Boost for soils payments in SFI 2023

With applications for the latest Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) opening in August I’ve been involved in AHDB’s analysis around soils payment in the updated programme.

One of the key points from our analysis of last year’s scheme was that more money was needed for participating farmers to operate profitable businesses – and it seems Defra has listened.

Looking at grassland soils we found the increase in net payment between last year’s scheme and the one set to be introduced next month is nine-fold in year one and seven-fold in years two and three.

It’s a similar story for arable soils, where a payment for multi-species winter cover crops looks set to be the main driver behind a big rise.

It’s clear things are moving in the right direction in terms of payments for farmers as the Government attempts to meet its environmental targets. But it’s important to say that different farms will be impacted in different ways, based on the existing set-up of the farm, practices that are already being carried out, and the scope to make changes while incurring little extra cost.

So, it’s worth planning and investigating which actions work for you and your farm going forward.