New SFI Update Requires Technical Expertise

Paul Brown, Senior GI Remote Sensing Specialist at Fera, explains that now is the time for you to invest in getting a complete picture of the potential of your land to make the most of SFI actions available from August.

How can farmers and land owners make the most of SFI options available?

It has been a step in the right direction after further clarification was given by the government on the new sustainable farming incentive (SFI), that goes live in August.

But making the most of the actions and realising the full potential of the funding on large areas of farmland will still demand in-depth analysis.

Now is the time for you to invest in getting a complete picture of the potential of your land to make the most of the 23 actions available from August and find out how these can be stacked with Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMS).

How practical will it be for land managers to benefit from the schemes?

Although it is thought that the overall SFI framework will go some way to replacing the outgoing basic farm payment scheme (BPS), it is dependent on land managers and farmers choosing the right mix of options for their specific farm situation.

Juggling multiple parcels of land and the pressures that come with running a farm business means time is precious.

Making the most of the opportunities that these new SFI actions provide, by stacking them and combining options on features, will not be a simple exercise.

What services can help with SFI?

LAND360 from Fera Science is a valuable service to invest in because it can measure and map natural capital baselines on farmland accurately. This provides accurate data to:

• Benchmark
• Plan
• Monitor progress from
• Provide the required evidence to secure scheme funding

It can help estate managers and farmers capitalise on a ‘pick and mix’ of the 23 confirmed SFI actions within the environmental land management (ELM) scheme.

How can options be stacked together?

Using the example of hedgerows, now that actions can be combined, farmers could benefit from stacking the below options:

• £3 per 100 metres for assessing and recording hedgerow condition
• £10 per 100 meters for action for managing one side of a hedgerow
• £10 per 100m to maintain or establish hedgerow trees 

In order to claim this total of £23 per 100 meters of hedgerow, you will need to know exactly what the initial measurement of the existing hedgerows are, as well as having a way to accurately measure and monitor growth and change.

This is where LAND360 can help is by providing maps with the right level of detail, right down to biodiversity and ecological features, to support SFI applications and claims on the new options.

It applies the latest science and uses up-to-date satellite images to build a clear picture, or ‘map’ of the different aspects of natural capital within a farm’s boundary, including fields, margins, hedgerows, woodland and water features.

The baseline is just the start of the LAND360 journey, once this complete picture is mapped out, the Fera team can support with the process of deciding which of the new actions, options, private funding or combinations are the most appropriate for the farm business, all of which is backed up by our science.

To find out more about Fera and what the LAND360 services can do visit: https://www.fera.co.uk/land360-land-management

View the LAND360 case study of Helmingham Estate to see how they are already using the service across the farmland and estate: https://blog.fera.co.uk/land360/blog/helmingham-estate-case-study