resilience Fund.
When are the next walks?
The next series will take place in January 2024 at:
• 9 January, tenanted upland farm, Sowerby Bridge
• 18 January, mixed beef, sheep and arable farm at Welburn, Kirkbymoorside
• 23 January Newcastle University farm
• 25 January, upland grassland at Westerdale near Whitby
