SFI – farmers stuck in limbo need clarity on SFI27
NFU members Peter Hatley (L) and Joe Stanley (R). Photograph: Adam Fradgley (R)
NFU members have been in touch in their droves, expressing frustration about the impact of missing out on SFI26. Here, we hear from two members on the financial, environmental and personal cost of the short-lived SFI26 Window 2.
NFU members Peter Hatley and Joe Stanley describe the ordeal of trying to apply for SFI26 Window 2, including the stresses it caused and the fallout of missing out on the window despite careful planning.
Farmers like Peter and Joe, who desperately need to plan ahead, have been left in limbo – they stress the urgent need for clarity on SFI27 for farm businesses that have delivered for the environment through schemes like the SFI for decades.
Peter Hatley’s story
NFU Cambridgeshire member Peter Hatley’s family has farmed at Landbeach, near Cambridge for almost 100 years.
They have been in environmental schemes for 20 years, seeing the positive impact that Countryside Stewardship and other schemes have had, but Peter fears all that is now at risk after the SFI26 window slammed firmly shut on his application.
‘My heart sank’
Peter, a third-generation farmer and NFU Cambridge branch chair, said: “As soon as any window opens we have always gone into a scheme. That’s why this was such a bitter pill to swallow.
“We prepared a spreadsheet and checked our application again and again. We were as ready as we could be.
“At 10am on the Tuesday, my adviser and I logged onto the system but we soon realised that it was not going well. Every parcel of land on the portal had an error and my heart sank.
“I called the RPA to try and sort it out but it was a total disaster. At 4.10pm, when we thought we were finally winning, we realised the money had run out.
“We were hoping for £150,000 over three years, which is a monumental amount of money for us to lose.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do now. I don’t want to have to rip everything up, and if we had any clarity about when SFI27 is going to open it would make decision making much easier.”
“I’m very concerned about what the future now looks like for us.”
NFU member Peter Hatley
Stewardship key part of farm rotation
Peter farms in partnership with his mother, Veronica Hatley, growing arable crops and running a beef suckler herd. He sees stewardship as a key part of the farm’s rotation.
“We’ve had environmental schemes on the farm for two decades now, including SFI23 and SFI24, which have enabled us to create spaces for nature but without this funding, nature won’t pay the bills and we will be left with no choice but to undo much of what we’ve spent so long working to achieve,” he said.
“The wildlife has blossomed here. We see all manner of bird life, the deer have increased, as have birds of prey. It’s a pleasant experience to be in a tractor now, because that is our office window.
“We’ve planted hedges, taken out field corners and planted pollen and nectar and wild bird mixes, enhancing what we already had. We’re only custodians of this land. We know it’s going to be here well after we’ve gone so you try and do the best by it.
“These schemes have allowed us to do that but now I don’t know what’s going to happen. With the loss of support payments we need to be paid for everything we do. Pro bono has disappeared and every acre must pay for itself.
“I’m very concerned about what the future now looks like for us.”
Find out more about Peter
Peter Hatley
Peter Hatley is a third-generation farmer whose family have farmed for almost 100 years.
Joe Stanley’s story
Leicestershire member Joe Stanley has spent his career promoting sustainable farming practices, first at home on a mixed arable and livestock farm and then as head of training and partnerships at the Allerton Project.
The Allerton Project, a 320-hectare research and demonstration farm, has been in environmental schemes for 30 years – two HLS (Higher Level Stewardship) schemes followed by CS (Countryside Stewardship), SFI23 and SFI24.
The farm is currently in CSHT (Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier) which is expiring at the end of this year, leaving Joe very concerned about the position this leaves his business in moving forward.
“This will be the first time that we are not supported to delivery those ecosystem services,” Joe explained, who serves as county chair for Leicestershire Northamptonshire and Rutland and is an East Midlands Crops Board member.
Despite preparing a “carefully crafted” application, the farm missed out on Window 2 due to technical issues.
“I think we can all see now that the money that is available is just not up to the scale of the challenge.”
NFU member Joe Stanley
Technical issues
When they tried to submit the claim every single field parcel threw up an error – Joe suspects it is because of the CS agreement but no matter what they tried they couldn’t get anything through.
Joe called the RPA as soon as they encountered difficulties and they were instructed to try other field options. When it became apparent that all parcels had the same option they called the RPA again.
The RPA said that they would call them back but it was too late, leaving a £55,000 hole in his bottom line, which is a “really serious problem” for the farm.
Joe continued: “SFI was going to replace our expiring scheme at the end of this year, and that was going to support our fantastic work across this farm to support nature and food production.
“We do need to actually look at this system, how we're trying to deliver these things and most essentially the budget that we are actually going to dedicate to this because I think we can all see now that the money that is available is just not up to the scale of the challenge.”
Find out more about Joe
Joe Stanley
Joe Stanley has dedicated his farming career to promoting sustainable farming practices.
