The Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB) has unveiled its new online tool that aims to provide “bespoke support” for farmers hoping to apply for the upcoming Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme (SFI) windows.
AHDB outlined that this resource has been rolled out to farmers to help them grasp a better understanding of how SFI actions “could impact their individual businesses and support more informed decision-making.”
The tool allows users to estimate their potential income from the scheme and the cost of implementing the SFI actions, giving farmers a rough picture of the “likely net financial benefit once costs are considered.”
The tool is designed to allow users to input information relevant to their farming enterprise, “providing a more accurate, tailored and practical assessment of options.”
AHDB also noted that the SFI tool also aims to provide continued support for farmers, who were affected by the transition away from the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), while helping others that are exploring opportunities under this year’s scheme across the cereals and oilseeds, beef and lamb, dairy, and pork sectors.
Tool
By translating SFI actions into important business metrics such as income, AHDB noted that its new online tool hopes to HELP farmers in achieving the following four goals:
- Identifying which SFI actions are financially worthwhile;
- Understanding where on the farm those actions make the most sense;
- Assessing the opportunity cost of taking land out of production;
- Exploring how different actions work together when combined.
Dr. Amandeep Kaur Purewal, who is a senior economist at AHDB, said that the SFI tool’s design was tailored based on farmer feedback from the development board’s previous work on the scheme.
She commented: “AHDB’s previous work on the SFI, including our stacking analysis, was based on assumptions of model farms.
“While that was a useful starting point, farmers really wanted to know ‘What does selecting specific SFI actions mean for my farm?’. “
“By focusing on both income and costs, it enables farmers to move beyond simply asking ‘What could I be paid?’ to understanding ‘What will this mean for my bottom line?’.
AHDB reminded farmers about the upcoming dates for SFI application windows, with the first window set to open for small farms and those without an existing Environmental Land Management (ELM) agreement from June 30 onwards.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is expected to open the second application window to all farms in September this year, according to the AHDB.
The online SFI tool can be found on AHDB’s website.