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Sustainable farming incentive
Financial reward for actions that benefit the environment
CXCS are experienced in completing a wide range of grant applications and are now taking on SFI24 applications. If you are interested in applying for an agreement, our Stewardship & Grants team are available to go through the scheme options with you and identify which actions could work for your farming business.
The SFI 2024 offer replaces the SFI 23 offer and adds over 50 new actions to the scheme, including some amended actions that were previously part of the CS Mid Tier scheme. SFI 2023 closed for applications at midnight on Monday 10th June.
The offer in 2024
The expanded SFI offer will be open to new entrants for the first time and will initially comprise 102 actions (including some former CS options). Applicants will no longer have to have applied for BPS in years 2022 and 2023, and designed in collaboration with the agricultural sector, 20 new actions options are included to support more sustainable food production. The scheme offers payments for precision farming, agroforestry, a new and expanded offer for upland farmers and more actions for tenants on short-term contracts. The full list of actions and payment rates for SFI can be found on the GOV.UK ‘Find funding for land or farms’ page.
For new SFI applications, read ‘SFI expanded offer for 2024’ on GOV.UK and complete the expression of interest survey to be invited to apply, ahead of the offer being fully self-service and open to all eligible applicants.
Applying for an SFI agreement
If you are interested in applying for an SFI agreement, our Stewardship & Grants team are available to go through the scheme options with you and identify which actions could work for your farm. If you then decide that you want to apply for an agreement, we can also complete and submit the application on your behalf. Our fees for completing an application also cover providing some additional paperwork such as the soil management plan.
Payment rates
In January, Defra reviewed and updated SFI payment rates based on current costs. Where the 2024 rate has increased, the higher payment rate will be paid for applications received in 2024.
Management payments
In addition to being paid for SFI actions, there is a £40/ha management payment for the first 50ha entered into an SFI agreement. This reduces to £20/ha for years 2 and 3 and does not apply to agreement level actions.
SFI annual health and welfare review
The annual health and welfare review is part of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer, but has a separate application process to SFI24. If you are a livestock farmer, you can get funding for a vet, or team chosen by a vet, to visit your farm and carry out a health and welfare review of eligible livestock.
Regulation approach: advise and prevent
Defra will continue to prioritise an ‘advise and prevent’ approach across schemes and regulation to make things fairer for all farmers participating in schemes.
Further help & advice
For further advice, or help with applying for an SFI agreement, please contact our Stewardship & Grants team on 01981 590514.
