SFI 2023 Offer

The RPA have now released detail of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 2023 Offer, which will open for applications in August (date TBC). There are 23 actions (options) available through the Offer which will help to offset some of the income you will be losing from BPS. There are also additional payments available through SFI that have not historically been available through stewardship - this includes:

• Payments for assessing soil and producing a soil management plan - £5.80 per ha entered into the action (option) + £95 per SFI Agreement

• Payment for an advisor to produce a Nutrient Management Plan - £589 per year

• Payment for an advisor to produce an Integrated Pest Management plan – £989 per year

• An overall management payment - £20 per ha (up to 50 ha)

The Scheme itself is much more flexible than previous schemes, with many of the actions also being eligible for use alongside Countryside Stewardship too - so it is well worth looking at your options. We have summarised everything you need to know for the upcoming application window with some illustrated examples of the potential returns from entering the scheme.

Scheme Length 3 years When to Apply Applications will open in August (date TBC). The application window will then remain open to applications all year round. Start Date of Agreement Agreements to start on the first day of a given calendar month (this will be confirmed in your final Agreement Offer). Eligibility

• You must have been a BPS eligible farmer.

• You must have management control of the land for the Scheme length.

• Tenants can enter into the Scheme as they are the person(s) actively farming the land but must have management control of the land for the Scheme duration.

• You cannot apply if you have taken the Lump Sum (unless the Lump Sum is repaid)

Options (ACTIONS) available in SFI 2023:

• Click this link to view a summary of the options available in the 2023 SFI Offer.

• Note: the SFI 2022 Soil Standards are not available in the 2023 Offer.

• There are no minimum or maximum areas for options in the Offer and no mandatory combinations of the options. i.e. it is a ‘pick and mix’ Offer.

• There is also a management payment of £20/ ha (up to 50ha) available.

• See our illustrative examples that calculate the potential income available from the 2023 SFI Offer!

EXAMPLE 1 - 250 Ha Dairy Farm Assumptions

• 100 ha arable land

• 50 ha temporary grassland

• 60 ha improved grassland

• 40 ha permanent pasture (un-improved grassland)

• 12,000m into hedgerow management

• No existing Countryside/ Environmental Stewardship Schemes

Example 1 - Proposed Scheme

EXAMPLE 2 - 100 Ha Low input Beef Assumptions

• 30ha improved pasture

• 70 ha permanent pasture (un-improved grassland)

• 8,000m into hedgerow management

• No existing Countryside/ Environmental Stewardship Schemes

Example 2 – Proposed Scheme

What if you are already committed to an SFI 2022 Agreement?

• The RPA will contact you directly to confirm how you can benefit from the 2023 Offer.

• The current SFI window has now closed temporarily.

What if I am already in a Countryside Stewardship Scheme?

• Many of the options in SFI can complement your existing CS Schemes.

• Some options in CS may not be eligible with SFI i.e. ‘dual funding’– these are all outlined in the SFI Handbook.

• Speak with one of our consultants to find out how your existing scheme can fit with SFI!

SFI Annual Health and Welfare Review of Livestock

• Eligible livestock keepers can get paid for a vet, or team chosen by a vet, to visit their farm and carry out an annual health and welfare review of eligible livestock.

• You not need to have an SFI agreement for environmental land management actions to apply for this.

• Funding available

  • £684 – pig review

  • £436 – sheep review

  • £522 beef cattle review

  • £372 dairy cattle review

To discuss how SFI can be incorporated into your farming system, get in touch with our team of Consultants! If you have already discussed Countryside Stewardship/ SFI applications with our team, we will be in touch with you directly.

Charlie Davies 07904 601104 charlie@kellyfarmconsulting.com Laura Cureton 07399 117257 laura@kellyfarmconsulting.com Sam Kelly 07777 696080 sam@kellyfarmconsulting.com Office 01454 614624

Managing Hot Weather & Wholecrop Advice

LESSONS LEARNT FROM SUMMER 2022

As the hot weather continues, we are all having flashbacks to 2022 – a year of record low rainfall with long range forecasts indicating that drier conditions could continue towards the end of June. Whilst the dry weather has allowed farmers to harvest silage and establish maize crops following a very wet March and April, we are now seeing grass growth decline and some maize crops begin to struggle. We thought that now might be a good time to highlight some of the lessons we learned last year:

1. The first relates to transition cows, we saw a significant flattening of the lactation curves of July-September calving animals. Whilst these animals will catch up and surpass predicted yields later in lactation, there was a lot of lost milk in the post-calving period. To combat this, farmers should be more generous with offering straw or lower quality silage in the early dry period for any animals out grazing if grass growth continues to decline. It is also important that water access is a priority, as well as shade if temperatures increase. In certain situations, bringing animals inside and onto transition rations earlier than normal might also allow cows a longer period to adjust – but do not overcrowd dry cow buildings.

2. It is important that leys are not over-grazed. Overgrazing during prolonged dry or drought-like conditions can not only increase the risk of soil erosion through reduced cover, but also result in plants drying out. Over-grazed grasses also put down fewer roots than well-managed leys which is a particular concern in new leys. Care should be taken to ensure that leys are not overgrazed as grass growth slows (AHDB have already reported that grass growth has slowed by nearly 60kg DM/ha in the last month, we are now 20kg DM/ha behind 2022 figures) Leaving sufficient residuals following grazing will also allow for better grass growth once the weather (hopefully) changes. Stocking rates need to be considered carefully, as well as buffer feeding.

