Farmers urged to take advantage of reopening of Specialist Advice Grants scheme

Farmers in Scotland are being urged to look at whether they can use the Specialist Advice Grants scheme to help them meet the 'Whole Farm Plan' conditions for the Basic Payment Scheme.

Hamish Dunbar-Nasmith, a farming consultant within the Rural team of Strutt & Parker, says that now is a good time to consider the SAG scheme, which reopened on 1 April.

"The basic premise of the scheme, which is run by the Farm Advisory Service, is that it funds tailored and specialist advice from a farm advisor of your choice.

"It is a popular scheme through which farmers can seek advice on a range of business topics, including habitat management, farm business efficiency and succession planning.

"Helpfully, it also includes £1,600 of funding for a farm biodiversity audit, which is one of the five options set out on the Whole Farm Plan list."

Mr Dunbar-Nasmith said the option of funding a carbon audit through the scheme has been withdrawn for 2026.

"However, there is still a grant available for a carbon audit action plan, which will be useful for businesses who have received a carbon audit and need further support and advice to implement it."  

Whole Farm Plan conditions were first introduced in 2025 and are a set of plans and audits designed to help farmers understand more about their own business, so they can farm more sustainably.

"This year farmers will again have to confirm on their Single Application Form (SAF), that they have completed at least two of the listed activities by 15 May 2026," says Hamish.

"But by 2028 at the latest, farmers will need to have all the plans and audits that are applicable to their business in place. These also need to be updated at various points, so they remain valid - for example, carbon and biodiversity audits need to be updated every five years."

The Whole Farm Plan activities are as follows:

·      Carbon audit

·      Biodiversity audit         

·      Soil analysis   

·      Animal health and welfare plan         

·      Integrated pest management plan