We now know that the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) will be opening again in two stages this year.
- Window 1 in June, for farms between 3 and 50 hectares and those that are not currently in an Environmental Land Management (ELM) revenue agreement. This window is planned to be open for two months, but it might close before then if the budget is fully allocated. Therefore, it is best to plan and submit early.
- Window 2 opens in September for all farms, but currently has no fixed end date, as it will depend on how many farmers will apply.
Agreements will be capped to one application per SBI (Single Business Identifier) number at £100,000.
You can read Defra’s latest blog that details the recent SFI announcement here.
Although the number of actions has been reduced to 71 from over a hundred, all those that can provide food, nesting habitat and water for Turtle Doves remain available and are set out in the table below.
Food – abundant and accessible seed-rich habitat, ideally from arable plants: |
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| Action | Code | Payment rate (per hectare unless otherwise stated) |
| Cultivated areas for arable plants* | AHW11 | £660 |
| Enhanced overwinter stubble* | AHW7 | £589 |
| Unharvested cereal headland* | AHW9 | £1,072 |
| Low-input harvested cereal crop | AHW10 | £354 |
| Pollen and nectar flower mix* | CAHL1 | £739 |
Nesting – thick, thorny scrub or tall, wide, thorny hedgerows: |
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| Create scrub and open habitat mosaics | SCR1 | £588 |
| Manage scrub and open habitat mosaics | SCR2 | £350 |
| Manage hedgerows | CHRW2 | £13/100m one side |
Water – restored ponds and ditches: |
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| Manage ponds | WBD1 | £257/pond (max 3/ha) |
| Manage ditches | WBD2 | £4/100m both sides |
*These actions are some of the ten which are part of the 25% area cap limit.
We have advisers in Hampshire, Sussex, Kent, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire who will provide free, expert advice and guidance, supporting you to find the best funding opportunities for your farm. Their contact details can be found here.
