Weekly news in brief for NI farmers

The application window for the main farm support scheme in England closed within a single day due to a large influx of applications.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive is an agri-environment scheme that is billed as the main follow-on from the now-defunct Basic Payment Scheme.

Farming Minister Stephen Morgan said the strong uptake showed that farmers had “responded in force” to the scheme.

However, farmer representatives were critical in their response, pointing out that the short application window highlighted an inadequate budget.

“Yet again, Defra has created a position where there are the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ in the sector, based purely on the speed of pressing a button,” said Robyn Munt from the National Farmers’ Union.

“It is yet another smash and grab raid which will exclude many farmers and deny them the continuity their businesses need,” said the National Sheep Association’s Phil Stocker.

Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir has announced that a pilot Protein Crops Scheme in NI is to be extended to the end of 2027.

The pilot scheme was introduced in 2021, with the latest extension to allow for “a full assessment of the environmental and sustainability benefits which protein crops can deliver”, said Minister Muir.

The assessment is being undertaken by researchers at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), with a project due to conclude in May 2027.

Under the protein crops scheme, farmers can receive £330/ha on top of their Farm Sustainability Payment to grow the likes of spring beans and spring peas.

The maximum supported area is capped at 1,300ha. In 2024, a total of 802ha was grown, but this dropped to 481ha in 2025 and to 422ha in 2026.

Concerns were raised by the Stormont Agriculture committee after slurry separation equipment was not included among eligible items for 40% grants within the first tranche of the new Sustainable Farming Investment Scheme (SFIS).

In a written response to the committee, the department confirmed that support in the first round of funding was only for “off-the-shelf investments requiring little assessment at application stage”.

However, the issue is being kept “under review for future rounds of the scheme”.