What the action involves
This action’s aim is that you assess your current approach to nutrient usage and effectively plan how to:
- manage your nutrient usage more efficiently and effectively
- ptimise your use of organic sources of crop nutrition
What you must do
You must arrange for a member of the BASIS Professional Register who’s qualified under the Fertiliser Advisers Certification and Training Scheme (a ‘FACTS qualified adviser’) to visit your farm to:
- assess your current nutrient use and needs for your farm
- identify and discuss opportunities to increase efficiency of your nutrient usage, and maximise the use of natural sources of crop nutrients on that land
- help you produce a written NM review report
You must make sure that the FACTS qualified adviser does what’s required above.
If you’re a FACTS qualified adviser, as defined above, you can complete this action yourself.
You can use an existing written NM review report, informed by an NM assessment, to get paid for this action if it was:
- carried out by a FACTS qualified adviser
- written within the last 12 months
If you need to take soil samples on areas within a land parcel containing historic or archaeological features, including scheduled monuments, you must follow the requirements explained in section 5.6: ‘Land with historic or archaeological features’ in the SFI scheme information.
How to do this action
It’s up to you how you do this action, as long as you:
- follow this action’s requirements – these are identified by a ‘must’
- do the action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim
You may find it helpful to read the ‘advice to help you do this action’, but it’s not part of this action’s requirements.
When to do it
You must make sure that a FACTS qualified adviser visits your farm to:
- complete the NM assessment and help you produce a written NM review report within 12 months of this action’s start date
- reassess your nutrient use and needs for your land and review your NM review report in each subsequent year of this action’s duration
Evidence to keep
You must keep:
- a written record of your NM review report, including the NM assessment
- evidence that the adviser is a FACTS qualified adviser, such as their name and BASIS or FACTS registration number
You must supply this evidence if we ask for it.
The same action appears in the other schemes under a different code. The work is broadly the same; the rate and the length of the commitment are not.
- SFI 2023 — NUM1: £652 for the assessment and review report per year, over 3 years
Where you can do it
You can do this action on all agricultural land located below the moorland line. The nutrient management (NM) assessment and review report should cover all of the relevant areas of your farm.
This is an ‘agreement level’ SFI action. This means you apply to include it in your agreement instead of entering specific areas of land.
You can only apply for this action:
- if at least one land parcel is linked to your Single Business Identifier (SBI), so it’s shown on your digital maps
- in one SFI agreement – once you’ve included it in an agreement, you cannot apply for this action again until after its 3-year duration in that agreement ends
Protected land
Sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs): Eligible – you do not need to get SSSI consent for this action as it’s an assessment and review report.
Historic and archaeological features: Eligible – you do not need to get a SFI HEFER for this action as it’s an assessment and review report.
Available area
Not applicable as this is an agreement level SFI action.
Rotational or static
Not applicable as this is an agreement level SFI action.