Now is a good time to convert your farm  

Converting with funding

Scottish Government have made a manifesto promise to support the growth of organic farming in Scotland, and there are funding provisions to support organic conversion and maintenance in the AECS Scheme.

Are you worried about rising costs of fertiliser?  Organic farming can take this worry away.  Artificial nitrogen is not required in organic farming.  Farm in a natural way, protecting soils and biodiversity, and be part of the future of Scottish Agriculture.

The future of farm policy is very bright for organic farms, and with the headline interest in soils and biodiversity there is lots of opportunity for the natural capital benefits brought about by organic farm management.

2022 Applications
The AECS funding application window closed on 29th April 2022. With the results published by the Scottish Government on 20th January 2023. You will need to know your unique AECS application reference number generated on submission of your application to find out the outcome of your application from the 2022 AECS results list.

2023 Applications
The AECS funding application window is due to open on 30th January 2023 and close on 7th June 2023 for Organic Conversion and Maintenance applications.

We Can Help
SOPA Member Support offer mentoring and advice every step of the way, so we can help you while you are thinking about conversion, preparing for conversion and undergoing conversion. Even if you have applied and are waiting to hear, we talk you through the steps to conversion.

We offer technical advice on the conversion process, important dates and steps you need to take.

Key things to think about AECS
‍The Scheme allows for a minimum £500 in total funding over five years, so small farms can apply. The maximum Arable, Improved Grassland and Fruit and Veg land you can apply for is 300ha.The scheme application cannot exceed total 1000ha. Submitting an approved Organic Viability Proposal (OVP) is essential to the application.  Contact us to get help with the OVP. The scheme pays funding for five years.

The payment rates depend on the type of land entering conversion.

We Can Help
SOPA Member Support offer mentoring and advice every step of the way, so we can help you while you are thinking about conversion, preparing for conversion and undergoing conversion. We talk you through the steps to apply for funding, and can even act as your application agent if you wish.

We also offer technical advice on the conversion process, important dates and steps you need to take.

Approved applications must start organic conversion within six months of receiving the Authority to Start letter from Scottish Government.  This is likely to be between February 2023 and August 2023.

Contact us now to keep abreast of the steps to organic