3. It is also important to consider how you fertilise or apply manure to any silage aftermath. We have seen quite a lot of fertilisers sat in leys following cuts of silage this year. Applying slurry to re-emerging grass can burn new leaves in hot or dry conditions, there is also the possibility of increasing nitrogen losses through volatilisation (Nitrogen converted to ammonia gas). Using a dribble bar or slurry injector can help reduce these losses as slurry is directly deposited on or below the soil. However, ideally slurry should be applied when moisture levels are sufficient.

Alongside the above lessons, it is still important to remember the fundamentals of managing livestock in hot and dry weather, especially ensuring that water is both clean and plentiful. Around yards, fans or sprinklers might be a worthwhile investment, as well as making sure that buildings are well-ventilated. The hottest place for the cows is the collecting yard, so if it is possible we suggest splitting the herd so that you have less in there at one time. We are hoping to avoid some of the challenges that we experienced in 2022. However, if weather conditions provide another challenging year, we can at least focus on the lessons learned from last drought to ensure that businesses can operate as productively as ever.

Written by Charlie Davies

WHOLECROP

Another topic that needs addressing is the harvesting of cereal crops as wholecrop to mitigate low silage stocks. This will likely be an individual farm level decision based on the condition of maize crops, silage carry over from 2022 and the cost of establishing the cereal crop. However, with maize crops already being marketed for over £900/acre, purchasing additional silage for the winter will be expensive and challenging to source. When harvesting wholecrop, there are a few targets to aim for:

• Crops should be harvested between 30 and 45% DM.

• Crop should just be starting to turn yellow in cover.

• Grain should be at a “soft cheese” consistency (typically this occurs 4-6 weeks pre harvest but could be variable this year).

If you are harvesting over 35% DM, use a forager with a whole crop processor to avoid grains coming through. If you don’t have a processor available, then cut the crop when grains are still milky, yield might be slightly lower - but the cows will get more out of it! Grain development will be important to monitor in crops as, depending on soil moisture levels, crops could have lower yields than expected. The moisture level of the crop is also vital, harvesting the crop too dry (or mature) will lead to poor fermentation and a poorly digestible feed in the clamp. A late harvest will also result in over-mature grains which could be difficult for the animal to digest (despite analysing quite well). Ultimately, harvesting some cereals as wholecrop this year could help reduce the issues with low silage stocks. However, harvesting at the correct crop maturity stage is vital, as well as ensuring that cashflows are not negatively impacted by the missing grain sales.

Written by Charlie Davies

For help with assessing silage stocks or help with managing this hot, dry spell, please get in touch with the team!

Charlie Davies 07904 601104 charlie@kellyfarmconsulting.com Laura Cureton 07399 117257 laura@kellyfarmconsulting.com Sam Kelly 07777 696080 sam@kellyfarmconsulting.com

Office 01454 614624

Rebuilding Silage Stocks - The Importance of Planning Ahead

Many farmers will have experienced the knock-on affects from last years turbulent weather. Certainly, many of our clients have found themselves with a reduced level of silage carry over compared to other years.

This puts farmers in a precarious position, with little insurance should there be another period of extreme weather this year. Therefore, it is important that farmers plan ahead whilst looking to re-build silage stocks for the winter without compromising on quality. As the majority of the farmers across the South-West are turning their attention towards 2023 1st cut, it is great to see so many of our clients are still emphasising quality rather than focussing on quantity to rebuild stocks.

But whilst improving the quality of silage can result in improvements of milk from forage and a reduction in the quantity of concentrate required, it is also important to ensure that this forage is fed to animals that can make the best use of it.

Therefore, it is important to consider a number of factors ahead of housing this winter, including:

• How many beef animals will be on the farm this winter? How profitable is this enterprise?

• What number of dairy replacements will be kept? Do you plan to bring all of them into the herd?

• How strict is your culling plan? Are there animals in the herd that might not be justifying their place?

Once you have an idea of stocking rates this winter, you can compare this requirement to your current stocks (whilst ensuring you replace the buffer of grass silage lost this winter). For example, housing a 200 head dairy herd for 6 months of the year eating roughly 15kg (DM) of forage at 30% DM will equate to 1,830T of silage.

If it looks unlikely that you will have enough conserved forage to sustain these animals over the winter, then now might be the time to consider altering numbers to something more sustainable. This could include thinning beef numbers before the winter, which could also provide more land for a later cut of silage to help improve silage stocks.

Another consideration is the breakeven yield within the herd. Calculating this value will help ensure that cull animals are removed from the herd at the best possible time, balancing forage use with increased cull value from a bigger animal. This calculation will also make sure that forage and other assets will be used in the animals that can make the best use of them.

In order to calculate the breakeven yield, we first need to calculate the following:

• Feed costs (concentrate & forage).

• Electric cost.

• Vet & Med.

Looking at these figures allow us to calculate the marginal cost of keeping one less cow. Other costs such as youngstock feed, bedding or labour costs are unlikely to be changed significantly if one cow is removed. These costs can be calculated on a per animal basis over 12 months and then divided to a cost/day. We can then calculate the breakeven yield required to cover these costs.

For assistance in forage budgeting, then please get in touch!

Charlie Davies

07904 601104

charlie@kellyfarmconsulting.com

Laura Cureton

07399 117257

laura@kellyfarmconsulting.com

Sam Kelly

07777 696080

sam@kellyfarmconsulting.com

Office 01454 614624