Farming Connect is offering services to support farmers and growers with The Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS).
The SFS is set to help Welsh farmers and growers with three primary objectives: producing high-quality food, improving productivity, and successfully adapting to climate change.
To assist the agricultural community with the transition, Farming Connect offers an array of free or subsidised services, including one to one advice, dedicated Mentoring services, and e-learning, skills, and training resources. Farmers can benefit from valuable practical research made available through the Our Farms Network and gain crucial business insights using the new FarmData+ tool.
Here is an overview of what's on offer from Farming Connect to support you and your business:
Advisory Service
Farming Connect’s Advisory Service provides subsidised advice to help farming businesses understand and prepare for the upcoming SFS scheme. The service assists with making informed business decisions and preparing for future changes.
Available support includes:
- Business assessments: To analyse how the SFS will impact your business.
- Soil sampling: A key SFS requirement to get your farm prepared.
- Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Plans: Support to develop or refine your plan.
- Woodland and hedgerow planning: Guidance on planting and managing trees to benefit your business.
- Habitat and biodiversity planning: Advice on managing habitats to meet scheme requirements.
- Skills, training, e-learning & Storfa Sgiliau account
Farming Connect also offers support through specific skills and training opportunities in three main areas with funding of up to 80% available:
- Business courses: Focus on business planning, development, and diversification.
- Land courses: Cover practical skills for example: grassland management, soil science, dry stone walling, and woodland management.
- Livestock courses: Offers training on animal health, including foot trimming, mobility scoring, and the safe use of veterinary medicines.
For farm businesses claiming SFS Universal Scheme in 2026, completing any of the e-learning modules from summer 2025 will count towards the 2026 Scheme Year (but only for that scheme year), businesses can select which to complete. Completion of the AH&W modules if completed by the right individual will also count towards the CPD component of UA4 and UA12 (AH&W). No other Farming Connect delivered activity completed in 2025 (or prior) will count towards UA4 (or UA12).
The following will qualify for the UA12 AH&W CPD component if completed by the appropriate person. The five-year completion period means that these courses if completed from January 2022 onwards will count for 2026 claimants.
- There are five relevant e-learning modules available on BOSS
- Sheep Lameness AH&W Workshop (Vet-delivered, LANTRA-accredited)
- Reducing Dairy Cattle Lameness AH&W Workshop (Vet-delivered, LANTRA-accredited)
- Wales Master Lameness Accredited Training Course
- Intermediate Hoof Trimming Accredited Training Course
- Note: For single-species farms – Completion of one of the above qualifies as CPD for Year 1. For multispecies farms: – Completion of two (one sheep, one cattle) qualifies.
All CPD completed through Farming Connect is automatically recorded within Storfa Sgiliau and RPW will be notified of the date completed, course title and duration
Our Farms
The Farming Connect Our Farms Network includes 288 farms participating in 128 on-farm trials. These projects aim to bridge the gap between research and practical farm management to help with the transition to the SFS scheme. Final reports and data will be available on the Farming Connect website in the coming months. Several of on-farm trials demonstrated how they were able to meet the new SFS requirements and the results supports this:
A woodland management trial showed a farm earned £2,791 in additional income by thinning their woodland.
An agroforestry study revealed that a 450-cow dairy herd could lose over £22,000 in milk production due to heat stress without access to shade, compared to a loss of only £1,700 with access to shade.
Other projects are helping farmers with soil health, regenerative farming, and using herbal leys as temporary habitats to meet SFS requirements.
Our Farms Live is a five-part webinar series starting on 5 November, with a new session held every Wednesday at 7.30 p.m.:
- 5/11/25 – Powering your future with renewable Energy – links to UA3
- 12/11/25 – WHLP – Are multi-species swards as diverse as Welsh farms? – links to UA1, 6 & 12
- 19/11/25 – Maintaining soil health in an arable rotation – what does the soil UA in SFS mean for arable farmers? – links to UA1
- 26/11/25 – Alternative crops for Welsh Farms – Lucerne & Sainfoin – have they worked? – links to UA1, 2, 12
- 3/12/25 – Iceberg disease: how to identify and quantify the risk? – links to UA12
In February 2026, Farming Connect will also be running a series of Arable Roadshows. These events will focus on soil health, temporary habitats, and resilient crop rotations. Dates and locations for these roadshows are yet to be announced.
