The UK Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot has been launched in England, with a deadline of April 11 for expressions of interest from farmers.
Under the pilot assets that were previously dubbed ineligible features will be valued. It’s designed to support farming that delivers environmental benefits such improved soil health, hedgerows and integrated pest management.
Farmers could be paid to manage and plant hedgerows to provide year-round food, shelter and breeding cover for birds and insects, or to boost organic matter in soils.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) wants to attract several hundred farmers to the first phase of the scheme.
The pilot builds on an ongoing program of trials which involves 3,000 farmers and other land managers. Tests and trials focus individual parts of a future scheme, like land management plans or different payment methods, whereas the new pilot will test a working version of the scheme from start to finish.
The aim is for a scheme that’s fully workable to be rolled out from 2024.
Farmers are eligible if they receive the basic payments scheme and have parcels of land without an existing agri-environment agreement.
The initial pilot standards will promote cleaner air and water, and guard against environmental risks such as climate change and flooding.
Farmers who participate in piloting continue to receive the basic payment scheme.
The UK Sustainable Farming Incentive is a new program that rewards land management that is environmentally friendly.
As a farmer, you have the option of entering into a contract that pays you to take ecologically beneficial measures.
Hedgerows, for example, can be planted and managed all year to offer food, shelter, and breeding cover for birds and insects.
To participate, you do not need any prior expertise with agricultural environmental programmer.
In 2022, the Sustainable Farming Incentive program will begin.
The plan will be tested with farmers before it goes live. This is part of a process known as ‘co-design,’ which involves collaborating with farmers to ensure that the system works in practice.
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