Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) set for 2022 early rollout
On Wednesday, the Secretary of State, George Eustice, announced the next stage of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) under the Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme.
The SFI will be formally launched in 2022 and will be open to any business currently eligible for BPS. While additional standards will be launched at a later date, the initial roll-out of the SFI will have three standards available. These are;
- Arable and horticultural soil standard,
- Improved grassland soil standard,
- Moorland and rough grazing standard.
Under each of the standards, there will be three levels available: introductory, intermediate, and advance with payments per hectare increasing as you move through the levels, although you will be required to meet all criteria under each stage before progressing to the next one. Under the Arable and Horticultural Soils standard, the Government has published indicative payment rates of;
- Introductory: £26 per hectare
- Intermediate: £41 per hectare
- Advance: £60 per hectare
DEFRA will further expand the scheme with a full range of options by 2024, at which point, it will be opened up to a wider range of farmers and land managers.
In addition to the three soil standards, there will also be an Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, which will fund yearly visits from a vet, providing diagnostic testing and advice on improving livestock health and welfare. Payments will range from £269-£775 per annum.
The team at Wilson Wraight are actively monitoring the progress of ELM and the SFI in order to ensure that our clients are best placed to benefit from the new schemes. We will continue to keep you updated as we learn additional information. If you have any questions about the launch, please contact our office and we would be happy to discuss the announcement in further detail.