Latest news with #naturefriendly
BBC News
29-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Somerset farmers aim to go green without SFI grants
When the government axed the Sustainable Farming Incentive, many farmers said the loss of cash incentives to grow nature-friendly crops would leave them facing a hard choice was between growing as much food as possible to make a profit, or looking after nature while losing money in the some farmers argue it is possible to do Stanley raises beef cattle entirely on untouched grass pastures at Lilliput Farm near Bath, a practice which substantially reduces carbon emissions. "This is working because of public demand," he what is he doing to make his farm more sustainable, and how does he make it pay? Can you raise a low-carbon cow? Aidan and his dad Oliver walk me up an old valley just north of Bath. The land has been pasture meadow since royalist forces drew up their lines on Lansdown Hill above us, in the English Civil War in the 1600s."These oak trees were mostly planted in the 18th Century," remarks Stanleys' farming style is as old as the meadow. They allow grass to grow, with wildflowers and among plenty of trees, then move the cattle onto it to graze. The old trees help store carbon, and the meadow has not been ploughed in hundreds of years."The cattle just eat grass from the pasture and hay made from it in the winter - nothing else," says Oliver. This is more radical than it may sound. Most of us only see cows when they are eating grass out in the most cows spend a lot more time in barns, eating grain."Most cattle in the UK is grain-fed for most of its life," explains Aidan."In fact 'grass-fed' labels [in supermarkets] mean only that a cow has eaten grass for 51% of its life."So what? Does it matter if cows eat grain?"Because we don't use grain that saves more carbon on the fertiliser that would have been used in the transport and the processing," Aidan added. Is the meat more expensive? Farming like this has its costs, of cows grow more slowly - typically taking three years to reach a full weight before they are slaughtered, compared with just 15 months for conventional beef to allow the grass time to grow back, farmers tend to have fewer cattle and more fields than typical beef farms, meaning that per acre, per year, the beef is more do they make it pay then?The answer is right next to the field of cows: their own restaurant. "The restaurant makes this work," explains Aidan. "This is the main outlet for our beef."At lunchtime the restaurant sells sausages and beefburgers, the latter from the farm's own cows of course, alongside high-end vegetarian dishes. Sunday roasts are popular with families, and in its first year the restaurant had 22,000 adds: "As the government withdraws support for sustainable farming it is going to be harder for people to do this, but it's reassuring that this is working because of public demand." Can every farm go green without grants? Of course, not every farm can open its own restaurant. And the country need farmers supplying ordinary shops with everyday can other farmers follow these more sustainable systems, and still turn a profit?While visiting the farm, I meet Jimmy Woodrow, who runs Pasture for Life. His organisation persuades farmers to raise cattle entirely on grass, and they have certified Lilliput insists that this kind of green farming can save farmers money. He explains: "If you're reducing your costs on things like feed, fertiliser, vet and medical costs, you going to have more profit on each cow. The challenge for smaller farms, is how many animals do you need to make a living? It's a lot."And this is where he thinks government does have a role. "There are lots of farmers who are doing a fantastic job for nature, while being profitable, but they need government support if they are to scale up and produce more food," he says. Since the government closed the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme in March, they have been consulting on a replacement. Officials told me the "improved SFI scheme" will be launched in the summer.A government spokesperson said: "The scheme will target public funds more effectively to meet the needs of both farmers and the environment."
The Independent
12-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Around 3,000 farmers can apply for closed nature farming scheme after ‘error'
Thousands of farmers who had started applications for nature-friendly farming payments before the scheme was abruptly shut will have the chance to apply for funding. The Government caused uproar when it announced on March 11 that the sustainable farming incentive (SFI), which pays farmers in England for 'public goods' such as insecticide-free farming, wildflower strips and managing ponds and hedgerows, was fully allocated for this year. At the time it said it had stopped accepting new applications for the incentive – the largest part of the new environmental land management (Elms) programme which has replaced EU-era farming subsidies – with immediate effect. But ministers have apologised for confusion caused by a message 'shown in error' when people started an application and saved it, which told them they would receive six weeks' notice if the Government needed to close applications. The message, which was shown alongside one correctly telling farmers their application would be available for two months before being deleted if not submitted, 'should not have been included and I apologise for the confusion it caused', food security and rural affairs minister Daniel Zeichner said. Around 3,000 farmers who started applications after January 12 but had not submitted them when the scheme was halted will now be able to apply for funding up to £9,300 a year – the average value for existing agreements for this year – with restrictions. Mr Zeichner acknowledged the restrictions were not in the original scheme but said they had been put in place to be fair and reasonable to affected applicants while also 'ensuring the prudent use of public money'. In a written ministerial statement Mr Zeichner said the budget for this year's scheme had already been fully allocated and the extra applications would have to be funded from other areas of the Environment Department (Defra's) budget. He also said that 'every penny' committed through more than 37,000 live SFI agreements that were in place before March 11 would continue to be paid to farmers over the coming years, and all eligible applications submitted before applications closed had been taken forward. The Government is planning to reform the SFI scheme and has promised to provide more details about the new programme later in the summer. The announcement comes after the National Farmers' Union (NFU) co-ordinated threatened legal action over Defra's failure to give the proper notice period for the closure of the scheme, claiming more than 6,000 farmers had started applications when the scheme was suddenly scrapped. NFU president Tom Bradshaw said: 'The Government's abrupt and wholly unacceptable decision to close the scheme was always wrong. 'While it's good to see an acknowledgement that the decision to close the scheme was flawed, we are disappointed by the constraints imposed which will still leave many farmers unfairly disadvantaged. 'This is a really critical time for the farming industry, and while today's announcement falls short of what our members deserve, this issue highlights the NFU at its very best, working with its members to stand up for what we believe is right.' Martin Lines, chief executive of the Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN), said: 'The Government's decision to review the position of farmers who had started to put SFI applications in is welcome. 'The speed of closure was harsh and didn't give the six weeks' notification stated on the website. 'However, this doesn't help all the farmers who were not able to get their applications started due to work pressures. There is also a clear need to improve the system for SFI.'
