Last month Plantlife published a new briefing paper which it is sharing with the DEFRA Director, Mick Rowe outlining the changes they and other grassland charities would like to see made to the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) to ensure the true value of species rich grasslands are unlocked and that permanent grasslands aren’t inadvertently lost to temporary herbal leys, among other things.

This work follows on from, and complements, their development of a Grassland Action Plan published in August 2023 which highlighted the obvious disparities when it comes to valuing grasslands as much as other habitats such as woodlands and peatlands.

Herefordshire Meadows actively fed into this briefing note and fully supports its contents and we hope it can help inform the new round of SFI anticipated for release in 2026. You can read the full briefing note below.