Please note, the following updates come directly from Defra, and are not written by Land App.
This month, Defra have made the following announcements:
Bluetongue virus update: first BTV-3 case of 24/25 vector season confirmed
On 26 August, a case of Bluetongue virus (BTV-3) was confirmed by the UK Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer in a single sheep at a premises near Haddiscoe, South Norfolk, the first case detectedin the 2024/25 vector season.
A 20km temporary control zone (TCZ) has been put in place around the affected farm which will restrict movements of susceptible animals and their germinal products except under license. Further information on these restrictions can be found here.
Surveillance is underway to determine if the virus is currently circulating in the UK. Given the current temperatures and midge activity, which spread the disease, there is a high risk of onward spread in the UK.
Keepers of cattle, sheep, other ruminants and camelids must remain vigilant, monitor their animals frequently for clinical signs and report any suspicion of disease immediately. They should also make sure their animals and land are registered with APHA so keepers can be kept informed and animals easily located.
Responsible sourcing is crucial and free testing remains available for animals moving from the highest risk counties to live elsewhere in Great Britain or to be sold at a market within a high-risk county where there will be buyers from outside the high-risk counties.
More information about bluetongue is available here.
New poultry and kept bird registration rules: check now if you need to take action
New rules make it a legal requirement for everyone in Great Britain who keeps birds to register with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), regardless of the size of their flock, even if the birds are kept as pets. Keepers must register before 1 October 2024 in England and Wales and between 1 September and 1 December in Scotland.
These changes will improve the effectiveness of our national disease control measures and better protect poultry and kept birds from future outbreaks of avian disease. This is an important step because since 2021 around a quarter of all confirmed outbreaks have been amongst backyard poultry or small captive bird flocks.
By registering, these keepers will receive important updates on any local disease outbreaks and biosecurity guidance to help protect their flocks. The information on the register will also allow for more effective surveillance work, meaning that disease control zones can be lifted at the earliest opportunity and trade can resume more quickly following an outbreak of avian disease in Great Britain.
These changes will mainly affect backyard flocks but will also require action by farmers and keepers of other livestock who may keep a smaller number of birds for non-commercial reasons. Registering as a keeper of less than 50 birds is quick and simple: start your application here.
It remains a legal requirement to register as a keeper of over 50 or more poultry or other captive birds. You can complete or update this registration here.
An update on Sustainable Farming Incentive and Defra’s agri-environment schemes
The first Sustainable Farming Incentive agreements for 2024 are now live as Defra starts to deliver on its commitment to restore stability for the farming sector by continuing the controlled rollout of the scheme.
Farmers who want to apply can continue to contact the Rural Payments Agency to express their interest.
Commenting on the milestone, Farming Minister, Daniel Zeichner said:
“This Government recognises that food security is national security. We said we would provide stability for farmers, and we are delivering on this commitment by confirming that the first Sustainable Farming Incentive agreements are now live.
“This is the first step to increase farmer confidence, as part of our new deal for farmers, to boost Britain’s food security, restore nature and support rural economic growth. We will optimise Environmental Land Management schemes, so they produce the right outcomes for all farmers – including those who have been too often ignored such as small, grassland, upland and tenanted farms.
“We will protect farmers from being undercut in trade deals, make the supply chain work more fairly, prevent shock rises in bills by switching on GB Energy and use the government’s purchasing power to back British produce.”
On 5 August, Defra published updated scheme information and guidance to help farmers and land managers carry out actions in agreements.
The expanded SFI offer initially comprises 102 actions, designed in collaboration with the agricultural sector, including over 20 new options to support more sustainable food production, – with payments for agroforestry, precision farming, a new and expanded offer for upland farmers and more actions for tenants on short-term contracts. Our latest blog to the Defra Farming Blog looks at some of the recent changes we have made to action wording.
New to SFI, endorsed actions target certain priority habitats, species or heritage features, and require approval from Natural England or Historic England. ‘GRH6: Manage priority habitats species-rich grassland’, the first endorsed action, is now on GOV.UK and available to include in your application. Find out more about endorsed actions in this post on the Defra Farming blog.
Voluntary advice has been published for each SFI action which offers information and examples on how you might choose to do the action. You can find the advice under each action on the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ page.
Next steps for other Environmental Land Management schemes and grants will be confirmed in due course.
Record numbers of agri-environment agreements, including SFI, are now in place. As of 16 July, there were over 65,400 live agreements. Previously, the largest number of live agreements was 59,200 in 2010.
Agroforestry Boxout:
New agroforestry capital items
- PA4 – completing an Agroforestry Plan to support you to plan, create and manage your agroforestry system (£1,268.08 per plan)
- AF1 – planting an agroforestry woodland tree (£5.40 per tree)
- AF2 – planting an agroforestry fruit tree (£17.83 per tree)
- AF3 – supplement to create more diverse mixtures in agroforestry systems (£1.16 per tree)
Information on all capital items above can be found on the Countryside Stewardship Grant Finder tool.
