If you have a Sustainable Farming Incentive agreement, it is very likely that you will have signed up for the Soil Plan and Nutrient Review options. These will be on your agreement as SAM1 or NUM1 if you have a 2023 scheme, or CSAM1 or CNUM1 in the 2024 scheme. It is worth having a recap now to check that you have fulfilled your requirements under these options.
SFI Soil Plan
The aim of this action is to assess your soil. Produce a soil management plan, and test soil organic matter (SOM) levels. Within the first year of your agreement you are required to soil test any land that hasn’t had a SOM test in the last 5 years, so we recommend doing at least the standard soil test plus organic matter as you’ll be able to use soil tests for your Nutrient Review. If you’d like help to organise soil testing, please get in touch. In addition to soil testing, you must also have a written soil plan. We are using Soil Benchmark which is a digital tool that maps run-off, erosion, wind erosion and nitrate leaching risks on your land, using data from the Environment Agency and the British Geological Survey. The Soil Benchmark tool was created by Tom, who grew up on a farm, and soil scientist Ben – you can read more about their story here. The tool produces an SFI compliant soil plan that identifies the sensitive features that you need to map, including boreholes and watercourses, and with information about your cropping, generates smart proposals for optimal soil management, taking into account risk factors, slope, soil texture and other environmental factors
SFI Nutrient Review
The aim of the Nutrient Review is to assess your current approach to nutrient management on the farm, and to show how you manage nutrient usage efficiently and effectively, and how you optimise your use of organic sources of nutrients for crop nutrition. The approach you take to this is flexible, we advise that you generate a brief document with an overview of your current management of nutrients, manures and lime, and set some achievable targets. Some examples of demonstrating efficient use of nutrient resources are: soil testing for P, K & Mg; testing slurry and/or FYM nutrients; applying lime to target fields showing deficiency; changing to precision slurry applicators. You must show that you have taken advice from a BASIS registered and FACTS qualified adviser, and that you have updated your plan within the past 12 months. If you need support with your Nutrient Review, all our advisers are FACTS qualified and can help you generate and update your SFI Nutrient Review
Links
https://www.soilbenchmark.com/soil-management
https://www.soilbenchmark.com/about