The SFI 2024 expanded offer: the latest update from Defra
With the first Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) expanded offer agreements going live, the CLA provides an important update for members to help understand the complexities of the scheme
The first official Defra communications on the agricultural transition in England have been given under the new government. Whilst the announcement this week was light on detail, it did at least formalise Labour’s support for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) expanded offer and the wider Environmental Land Management (ELM) programme. In its own words, the government has pledged it will not ‘overturn the applecart and is fully committed to Environmental Land Management schemes.’
This is welcome news. Though the testing of the SFI expanded offer has continued in the background over the summer, neither Defra nor the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) were able to promote the scheme due to pre-election rules.
The details of the SFI expanded offer remain unchanged from before the election. The scheme includes 102 actions, combining new actions, the SFI 23 offer, and over 50 actions from the Countryside Stewardship (CS) Mid-Tier scheme. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) has published an analysis of the latest SFI expanded offer on their four model farms. A review of which the CLA reported here.
Contrary to some reports that the SFI expanded offer was open to all from 22 July, the route to participation remains the expression of interest process for the time being, and those interested can sign up here. The RPA has also recently released a video explaining how to apply.
The other newsworthy aspect to the latest Defra announcement was the launch of eight new capital grants, seven of which are to incentivise the creation of agroforestry systems and one which will fund the mapping of moorland habitats. These capital grants have been incorporated within the existing capital grants offer which continues to remain open for applications and includes over 75 separate items.
CLA analysis
The new and stackable actions in the SFI expanded offer provide additional payment opportunities for members. This includes farmers already participating in SFI 23, CS and to a lesser extent, Higher Level Stewardship (HLS).
We know there are around 24,000 SFI 23 agreements and 40,000 CS and HLS agreements across England. CLA analysis suggests that these agreements cover around 86% of eligible farmland in the country, though some new actions can be stacked on top of this area. For many businesses therefore, the challenge will be working out if and how to combine the new actions with existing agreements. The advantage of the application system is that it screens for compatibility between selected and existing actions in each parcel, speeding up the process.
The testing of the SFI expanded offer application system is progressing, and as of 1 August, the first expanded offer agreements went live. However, it is fair to say that the testing process has thrown up some challenges, particularly with regards to combining the offer with some CS revenue options. Until these are addressed, it is likely that applications will continue to be controlled via the expressions of interest system. The RPA is confident that these issues will be addressed and that the number of live agreements will pick up towards the end of the year in a similar fashion to the rollout of the SI 23 offer.
As always, the CLA Land Use team is eager to hear from members on their experiences of engaging with the SFI and other schemes. We continue to regularly share member issues with Defra and the RPA to improve the schemes, so please contact cameron.hughes@cla.org.uk to share your experiences and point of view.
