Jonathan farms in Oxfordshire and does as much of his own scheme work as he can. For years that meant spreadsheets, a lever arch file and a lot of worry. He's been a JustFarm Pro user since October 2025. Here's what changed.
At a glance
- Farmer: Jonathan, Oxfordshire
- Farm: About 100 acres, plus other land he farms
- Agreements: SFI, Countryside Stewardship and Capital Grant agreements
- What he uses: Agreement upload, reminders, evidence records and the SFI Planner
Before JustFarm: "spreadsheets driving me mad"
Jonathan has always liked to understand the schemes and do the work himself. For years, his approach to compliance was simple. "It was all end product based. I would look at what I'm trying to achieve and then I would say, well, have I done that? Yes, right. Let's go out and do something outside more interesting."
When the first SFI agreements arrived, he decided he needed to be more serious about it. "I was tortured at the time about finding a way. I'd constructed complex spreadsheets for recording my own cross compliance, and it was driving me mad."
Inspections were the hardest part. He's had three, and none lasted less than half a day. "It's insanely stressful. I'm here with a lever arch folder, a spreadsheet on my computer, and he's crouched over my desk with his glasses on, looking at my screen."
His records were spread between the filing cabinet, his computer and the shed. "It was never pulled together. It was stacked in a heap. Of course, they're not going to go through everything. They can't. So you just hope against hope."
He could also see the bar rising, with the RPA now using satellite mapping and remote checks. "You're going to be held to a much higher standard of account than you were. The sooner you realise that, the better it is for all farmers."
Getting started: "No manual inputting"
So he went looking for something better. He'd tried another tool that didn't work for him, then found JustFarm and started on the Free plan. "I thought the free version was already more meaningful than many others," he says.
The moment that won him over was uploading his first agreement. JustFarm read it in and mapped every action to the right field. "The most impressive thing is watching JustFarm suck up my SFI agreement. It just took it all. No manual inputting. Amazing."
He upgraded to the Pro plan soon after. "When I looked at the value of the agreements that we had, and I looked against what the tool could do for me and the cost of using that tool, it just seemed a no-brainer really."
The timing was right, too. "I was kind of ripe for this. I went in, and I was able to do a lot of what I wanted, and my anxiety went down."
How JustFarm changed the way Jonathan works
Today, Jonathan's agreements, dates and records all live in one place. Here's what that means for him day to day.
His records in one safe place. His evidence is now stored against the right agreement. "The ability to store the records in a safe place was pretty key. I know that I've got all that: the ability to do a report, the ability to know the percentage of compliance work that I complete, to know the time that I need to get that done by."
That changes how he feels about his next inspection. When the inspector's email arrives, he'll be able to send a report, and check it first. "It will give me the opportunity to go through it again and make sure I'm happy with it. What I had before, that just wasn't possible."
Nothing left to his diary, no deadlines missed. Key dates used to live in his diary. Now, he says, "I'm getting a reminder when I've got to submit an annual declaration or when a scheme's coming to an end."
Planning he can trust. When he applied for SFI 2026, Jonathan used JustFarm's SFI Planner to weigh up every option against what it would ask of him. "Plan it, delete it, plan it, add this, take that away. Look at it in real time with payment rates. This hedge here, is it really worth having the compliance aggro of doing that for the amount of money that it will bring in?"
The planner also showed him which actions each field could take and how much area he had left, so he didn't apply for anything that wouldn't be allowed. His offer came back exactly as he'd applied: "What we applied for, we got. That's how it came back, and it was all checked in JustFarm." He now plans his rotational actions in JustFarm too. Funding decisions are always the RPA's, and JustFarm can't guarantee an outcome.
Simple, plain-English guidance. The guidance built into JustFarm explains what each action needs, and it's given him the confidence to do more himself. He values "having a clear understanding of what I was trying to achieve, and not just a reprint of what the RPA are printing". As he puts it: "JustFarm keeps it simple and in plain English, so you don't feel lost in the first two minutes."
Real people when he needs them. "Every time I've contacted support, I've had a quick response," he says. "It's not one of those tiered support situations. You very quickly get through to somebody who understands what you're trying to achieve."
What's next: this winter, he plans to start taking evidence photos in the field with the mobile app, and to prepare his next Capital Grant claim in JustFarm.
His advice to other farmers
Don't even think about it. Just do it. It's a no-brainer. Take it from me: I've been doing this all my life.
Jonathan, Oxfordshire
Less time on paperwork, more time on the farm, and peace of mind. That's what JustFarm has given Jonathan, and it starts the same way for everyone: enter your SBI and upload your SFI, Countryside Stewardship and Capital Grant agreements. You can do it free.
Want to see how it would work on your farm? Book a demo with our team.