FarmData+
To further support farmers with their data, the free FarmData+ benchmarking tool will launch in January 2026. This tool helps meet UA3 by allowing users to complete the required Key Performance Indicators (KPI's), with only the titles of the KPIs being sent to Rural Payments Wales to ensure farm data remains private.
Mentoring
Each registered farmer and grower can access up to 15 hours of fully funded Mentoring. With over 90 mentors across Wales, this service offers tailored, impartial guidance to help navigate the changes ahead with vast benefits that include:
- Practical guidance: Mentors can help you translate the SFS's written rules into practical, on-the-ground actions that fit your specific farm.
- Confidence building: The one-to-one sessions provide a confidential space to ask questions, helping you make informed decisions and avoid costly mistakes.
- Tailored advice: You can choose a mentor with experience in your specific farm type and location to get relevant advice on selecting the best “Optional and Collaborative Actions” for your business.
- Networking: The program helps you connect with other farmers, which can lead to new ideas and potential collaborative projects.
Horticulture
Farming Connect's Horticulture team offers fully funded support to help growers embrace the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS).
This comprehensive support includes expert Horticulture Business Support sessions—available as 1-hour online consults or 2-hour site visits—that provide advice on crucial areas like soil health, water management, and benchmarking. Growers can also share best practices through specialised Horticulture Networks, such as the Soil Health Network and the Organic and in Conversion Network.
Events like the Crop Rotation webinar give growers confidence in techniques for Universal Action 1 (Soil Health), while new e-learning modules—such as ‘An Introduction to the Principles of IPM in Horticulture'—prepare them for Universal Action 2 (Integrated Pest Management). Additionally, updated research resources and factsheets support continuous professional development, counting toward Universal Action 4 (CPD). The team runs a programme of events throughout the year that cover topics that will enhance farmers and growers’ land management. For example, our upcoming webinar on Crop Rotation gives growers confidence in using this technique to improve nutrient and soil management in their system, preparing them for UA1 Soil Health.
For Horticultural businesses, the following e-learning modules completed from summer 2025 will count towards the 2026 scheme year (but only for that scheme year), businesses can select which to complete.
- Principles of Plant Pests and Diseases
- Food Safety for Growers of Fresh Produce
- Horticulture: Due Diligence for Small Growers
- Horticulture: On Site Composting for your horticultural enterprise
- Horticulture: How to recognise some of the most common pests, diseases and weeds in horticultural crops
- An introduction to the principles of IPM in horticulture
The team produces a variety of resources and factsheets based on the latest research to help growers continuously build their existing skills and knowledge, preparing them to work towards Universal Action 4 (CPD).
For further information or for support with e-learning, contact the team on horticulture@lantra.co.uk.
Surgeries
Surgeries are another valuable way to gain tailored advice from expert consultants. These one-hour sessions, held either over the phone or digitally, allow you to discuss specific business ideas and issues. Following the consultation, you will receive a report summarising the discussion.
The surgeries cover a range of topics relevant to the SFS scheme including:
- Business performance
- Succession planning
- Diversification
- Woodland
- Grassland management
- Habitat and biodiversity
- Carbon foot printing
- Regenerative agriculture & biodiversity
- Precision farming
Click here to make an application for any surgeries.
Succession
Although the new SFS scheme doesn't have a specific requirement for succession planning, the concept is a key part of its broader goals for long-term rural sustainability. Farming Connect’s full range of services to help farming business with their succession journeys include:
- Facilitated family meetings
- Succession planning advice
- Legal advice
- The Start to Farm program, which helps match new entrants with established farms to create joint ventures.
Sustainable Farming Scheme roadshows
The Welsh Government is holding a series of informative events on SFS where Farming Connect staff will be present to support attendees. For event details and registration click here.
To take advantage of the support Farming Connect is providing as you prepare for the Sustainable Farming Scheme, please contact your Local Development Officer or the Farming Connect Service Centre on 03456 000 813.
