Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

The launch of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) in 2022 and the subsequent options added in 2023, allows farmers to adopt and maintain sustainable farming practices that will help improve our environment.

You can apply for a 3-year SFI agreement to undertake environmental land management actions that will help you to manage your land in a sustainable way. There are 6 SFI actions to choose from, and some work in conjunction with existing Countryside Stewardship.

As SFI is so comprehensive and detailed, in this edition, we will focus on ‘Integrated Pest Management’.

IPM is focused on:

• – Increasing knowledge and identifying opportunities for integrated pest management
• – Creating habitats for natural crop pest predators
• – Using companion cropping to suppress weeds, reduce diseases and provide protection from crop pests
• – Minimising use of insecticides

If you decide to apply for one of these actions, it should help you with managing crop pests, diseases and weed control, and minimise the use of pesticides – leading to increased biodiversity and improvements to water quality, soil and air quality.

To maximise your sustainable farming options, we have designed seed mixtures that are eligible for IPM actions:

IPM2 – Flower-rich margin seed mixture, containing 80% grasses and 20% native UK wildflowers. Ideal for blocks or in-field strips; the mixture, once established will provide habitat and food for predators and pollinators.

IPM3 – Our Grass and clover mixture can be under sown with cereals and our Maize grass mixture can be used to under sow a maize crop, providing an understory habitat.

We suggest, before you decide which SFI action suits your business, that you check out the application process, rules, and payments at:

Sustainable Farming Incentive guidance – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)