Sustainable Farming Incentive: What are your options?

Reflecting on the challenges the industry faces, whilst the changing agricultural landscape continues to evolve, UK agriculture remains at the forefront of ensuring self-sufficiency alongside contributing to environmental goals. As a result, attention focuses on environmental stewardship, enhancing soil health and water quality, cover crops, regenerative agriculture principles and increasing biodiversity across the farmed landscape.  

Within our environmental seeds portfolio, we offer a range of mixtures for environmental stewardship schemes, cover crops, game cover and wildflower mixtures. We understand that farm-specific advice is essential, as no one enterprise is the same. Our specialists can offer up-to-date advice and help you make informed decisions on the best mixture options to suit your needs. 

Following the phase out of the basic payment schemes the sustainable farming incentives (SFI) schemes introduced by DEFRA have become a more prevalent choice to allow farmers and land owners to regain lost income. A focus to more sustainable and biodiverse farm practices is designed to encourage better soil health and crop rotations that can continue to benefit the crops after the scheme has been fulfilled. We have put every effort into producing compliant, productive and varied mixes to suit your farm management. Below we go through three of the most popular options  

Herbal leys have been a long-standing option for farmers looking to rejuvenate their soils while also benefitting from the production. Last year we saw a large popularity of the leys for the SAM3/ GS4. This year we have a large variety of mixes to suit silage, grazing, or both, which are all produced from our seed plant.  

The perennial ryegrass and other grass species content in our reseeding leys provides a base of productive forage; the legumes fix nitrogen, reducing leys requirement for artificial N and also are a great protein source for any livestock. The herbs offer long tap roots that can mine minerals from the soil that regular leys generally struggle to do. They also provide an extended grazing period and anthelmintic properties. CSAM3/SAM3/GS4 -Herbal leys  

Herbal leys have been a long-standing option for farmers looking to rejuvenate their soils while also benefitting off the production. Last year we saw a large popularity of the leys for the SAM3/ GS4 . This year we have a large variety of mixes to suit silage, grazing, or both, which are all produced from our seed plant.  

The perennial ryegrass and other grass species content in our reseeding leys provides a base of productive forage; the legumes fix nitrogen, reducing leys requirement for artificial N and also are a great protein source for any livestock. The herbs offer long tap roots that can mine minerals from the soil that regular leys generally struggle to do. They also provide an extended grazing period and anthelmintic properties. 

We also overseeding mixes containing a diverse mix of legumes and herbs ideal to sow into an existing grass ley to comply with Countryside stewardship on the SFI scheme.

For the wild bird seed mixtures we are offering four mixtures this year to best suit as many farming systems (as well as two organic options compliant with OP2). 

The wild-bird seed mixture includes annual and biennial options to suit your rotation. The seed provides an energy source to build reserves for game birds over the winter gap. The varied and flowering species in the mix also provide food and cover for other pollinators, insects and mammals throughout the winter period. Winter bird seed encourages the birds to stay on the farm giving pest control while reducing the need for pesticides. The seed promotes a healthier, more balanced environment, as birds help disperse seeds and aid in plant regeneration. 

By planting a diverse mix of flowering plants, farms can attract and support pollinators like bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects, which are crucial for the pollination of crops. This can leads to improved crop quality. Additionally, these flowers help enhance soil health by improving nutrient cycling, reducing erosion, and increasing organic matter. Flower-rich areas also support biodiversity, providing habitats for a variety of wildlife. When located near cropped areas, flower rich margins can form a part of an IPM approach by encouraging natural crop pest predators. 

Our mixes can have a current and future potential to be incorporated into your farming enterprise, during the changing face of agricultural policy. 

For more mixture options and information download a copy of our Grass, roots and environmental brochure. ADD LINK and to speak to a specialist about the rest of range for environmental seed please give the seed team a ring on 019390 210777.  

For more mixture options and information download a copy of our Grass, roots and environmental brochure. ADD LINK and to speak to a specialist about the rest of range for environmental seed please give the seed team a ring on 019390 210777.