Six additional standards announced for the SFI

The Sustainable Farming Incentive pays farmers to carry out farming activities in a more environmentally sustainable way so that food can be produced alongside environmental goods and services. DEFRA has announced that they will be introducing 6 new standards this year, that are going to be available from the summer, these are:

• nutrient management standard integrated pest management standard

• hedgerows standard

• arable and horticultural land standard

• improved grassland standard

• low/no input grassland standard

Defra has set out actions under each of the new standards, each action has its own aim. The integrated pest management standard for example has four actions:

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Integrated pest management Complete and integrated pest management (IPM) assessment and produce an IPM plan

You must not burn heather, rough grass, bracken, gorse or vaccinium in upland areas from this date (GAEC 6) £989/annum

Integrated pest management No use of insecticide

Integrated pest management Establish a companion crop

Integrated pest management Establish and maintain flower-rich margins, blocks or in field strips

Key Dates

16 April 2023

Cross Compliance

30 April 2023 Cross Compliance

You must have recorded the number of ‘specified’ livestock kept on your farm during the previous calendar year and calculated the amount of nitrogen they produced. You must also record the number and type of livestock in a building or hardstanding during the previous storage period (SMR1)

£45/acre

You must not carry out hedge or tree coppicing or hedge laying from this date (GAEC7a and 7c) £55/acre

Establish flower rich grass margins so there are flowering plants during summer months into early autumn. £673/acre

You must not burn heather, rough grass, bracken, gorse or vaccinium in upland areas from this date (GAEC 6)

You must have recorded the number of ‘specified’ livestock kept on your farm during the previous calendar year and calculated the amount of nitrogen they produced. You must also record the number and type of livestock in a building or hardstanding during the previous storage period (SMR1)

1 May 2023

Cross Compliance

You must not carry out hedge or tree coppicing or hedge laying from this date (GAEC7a and 7c) schem fishergerman.co.uk

01858 410200 farms@fishergerman.co.uk