Independent advice for East Yorkshire farms — no manufacturer spin, no agenda
Is SFI26 Worth It for a Small East Yorkshire Farm? If you farm under 100 hectares in East Yorkshire and you’re asking whether SFI26 is worth the bother, the straightforward answer is yes — for most holdings, the payments stack up. But only if you choose actions that fit your rotation and your management rather...
Your SFI agreement is only as good as your records. When the Rural Payments Agency audits a claim — or requests evidence at year-end — the farms that struggle are those who relied on memory rather than documentation. If you’re in an SFI agreement on East Yorkshire arable land, understanding the SFI evidence requirements before...
SFI26 Window 2 is open, and if you haven’t applied yet, the clock is running. For East Yorkshire arable farmers — whether you’re farming chalk on the Wolds north of Driffield or heavier ground down through Holderness — the actions available this window could put thousands of pounds back into your farm. But missing a...
Which SFI26 actions actually work in a Wolds arable rotation without rewriting your whole farm plan? That is the question I get most from farmers across the Driffield and Pocklington area right now, with Window 2 open and the clock ticking. There are more than 100 actions on the SFI26 list. The majority are irrelevant...
SFI26 Window 1 vs Window 2: Which One Fits Your Farm? Choosing the wrong SFI26 application window can cost your farm thousands before a single payment lands. If you are weighing up SFI26 Window 1 vs Window 2, the decision is not just about dates — it determines your agreement start, when your first payment...
Variable-rate lime spreading has been around for years, but the conversation hasn't moved on much. Some farms swear by it. Some farms have tried it once, weren't sure if it paid, and quietly went back to blanket. The honest answer is: variable-rate lime pays off brilliantly on some fields and is a waste of money…
Soil sampling is the cheapest, highest-leverage input on most arable farms — and it's the one most likely to be done out of habit, on a calendar, with no real plan behind it. This post walks through how we approach soil sampling at Bluestone, why the choices you make on sampling design actually matter, and…
The 2026 Sustainable Farming Incentive — SFI26 — is the most-anticipated farming scheme of the year. With the first application window opening in June 2026 and the second in September, every Yorkshire farm with three hectares or more is looking at it and asking the same question: is it worth the effort, and if so,…