At Glebe Farm, in Podington, north Bedfordshire, there are regular sightings of skylarks, lapwings and grey partridges.
All three bird species have seen a rapid decline, nationally, in recent years and are on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s UK Red List of birds needing urgent conservation action.
Barn owls, tawny owls, hares, mice and voles are also regularly seen at the 840-hectare arable farm, managed by NFU Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire Vice Chair Andrew Mahon, while bee and insect populations are thriving there.
The farm, just over a mile from the Northamptonshire border, where Mr Mahon grows wheat, oats and beans, is also carbon negative, meaning it is removing more harmful carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it is producing.
The soil management system adopted by Mr Mahon, called regenerative farming, is used by farmers across the country and sees roots in the soil capture and bury carbon dioxide under the ground, supporting efforts to tackle climate change along with reducing pesticide use, maintaining soil cover to stop erosion.
Mr Mahon has achieved much of this success through the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), the government’s flagship support scheme for nature and environmentally-friendly farming in England.
With the future of SFI unclear, Mr Mahon is calling on the government to ensure the scheme is continued.
He said: “SFI is perfect for the type of farming I do here, and we have had some amazing environmental successes through using it.
“We have seen more bird life and more insect life here; those two go hand-in-hand and the whole ecosystem is working well.
“We are carbon negative by a long way.
“For many farmers, it has changed the mindset, opened new possibilities and helped them to support the environment in way that they may not have done before.”
The SFI scheme was launched in 2022 as part of a system of environmental payments brought in during the post-Brexit transition away from EU-era subsidies.
SFI sees English farmers and growers paid to carry out specific projects which support biodiversity and nature recovery and help the government to achieve its legally-binding environmental targets.
On the evening of March 11, the government sent shockwaves throughout the farming industry by announcing, without warning, that it was no longer accepting applications for this year’s SFI scheme.
Defra says more than half of the country's farmed land is now managed under these schemes, with more than 37,000 live SFI agreements in place.
However, this record participation means the maximum budget limit has been reached, so the government has stopped accepting new SFI applications for this year and is yet to provide details about its plans for the future of SFI.
The NFU says the sudden closure of this year’s SFI is a huge blow for thousands of farmers, and the environment.
Mr Mahon backs the NFU’s calls for government to unlock the SFI scheme for farmers who have begun applications but are now unable to be paid for the work they have done to compile them, and in some cases for the environmental work already started in expectation of an agreement.
The NFU is also calling on the government to provide more information about the future of SFI.
Mr Mahon said: “I have been lucky that I’ve had my SFI applications approved in time, but it is completely unfair for those who missed out and were given no warning over its closure.
“I know several farmers who had applications pending, they have spent time and money on ecologists and consultants, and they have nothing to show for it.
“They wanted to do that work to support the environment.
“With the huge financial pressures farmers are now under, many will just have to focus on doing what they need to do to ensure their farm businesses will survive.
“I am concerned, wildlife recovery and the environment will miss out.”
Mr Mahon has been involved in SFI since taking part in the pilot scheme, launched in October 2021.
Through SFI he has adapted his farming methods to ensure no insecticides are used on the farm and has planted a seed mixture which provides winter bird food.
Mr Mahon also carries out companion cropping, a scheme which sees two crops planted together - one to harvest and the other to feed the soil. This improves soil quality and provides a habitat for birds and invertebrates and is effective for weed and pest management and nutrient efficiency.
Mr Mahon also partakes in the SFI NUM3 scheme, which involves sowing a mixture of flowering plants, including legumes, on land to improve soil health, manage nutrients, and provide food for farmland wildlife.
Mr Mahon said: “SFI has been a great scheme and it will be a great shame if it doesn’t continue.
“SFI is using public money for public good; it brings huge benefits to wildlife and the environment while helping to sustain homegrown food production, which is vital for national food security and helps deliver billions of pounds to the economy.”
He added: “We host farm walks here, which are always well attended, and people are amazed and very supportive of the environmental work that is being done on the farm.
“The public support for SFI to continue is clearly there.”