Previously announced agroforestry revenue rates
- AGF1 – annual revenue payment towards maintaining very low density in-field agroforestry on less sensitive land, between 30 and 50 trees per hectare and is paid at £248/ha for 3 years
- AGF2 – annual revenue payment towards maintaining low density in-field agroforestry on less sensitive land, between 51 and 130 trees per hectare and is paid at £385/ha for 3 years
You can find out more about the two revenue payments in the Find funding for land or farms digital tool.
Understanding the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2023 Annual Declaration
As the year progresses, Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreement holders are reminded about the need to submit an annual declaration.
What is the Annual Declaration?
The annual declaration is how SFI agreement holders confirm that they have delivered against their agreement for that year. It is an important part of receiving the final payment for the agreement year. Section 5.2.4 of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) Handbook for the SFI 2023 offer (publishing.service.gov.uk) cover’s information on the Annual Declaration.
Submission timeline and steps
Each SFI agreement spans three years, with agreement holders required to submit an annual declaration during the last two months of each relevant agreement year.
The timing for the declaration depends on the start date of your SFI agreement, and the RPA will notify agreement holders when the submission period opens.
Here is a summary of the steps for submission:
- Notification: The RPA will inform you when the annual declaration period begins.
- Access the Declaration Form:
- Sign in to the Rural Payment service.
- Click on the ‘Business overview’ section.
- Select ‘SFI applications and agreements’.
- Complete the Declaration:
- Click on the ‘Annual Declaration’ button.
- On the screen asking, ‘Are you in a position to submit your annual declaration?’, select ‘Yes’.
- Review and submit your declaration.
Importance of Timely Submission
It is important to submit your annual declaration within the designated period to receive the final quarterly instalment of your annual payment. The annual declaration process is to be conducted online via the Rural Payments service, making it accessible and straightforward for all agreement holders.
Key Dates for Annual Declaration Submission
To assist SFI agreement holders, we have outlined the opening and closing dates for the annual declaration submission based on the start date of the agreement:
| Agreement start date | Declaration period opens | Declaration period closes |
| 1 October 2023 | 1 August 2024 | 30 September 2024 |
| 1 November 2023 | 1 September 2024 | 31 October 2024 |
| 1 December 2023 | 1 October 2024 | 30 November 2024 |
| 1 January 2024 | 1 November 2024 | 31 December 2024 |
| 1 February 2024 | 1 December 2024 | 31 January 2025 |
| 1 March 2024 | 1 January 2025 | 28 February 2025 |
| 1 April 2024 | 1 February 2025 | 31 March 2025 |
| 1 May 2024 | 1 March 2025 | 30 April 2025 |
| 1 June 2024 | 1 April 2025 | 31 May 2025 |
| 1 July 2024 | 1 May 2025 | 30 June 2025 |
| 1 August 2024 | 1 June 2025 | 31 July 2025 |
| 1 September 2024 | 1 July 2025 | 31 August 2025 |
We encourage all SFI agreement holders to mark the relevant dates in their calendars and complete their declarations promptly to avoid any disruptions in payment.
For any assistance or questions regarding the annual declaration process, please contact the Rural Payments service.
There’s still time to apply for a Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare Grant
This grant is open to laying hen or pullet farmers with flocks of more than 1,000 birds.
You can get funding for two different types of projects:
- £5,000 to £100,000 towards installing a new veranda on an existing building
- £15,000 to £500,000 towards refurbishing or replacing existing laying hen and pullet housing
Applications close on 18 September at 23:59pm.
The application process has two stages, starting with the online checker which takes about 35 minutes. This is to determine your eligibility and whether your project fits the funding priorities. The RPA will later invite successful projects to the second stage to complete a full application.
Read the full guidance on GOV.UK
Start now on the online checker
Get funding to improve animal health and welfare
The new ‘get funding to improve animal health and welfare’ service is now open for keepers of cattle, pigs and sheep. It incorporates the annual health and welfare review launched in 2023 (now called the animal health and welfare review) and introduces a new endemic disease follow-up visit.
Building on the advice and testing conducted in the review visit, the new follow-up visit provides livestock keepers with access to further funding for testing, as well as advice on how to remove disease from their farm and improve biosecurity.
The payment rates for this new endemic disease follow-up visit vary by species:
- £215 for beef cattle with no Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD)
- £837 for beef cattle where BVD is present in the herd
- £639 for sheep
- £923 for pigs
Because the new follow-up visit builds on a review visit, you must have a review first. Follow-up visits must be no more than 10 months after the first review.
For more information, please visit GOV.UK.
Keepers of dairy cattle can apply for an agreement for both and conduct an animal health and welfare review visit now.
The new endemic disease follow-up visits are not yet available to keepers of dairy cattle. Defra has confirmed that updates on the availability will be communicated to dairy farmers in due course.
