The Soil Association and English Organic Forum have announced two important changes that will benefit organic farmers on improved grassland.

Organic conversion (OR1) and maintenance (OT1) Countryside Stewardship options can now be stacked with:

• NUM2 Legumes on improved grassland. (£102 per hectare); and

• SAM3  Herbal Leys (£382 per hectare).

This will be a welcome boost to organic farmers with improved grassland. They have lobbied Defra to make these changes, as the original SFI standards discriminated against organic farmers in Countryside Stewardship. 

To find out more about these changes and other developments to SFI you may wish to attend the Future Farming Resilience webinar on on 17th August,  more information here.