OPINION Johann Tasker Extra money welcome –but SFI detail still needed

The government's decision to pay an extra £1000 to farmers who join its flagship agri-environment scheme is welcome – but growers and livestock producers will rightly question the motive behind the incentive.

Many farmers have long maintained that existing payments are too low to make the Sustainable Farming Incentive worth the effort. They argue that the amount of work involved in return for little reward would leave them out of pocket.

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Defra farm minister Mark Spencer has now effectively conceded as much by offering an extra £20/ha for the first 50ha to each farm which signs up. He says the additional £1000 will cover the administrative costs of participation.

Mr Spencer says it will also attract smaller farmers – many of whom are tenants –who are currently under-represented in the scheme. The SFI is already paying farmers to improve soil and moorlands – and more standards for 2023 will be published shortly.

This remains a problem for many farmers yet to sign up. They find themselves unable to make an informed decision to join the scheme because they are still waiting for full information about the standards they are expected to meet.

The specifics of how the management payment will be paid are still to be confirmed, although Defra says those participating in the scheme will benefit. For the early adopters who joined the scheme, it is only fair that this is the case

But as the NFU points out, Defra is still expecting farmers to make crucial long-term decisions essential to running viable and profitable businesses without the vital clarity needed on the scheme and the options that will be available.

Understandably, the union has vented frustration that only a few SFI standards are available – yet almost five years have passed since Defra’s Health and Harmony consultation which set England on a path towards the new scheme.

We have said it before and will say it again, if the government really wants farmers to join the scheme, it urgently needs to provide full details, rather than expecting would-be applicants to take a leap in the dark.

Johann Tasker Editor