Sustainable Farming Incentive: expression of interest
Updated 13 April 2021
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2021
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You can no longer apply to take part in this pilot, but you may be able to participate in other environmental land management schemes later in 2021. Find out about other schemes and pilots.
1. About the Sustainable Farming Incentive
The Sustainable Farming Incentive is a new scheme that rewards environmental land management.
As a farmer, you can enter into an agreement that will pay you to carry out environmentally sustainable actions. For example, planting and managing hedgerows to provide year-round food, shelter and breeding cover for birds and insects.
You do not need previous experience in agri-environment schemes to join.
The Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme will launch in 2022.
Before it launches, the scheme will be piloted with farmers. This is part of a process called ‘co-design’, which means working with farmers to make sure the scheme works in practice.
2. Timetable for the pilot
You can submit an expression of interest from 15 March 2021.
You’ll find out if you were selected for the pilot or not from 24 May 2021. Selections will be random, from categories covering various types of farm.
If you’re selected, you’ll be able to make an application in June 2021.
Over summer the agreements will be developed and agreed.
The first agreements will start in October 2021.
The pilot is expected to last until 2024.
3. Building an agreement
If you’re invited to take part, you’ll be asked to work through the steps to build an application and develop a Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot agreement.
You’ll build your agreement from the following standards:
- arable and horticultural: land
- arable and horticultural: soil
- farm woodland
- hedgerows
- improved grassland
- improved grassland: soils
- low and no input grassland
- waterbody buffering
Read more about Defra’s plans for piloting and launching the Sustainable Farming Incentive.
4. Giving feedback
As part of the co-design approach in the pilot, you’ll be regularly asked for feedback on how the scheme works and how it could be improved.
You’ll be paid for time you spend helping Defra learn about features of the scheme.
Find out more about co-design.
5. Who can take part in the pilot
For the first phase of piloting, you are eligible if you:
- are a recipient of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) - registered on the Rural Payments Agency system
- have management control of the land for the length of the pilot - you must get your landlord’s permission if required
- enter land parcels (fields) into the pilot that do not have an existing agri-environment agreement on them, for example Countryside Stewardship
- enter land parcels that are in England
- enter land parcels that are not common land
If you’re not currently in the BPS, you’ll be able to take part in future phases of the pilot.
6. Payment
You’ll be paid monthly, as per your pilot agreement, for:
- completing the actions from your agreement
- time spent on learning activities (a pilot participation payment)
You can continue to claim for BPS.
7. How to apply
You can no longer apply to take part in this pilot, but you may be able to participate in other environmental land management schemes later in 2021. Find out about other schemes and pilots.
8. How farmers will be selected to take part in the pilot
Farmers from a mix of farms and locations will be invited to make a pilot application, to make sure there is a representative group taking part.
The selection will be random and anonymous.
There will be further phases of piloting the scheme so if you miss out in phase 1 you’ll have other opportunities to get involved.
9. When you’ll find out
You will be contacted by email (or post if you don’t have an email address) from 24 May 2021 to let you know if you’ve been chosen to apply for the pilot, or not.
10. Contact us
If you have any questions, or need help submitting an expression of interest, contact the Rural Payments Agency:
Email: ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk - write ‘sustainable farming incentive’ in the subject line
Telephone: 03000 200 301
Opening times: Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5pm, except bank holidays.
Address:
Rural Payments Agency
PO Box 352
Worksop
S80 9FG