The Sustainable Farming Scheme in Wales: what’s changed?
NRM
Agriculture
Environment
An update on the co-design of the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) in Wales was published in July 2023 by Rural Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths.
The two co-design reports include views from farmers and other stakeholders, along with the Welsh government’s (WG) response. The final consultation on the SFS is due to take place later this year, and the overall design of the scheme will be published after the consultation has concluded.
Feedback from farmers and the WG
The original SFS design suggested that farmers must comply with the scheme in its totality as soon as it’s rolled out in 2025. A central message from farmers was that they needed more time to understand, adapt and implement the necessary changes to comply with the scheme.
In response, the WG is considering a more phased approach. This means that the universal actions could be rolled out initially in 2025, with the optional and collaborative actions following in proceeding years.
Reminder:
Universal actions are compulsory and must be completed to meet the obligations of the scheme and receive payments. The WG is looking at exemption scenarios for tenanted farms or where farmers may be excluded from the scheme because they are subject to restrictive covenants. These restrictions mean some of the proposed universal actions could not be completed. So, many farmers would not be able to participate.
Optional actions are actions that can be chosen but are more complex and targeted.
Collaborative actions are more ambitious and delivered collectively by a group of farmers/landowners.
The WG has also proposed that a farm completes a sustainability review including a baseline habitat review and a carbon assessment of the farm. This review would be considered a universal action and be required before a farmer could join the scheme. The WG is determining how scalable the habitat reviews are by considering existing biodiversity data and by remotely identifying habitats already on the farm.
It was clear from the feedback that many farmers would need support and advice to complete this activity. Farmers were keen for further clarification on the purpose of the sustainability review, how the information will be used, and if capacity in the advisory sector exists to deliver these reviews when the scheme opens.
Tree cover
The WG has set a countrywide target of committing 43,000 hectares of land to trees by 2030. The means of meeting this ambition was one of the more contentious issues proposed in the SFS and was widely reported on in the weeks after publication.
This universal action requires that 10% of farmland must be prioritised for trees, and these should be managed in line with the UK Forestry Standard. Any new and existing hedgerows should also be managed as per the hedgerow management cycle. Many respondents and contributors to the co-design process were worried about this mandatory requirement.
Whilst the benefit of trees is accepted by farmers, concerns were raised about circumstances where 10% tree cover would be difficult or not feasible due to individual situations. Potential issues for dairy farms were raised, as this action would take a significant percentage of their land out of production. Tenant farmers, where tenancies may not permit the planting of trees, have also raised concerns.
The WG has confirmed that hedgerows do not count towards the 10% tree cover, but trees within hedgerows do. The 10% target, however, does include trees that already exist on the farm. The WG is also providing more detail around the scenarios where tree planting is not possible. For example, in situations where unsuitable land has been identified, the 10% tree cover rule would only apply to the area of land that is suitable for trees, not the entire holding.
The good news is that, on average, farms in Wales already support about 6% tree cover. The WG therefore thinks that 10% tree cover can be achieved without impacting on agriculture. The WG is very clear that this action is about site selection, the right tree for the right place, to ensure the longer-term benefits can be realised.
Whilst this action has provoked negative feedback in terms of its feasibility and rising worries that it will reduce productive land area, increasing tree cover across the farmed landscape offers many benefits. These include improved animal health and welfare, biodiversity, and long-term carbon sequestration, which will ultimately help us take further steps towards the ambitious goal of net zero emissions.
Feedback on soil measurements
The WG had originally proposed a series of soil measurements that needed to be undertaken as a universal action for scheme entry. The combination of measurements proposed included chemical analysis (pH, P, K, Mg, C and N), biological assessments (including eDNA, respiration, and counting earthworms), and a physical soil inspection, measuring infiltration rate, the bulk density of the soil, and/or a Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS). The VESS system is a process of scoring the physical characteristics of the soil, such as the degree of topsoil compaction. It was suggested that evidence that the farm had completed the activity would be given via analytical reports and a submission of nutrient accounts at the start and end of the agreement.
Feedback from farmers was mixed. Many understood the benefits of soil testing but queried including all the measurements listed as part of the universal actions and scheme entry. The WG may still have work to do on this proposal, but it seems likely that some level of nutrient and soil health analysis will be required at the universal action stage. NRM has a number of analytical services and data insights around nutrient levels and soil health that can help farmers meet these scheme requirements.
The final consultation on the scheme is due to be published later this year, with the final scheme announced in 2024 for implementation in 2025.
NRM is here to help
Many aspects of the new SFS include analysis. This is where NRM can step in and provide the data farmers need to comply with the obligations of the scheme, from standard soil analysis packages to soil organic matter and carbon testing services.
Click here to contact NRM directly for information on the services we provide, or speak to your agronomist.
References
Q&A with James Owen (Deputy Director for Land Management Reform) – (1) Discussion on the draft Sustainable Farming Scheme/Trafodaeth ar y Cynllun Ffermio Cynaliadwy drafft – YouTube
The UK Forestry Standard – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Sustainable Farming Scheme Co-design final report (gov.wales)
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