Professional services The pilot scheme will start on the region’s farms after harvest


Autumn start-date for pilot


environmental scheme • Farmers paid for environmental work • Short-listed applicants now contacted • Pilot will get under way this October


fra’s new environmental scheme should now work up their appli- cations.


F Some 2,178 farmers responded


to Defra’s call for applicants to join the pilot Sustainable Farming In- centive (SFI). It is one of three new schemes which will reward farm- ers for undertaking environmen- tal work, including climate change mitigation. Defra says it has now contact-


ed shortl-listed candidates who expressed an interest in the SFI. It says those farmers should now start working on their applications ahead of a start-date this October. The pilot SFI will test gov- ernment plans to reward farm- ers for sustainable farming prac- tices. Details about the other two schemes – Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery – will be published later this year. Operating together,


the


schemes will pay for actions that support sustainable farm- ing methods alongside profitable food production. They seek to im- prove animal health and welfare, improve environmental outcomes, and reduce carbon emissions.


armers who successfully ex- pressed an interest in join- ing a pilot version of De-


Habitat creation The schemes will create habitats for nature recovery and make landscape-scale changes. This includes establishing new wood- land, providing key means to de- liver against the goals of the gov- ernment’s 25 Year Environment Plan and Net Zero targets. Defra minister Victoria Prent-


is said: “We want farmers to man- age their businesses in a way that achieves profitable food produc- tion and the recovery of nature. “It is great to see so many farm-


ers wanting to get involved in the Sustainable Farming Incentive pi- lot scheme. We want to design our future policies in conjunction with farmers across England to ensure that they are as straightforward and effective as possible.” Defra said it was working in partnership with the Rural Pay- ments Agency to deliver the pilot. Once up and running, it will gath- er ongoing data from horticulture, dairy, pig, poultry and grazing live- stock farms across England.


Roll-out timetable Participants will take part in a range of activities, providing rap- id feedback on their experience of all aspects of the pilot. This will ensure the scheme is tested, fully


workable and user-friendly once fully rolled out from 2024. In the first phase of the pilot, participants will be able to select from an initial set of eight stand- ards to build their own agree- ments. The standards will pro- mote cleaner air and water, and guard


against environmental


risks such as climate change and flooding. Within each standard there are three levels for participants to choose from: introductory, inter- mediate and advanced. Each level is more challenging – and more re- warding – than the previous level and delivers greater environmen- tal benefits. Defra says there will be more opportunities to participate in future phases of the pilot. More growers and livestock producers will be able to join the progressive roll-out of the SFI scheme from next year. For more on the Sustainable Farming Incentive, see p68-69.


Welcome boost for wedding venues


Rural leaders say they hope lockdown rules restrict- ing on-farm wedding venues will be eased further after a partial relaxation last month. On-farm venues received a boost after the gov- ernment said it was scrapping the 30-person limit on the number of people who can attend wedding ceremonies and receptions from 21 June. But receptions will be table service only. Guests


must wear face coverings indoors and venues must still comply with social distancing. Dancefloors are forbidden inside and dancing outside is strongly advised against – although not illegal. The Country Land and Business Association said rural wedding business owners and soon-to- be-wedded couples would have breathed a sigh


of relief at the announcement after a disastrous 15 months.


CLA president Mark Bridgeman said: This is testimony to the excellent work of the UK Wed- dings Taskforce, which the CLA has been helping on behalf of members operating wedding venues. With some 320,000 weddings said to have been postponed or cancelled since March last year, Mr Bridgeman said 2020 was a catastrophic year for an industry that endured heavy financial losses of around £7bn. “Weddings for 30 people aren’t financially via- ble so the removal of a cap on guests is much-need- ed as the industry tries to recover from Covid-19,” he added.


JULY 2021 • ANGLIA FARMER 61


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