Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential environmental merits of including Miscanthus as an incentivised crop under SFI 2026.

The publication cited has been superseded by the following:

• Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme: expanded offer for 2024 - GOV.UK
• Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier: get ready to apply - GOV.UK

The moorland offer is designed to help deliver our environmental objectives on moorland whilst supporting sustainable food production. Fundamental to sustainable grazing levels on moorland is the level of grazing pressure on that habitat over time. If this is right, then the grazing by preferential livestock (cattle and ponies) gives additional environmental outcomes.

The cattle and pony grazing supplemental actions in the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and in Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier are designed to support this and provide tiered payments which reward their level of delivery. They are only eligible with the livestock grazing on moorland actions (UPL1-3) to ensure the benefits of grazing with preferential livestock are not lost. These actions specify a grazing livestock density that cannot be exceeded.

Supplemental actions supporting native breeds as risk on moorland aim to maintain or increase the number of rare native breed grazing livestock. These supplemental actions are only eligible with a base action. In SFI, applicants can choose to undertake a base action which does not limit grazing levels, for example Shepherding livestock on moorland actions (UPL7-UPL10).