The second window of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) closed in just six hours after opening earlier today (22 September).
£233 million was available, including a £50 million boost announced in August and £3 million not allocated in the first window. Eligible growers with more than 3ha were invited to apply, including those who had missed out in the first window.
By 2pm, more than half of the budget had been allocated, which drew criticism from the Country Land and Business Association. Deputy President, Joe Evans said: “We have always been clear that in this round of SFI, there was insufficient budget allocated to enable farmers to continue delivering for the environment on behalf of society. Today has been a scramble for thousands of farmers desperately trying not to be left behind and we urge Defra to provide clear guidance to farmers who – despite their best efforts – will be unlucky and fail to secure an SFI26 agreement.”
Less than two hours later, the budget had been allocated and the window closed. Farming Minister Stephen Morgan said: “We built this year’s Sustainable Farming Incentive to be simpler and fairer, so farmers don’t carry the risk of a changing climate alone, and they have responded in force.
“This is a scheme that works for farmers, backs food production, and delivers practical, sustainable land management, supporting the aims of our Farming Roadmap, our long-term plan for English farming.
“We’re with farmers all the way, and we’ll set out more on the next steps for SFI in 2027 soon.”
Robyn Munt, vice-president of the NFU, responded to the closure by saying: “The rapid uptake of the scheme comes as no surprise. Its closure in less than six hours shows the scale of demand there is from farmers to deliver for the environment and to invest in farm resilience.
“The current cashflow pressures facing farmers and growers only exacerbates that demand as they look for certainty and clarity for the year ahead. But those that missed out have been left with even greater uncertainty as the sector doesn’t have a commitment from government for SFI27 and access to Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier. We know the uncertainty and financial pressure this creates for those businesses.
“We have warned Defra for months that the available budget would not meet demand of those farmers wanting to deliver for the environment and sustainable farming. The additional funding announced by the Prime Minister in August was welcome, but with thousands of agreements ending this year, it was clear that it wasn’t enough to plug the gap in the budget needed and it fails many who have been committed to such schemes for many years.
“Yet again, Defra has created a position where there are the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ in the sector based purely on the speed of pressing a button. This comes at the same time as the department says it wants a reset with the farming industry. Instead, it has further damaged business confidence levels that are already incredibly low.
“The Farming Minister’s response to the closure suggests that there will be further announcements and we look forward to hearing what these next stages are. These must come urgently, with clear information on what schemes will be available and when. For food producing businesses already questioning whether they can survive the year ahead, this clarity is critical.”