Many growers are now getting to grips with the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), and whilst most actions requiring a seed purchase are likely to be sown in the spring, many of the more profitable actions can also fit an autumn sowing window.

The four actions below are likely to feature in most agreements:

AHL2: Winter bird food on arable and horticultural land

AHL2 has proved to be a hugely popular action this spring, as growers have looked to make the most of the attractive payment rate (£853/Ha) and later sowing period. This action can also be autumn sown, but there are more considerations at this timing, to ensure the terms of the agreement are met. The primary aim of the action is to produce a supply of small seeds from late autumn until late winter. It may be tempting to establish a mixture this autumn, with the view to following with a spring crop next year, but an autumn sown mixture of any species is highly unlikely to produce sufficient seed in such a short time and so will not achieve this aim. Any mix sown at this time effectively needs to last 18 months, with flowering plants in the summer of 2025 that produce seed in the winter of 2025/26.

We have two mixtures well suited to autumn sowing. Magnet and Bumblebird. Magnet is an economical mix based around winter triticale and linseed, with flowering brassicas and phacelia.

Bumblebird offers more benefits with a greater range of seed-bearing species and the inclusion of legumes such as red clover, crimson clover and vetch, which will also fix nitrogen for the subsequent crop.

IPM2: Flower-rich grass margins, blocks or in-field strips

Although not quite the highest paying option, at £798/Ha, IPM2 has the potential to offer the highest net margin of any options suited to autumn drilling. The action is rotational but to maximise profitability and to ensure the aims are properly met, the chosen seed mix should ideally be down for the full three years of the agreement. Our Flower-rich margin mixture includes 15 native, UK produced wildflower species, combined with 7 species of slow growing amenity grasses, chosen to give the wildflowers the greatest chance of successful establishment.

AHL1: Pollen and nectar flower mix

AHL1 is another action with an attractive payment rate of £739/Ha.

Our Bee mix is the product to choose to meet the aims of producing areas of flowering plants from late spring and during the summer months. As well as providing food for pollinators and encouraging natural pest predators, this mix has high levels of nitrogen fixing legumes and phacelia, which is a great soil conditioner. The possible drawback of this action is that opportunities to manage any potential problem weeds are limited. Growers hoping to reduce blackgrass populations for example, will likely find the rules on grazing and cutting too restrictive to successfully manage the weed.

NUM3: Legume fallow

NUM3 has a slightly lower payment rate than the others mentioned here, at £593/Ha, but it has some key benefits that potentially make up for the lower rate. Unlike AHL2, IPM2 and AHL1, where the maximum area entered into the actions is restricted to 25% of the farm, there is no area limit with NUM3. There is also greater freedom to cut the mix, to help prevent blackgrass from seeding, making this action preferable to AHL1 in high blackgrass situations.

We have two mixture options for this action; Legume 2 or Legume 2 grass free. Both contain a similar range of legumes to fix nitrogen, improve soil health and provide food for wildlife and pollinators, but the Legume 2 contains 66% perennial ryegrass. The ryegrass within the mix helps build soil organic matter levels, but is also better able to compete with weed species and will help smother blackgrass, again helping to reduce populations. Both of these mixtures would be suitable if you choose to rotate the action each year, but the benefits to both soil and blackgrass suppression will be greater if the mix is kept down for 2 or 3 years (the duration of the agreement).

January 2023 saw six new Sustainable Farm Incentive (SFI) standards published, to add to the three existing standards introduced in 2022.

These new standards add a further 19 “actions” that aim to encourage sustainable practices and importantly, increase the number of ways farmers in England can help mitigate the reduction in Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments.

For arable farmers, it’s likely that one of the “actions” with the biggest uptake will be to “Establish and maintain a legume fallow”, as its aims and benefits are virtually identical to the already popular “AB15: Two-year sown legume fallow” option in Countryside Stewardship.

The action pays £593/Ha (the same as AB15) and aims to provide food for pollinators and farmland birds whilst helping to support an integrated pest management (IPM) approach. We know from experience with AB15 that sowing a seed mixture such as LG Legume 2 which meets the required specification, can be a great tool to help reduce blackgrass populations, increase fertility, soil organic matter (SOM) and improve soil structure.

Ensuring these benefits are realised to their full does, however, require the same attention to detail as any other crop.

Reducing blackgrass populations is reliant on ensuring that no new seed is shed for the 2-year duration of the mixture. Under both schemes, the mix can be cut for the purpose of controlling blackgrass which in practice will be 2-3 mowings, timed so that the blackgrass has headed and flowered, but not yet produced viable seed. With correct management, the blackgrass seed bank can be expected to reduce by 70-80% per year.

The legumes within the mix will of course fix atmospheric nitrogen, so there’s no need to apply any fertiliser and there should be significant residual nitrogen remaining for the following crop. It is, however, worth thinking further ahead as ideally there should be a 5-year gap before any pulses are grown, to avoid potential foot rot or nematode issues.

Mixture choice is also very important. The legume fallow mixture can be selected with or without grass (perennial ryegrass), with the correct choice coming down to individual circumstances. A mix with grass will more successfully smother both blackgrass and broad-leaved weeds, and is likely to contribute more SOM than without. Mowing the mixture to control blackgrass will also ensure that no ryegrass seed is returned to the soil, but those without blackgrass problems may be best with a no grass mixture, to avoid future problems with weed ryegrass.

Whichever mix is chosen, sowing should happen as soon as possible after harvest – ideally in August, to make the most of warm soil temperatures.

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The are 3 levels of payment for the Arable and Horticultural standard:

• Introductory level – 70% of land must have a sown green cover or weedy stubble over the winter months (Dec-Feb)
• Intermediate level – 70% of land must have a green cover crop during the winter months, of which 20% must be sown with a multi species cover crop
• Advanced level – details to be announced in 2023

 

The use of green manures, catch and cover crops will help to:

• Enhance the natural health and fertility of our soils
• Contribute to our efforts to reach Net Zero

Fodder radish has deep roots & good biomass

 

There are many species of catch and cover crops to choose from; fodder radishes such as Romesa, have good biomass and are very deep rooting to help compacted soils.

White mustard is another useful cover crop – Severka is fast growing and if sown early, can produce bags of biomass in a short period of time.

Multi species seeds mixtures such as Green Reward are also useful, and contain 7 species to comply with the Intermediate level.

Lift N Fix contains vetch, along with Humbolt winter rye. This mixture is a highly effective nitrogen lifter and provides great cover, which helps suppress weeds before incorporation into the soil.