On the 26th of September, the Welsh Government introduced an Agriculture Bill to the Senedd to establish a new system of farm support, based on the framework of Sustainable Land Management (SLM). This will underpin future farm support in Wales, with farmers being financially rewarded for delivering SLM outcomes through the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS).
The Sustainable Farming Scheme
The Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), which is similar to the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) introduced in England, is the closest replacement to the existing Basic Payment Scheme (BPS). Under the scheme, farmers will be financially rewarded for actions that the Welsh Government thinks will deliver benefits to both the individual farm, the environment, animal health and welfare and wider society. Following the latest round of co-design, final decisions on the scheme, including the actual funding and payment rates, will be presented in 2023.
The scheme will be supported through a new advisory service the ‘Farming Connect’ programme, and the adoption of basic benchmarking using simple Key Performance Indicators (KPI). This will take the form of an annual self-assessment against minimum sector KPIs.
The scheme will be made up of three distinct layers, each with different levels of funding and requirements, which are higher the more you choose to do.
The first layer includes a number of ‘Universal Actions’ which must be undertaken by all farmers involved. Following this there are two further ‘Optional’ and ‘Collaborative’ layers which consist of more complicated, focused actions which involve collective work with other farmers.
Universal Actions
These mandatory actions will provide a baseline payment for participation, although how this figure is calculated is yet to be established. There will be capital items available.
- Complete an annual KPI self-assessment
- Set up dedicated secure stores for deadstock
- Operate pest control programmes
- Report the average amount of antibiotics used on the farm
- Manage peatland appropriately
- Create habitat features on land if 10% of the farm doesn’t currently have these. This can include trees, hedges, and shelter belts
- Restore and manage wildlife ponds or create shallow temporary ponds
Optional Actions
A Farmer may choose which additional actions they undertake in this layer, with further payment for the delivery of specific targets depending on what is suitable for the land or landscape feature in question. These will be more complex than the ‘Universal Actions’ or tailored to specific areas of a holding.
- Establish a mixed sward of grasses, legumes and herbs or native wildflowers
- Capital support for rotational and mob grazing infrastructure
- Decarbonise machinery use and farming practices
- Use minimum-tillage or no-tillage methods to cultivate crops
Collaborative Actions
These collaborative projects of at least two farmers include works ranging from creating interconnected habitats across landscapes to developing co-operatives, unified branding and promotion and securing group investment.
- Improve water quality in a catchment
- Establish producer organisations or co-operatives
Other actions
Other actions include the banning of bare fields over the winter. Whilst these proposals aim to be applied across the board there may be exemptions based on a farm’s topography.
There may be payments to encourage slurry store covers, mob grazing, drying poultry manure and growing feed crops. There may also be payments to isolate all incoming animals for at least six days and for having 3-metre-wide fences and hedge boundaries to prevent contact between neighbouring stock.
National Minimum Standards
These minimum standards will be a legal requirement for all farms with no payment provided. There will be advice and guidance available with sanctions and penalties for non-compliance.
Transition support
As the BPS and Glastir payments are phased out, the Welsh government will support businesses in the transition phase whilst the SLM and SFS are established. There will be a ‘stability payment’ from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2029 (although the exact details are yet to be formalised), which implies that BPS will continue in a relatively similar form until 2024.
Find out more at:
Sustainable Farming Scheme (gov.wales)