A family-run seed trader in Salisbury, Wiltshire, is helping UK farmers access the financial benefits of environmental schemes by offering tailored seed mixes and expert guidance.

Bright Seeds, owned and run by Chris Bright, is helping farmers meet the requirements of government-backed initiatives like the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and Countryside Stewardship, which provide funding for sustainable farming practices.

As environmental schemes become more important, many farmers struggle with meeting the complex requirements and criteria to unlock funding such as improving soil health and boosting biodiversity – areas Bright Seeds can help with.

Mr Bright says: “We’ve always been involved with the Countryside Stewardship scheme, and we keep up to date with emerging environmental schemes so we can stay at the forefront of supply.

“We trial all our new stewardship and wildflower mixes on our land before they go to market to show customers what compliance with these schemes can look like, and to give them that tangible sense of how our seeds could work for them.”

The company’s commitment to sustainability extends to its own operations – Mr Bright explains that their demonstration farm at Dean Lane benefits from mid-tier Countryside Stewardship and SFI schemes itself and uses renewable energy solutions like solar panels and ground-source heat pumps, alongside water management systems designed to improve soil health and retention.

Bright Seeds is also supporting farmers focusing on areas identified by Lloyds Banking Group’s Farming with Nature report. The report is the most comprehensive analysis of its kind, mapping 5.1 million hectares, almost a third of the UK’s farmed land, to pinpoint key areas for improvement by region.

The Southwest, for example, is highlighted in the report as a key region for sediment retention and hedge planting – two areas where Bright Seeds’ expertise in soil health and hedging plants can help farmers unlock environmental and financial benefits.

Mr Bright is keen that farmers understand what support is available to them and that despite constant shifts in the schemes on offer, there are long-term solutions that can be put in place to safeguard the future of farming and the environment.

“Environmental schemes will keep changing. If one thing drops off, another will come up in its place.

“The key is to stay flexible and use what’s on offer to futureproof your farm,” he says.