Once a soil baseline and health indicators are in place, the Government must work with industry and academia to develop a set of binding and measurable targets for improving soil health in England, based primarily on the agreed soil health indicators, and giving a clear but realistic indication of how the use of agricultural inputs will be reduced over time. By the end of 2028, the Government should have amended the Environment Act 2021 section 1, subsection 3 to explicitly mention soil healt...

Once a soil baseline and health indicators are in place, the Government must work with industry and academia to develop a set of binding and measurable targets for improving soil health in England, based primarily on the agreed soil health indicators, and giving a clear but realistic indication of how the use of agricultural inputs will be reduced over time. By the end of 2028, the Government should have amended the Environment Act 2021 section 1, subsection 3 to explicitly mention soil health, put soil on an equal, harmonised footing with water and air, and to bind future governments to these targets. Type: recommendation | Number: 8 | Paragraph: 39 | Response status: under_consideration Government response: Payment rates are currently calculated using income foregone plus costs. Payment rates for 11 of the 23 SFI actions increased on 1 January 2024 for new and existing agreement holders to reflect the latest cost and income data. The updated rates will be applied to existing SFI ag