13/05/25 - SFI update, herbal leys and deep soil carbon testing

DEFRA says an "error was made" when closing the Sustainable Farming Incentive to new applications earlier this year, and people who had applications in progress when it was shut, could now be allowed to submit them. The Sustainable Farming Incentive - or SFI - is part of the new system of farm payments in England, replacing the EU's Common Agricultural Policy. It pays people to do things like grow cover crops, plant flowers for pollinators, and manage hedgerows on their land. But in March this year, the Government announced, with no warning, that the SFI would be closed to new applications.

We visit one farmer who could be affected by the change: dairy farmer, Sarah Godwin, had planned plant a mixture of grasses, enriched with legumes and other species - called a herbal ley - paid for by the SFI...but the scheme was abruptly closed in March before her application was complete. She says the farm had spent more than a thousand pounds on agents' fees to help with the forms.

And testing top soils is often done to measure nutrients and organic matter - but recording what lies at a much lower depth could be key to enhancing soil health, and help achieve agriculture's net zero targets. We visit CAFRE, Northern Ireland's College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise, where a major, deep soil carbon-coring project has been underway.

Presented by Anna Hill
Produced by Heather Simons