Soil health


Farmers to be paid up to £70/ha for healthier soils


F


armers will be able to earn up to £70/ha to improve the health of their soil under the govern-


ment’s forthcoming Sustainable Farm- ing Incentive (SFI).


Defra secretary George Eustice con-


fi rmed the payment rate following a speech at last month’s Cereals event. Farmers would receive £21-70/ha de- pending on the measures they under- take, he told reporters at Boothby Graf- foe, Lincolnshire. Mr Eustice said: “Soil health is the key to delivering our targets on the en- vironment and improving farm profi t- ability. Well managed soils can lead to increased biodiversity, improved water quality and reduced carbon emissions.” The SFI is due to open next year following a pilot version this autumn. Mr Eustice said it would eventually be open to all farmers in England – en- couraging more sustainable soil and grassland management. Forming the entry-level tier part of the forthcoming Environmental Land


Management (ELM) scheme, the SFI will include actions to improve soil health and water quality, enhance hedgerows and promote integrated pest management. Defra says the SFI will include three different soil health standards: one on arable and horticultural soil, one on improved grassland soil, a third on moorland and rough grazing. More modules will be added later.


Green fertilisers Mr Eustice said: “I’m also interested in whether we can do more to incentiv- ise the use of green fertilisers, whether there can be more on min and no-till systems and also whether more can be done on companion crops.” The ELM scheme is being phased in as the basic payment scheme is phased out. Mr Eustice said he had always been clear that the quid pro quo for moving away from the BPS was to re- ward farmers properly for looking af- ter the environment.


Scheme payment principles


The Sustainable Farming Incentive will be rolled out next spring – following a pilot version due to get under way this autumn. It will form the entry-level tier of the


Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme. Two further tiers will include local nature recovery projects to boost biodiversity and broader interventions such as landscape recovery initiatives. The government has committed to


maintain farm support at its current level of £2.4bn per year for the duration of this parliament. By 2028, it says spending will be split evenly across the three ELM tiers. Defra has now published four guiding


principles setting out the approach to environmental scheme payments. It says payment rates will be set to encourage wide participation – fairly and eff ectively paying farmers for achieving these outcomes.


The principles are that:


• Payments should provide good value for money and achieve ambitious environment and climate change outcomes. • Payments should, as far as possible, pay for environmental outcomes by recognising and rewarding the full range of activities that achieve environmental and climate outcomes • Payments should recognise the value of existing natural assets and do not unfairly disadvantage those who are already achieving good environmental and climate outcomes • Payments should form part of a market for environmental outcomes where scheme participants can earn income from public and private sector sources Information on how and what will be paid


through each scheme will be shared when each of the schemes is launched.


The scheme will include three standards to improve soil health


“We need to start to have payment rates attached to the Sustainable Farming Incentive that better refl ect the cost associated with those options which are set at a rate which genuine- ly creates an incentive for farmers to take part.”


The SFI would also help to acceler- ate the widespread adoption of more sustainable approaches to agriculture. These include enhancing the natural environment, reducing carbon emis- sions, and improving animal health and welfare.


Mr Eustice said: “We’re starting with soils because farmers understand the importance of their soils and soils health. If they get these things right it will improve their profi tability.” Defra says it is designing the


scheme to attract the widest possi- ble range of farmers. It hopes at least 70% of eligible farms will take part by 2028. More than 2000 farmers have already expressed an interest in join- ing the pilot..


Some standards – schemes within the SFI – will be made available from next year alongside existing schemes like Countryside Stewardship. It will see more farmers rewarded for bring- ing land into environmental manage- ment.


AUGUST 2021 • MIDLAND FARMER 19


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