Grant Special: Sustainable Farming Incentive

To achieve this, it is likely to take away a lot of the choice and complexity of CS, which requires applicants to select from a big range of options all with different eligibility criteria, payment rates and management prescriptions.

Signing up to the SFI should be a lot simpler, so it may attract farmers who have been put off by the long application process and piles of paperwork that are sometimes associated with stewardship.

Engaging with the SFI early on will mean that when the full scheme is launched, farmers are already familiar with its principles and have had time to adapt your management accordingly.

For some farming systems, the requirements of the SFI may not differ much or at all from their existing practice, which could make it an easy way to access additional funding.