New changes to the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) for 2024 will be made, including increased payments and new options such as support for precision farming and uplands and moorlands.
Defra Secretary Steve Barclay announced at today's Oxford Farming Conference the 'biggest upgrade' to the UK's post-Brexit farming schemes since the UK left the EU.
Updates include funding uplifts, streamlined application processes, enhanced environmental incentives and support for the roll out of new technology.
There will be a 10% increase in the average value of agreements in the SFI and Countryside Stewardship driven by increased payment rates, with uplifts automatically applied to existing agreements.
Around 50 new actions have been announced that farmers can get paid for, including actions for agroforestry and those driving forward agricultural technology such as robotic mechanical weeding.
Mr Barclay also unveiled enhanced payments for ‘creation’ and ‘maintenance’ options to improve the long term incentives for farmers to create habitats.
And premium payments for actions with the biggest environmental impact have been unveiled, such as £765 per hectare for nesting plots for lapwing, and £1,242 per hectare for connecting river and floodplain habitat.
Mr Barclay said at the conference: "We have listened to farmers’ feedback and set out the biggest upgrades to our farming schemes since leaving the EU.
"We’re also making it easier for farmers of every farm type and size to enter the schemes, and I encourage everyone to take a look at how you can join."
The NFU has welcomed the new measures, saying they would provide further clarity for farming businesses in order to plan for the future.
Vice president David Exwood said: “Confirmation of plans to build on the Countryside Stewardship scheme with a developed and improved offer for 2024 is also welcome, including further new and enhanced options for access and wildfire management."
However, he said the industry still had more questions than answers around the deliverability of these new options.
With a minimum of 50% reduction in BPS due in 2024, the tapering of these payments to 2027 'continues to be very concerning'.
"We urgently need business critical detail on how farmers and growers will smoothly transition from existing agreements to the new offer," Mr Exwood added.
“We repeat our calls for Defra to undertake a mid-term review – an urgent assessment is needed of the agricultural transition on food production and farm business viability."
Farmers will be able to submit their SFI and CS applications for the 2024 offer from this summer.
Today’s announcement builds on a series of other improvements made to the farming schemes in 2023.
According to Defra, around 8,000 farmers to date have applied to the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2023.
