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Closure of 2026 SFI window sparks farming industry anger
Farming organisations have reacted with frustration and concern after the Government's Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI26) application window closed less than seven hours after opening.
The £233m funding pot was exhausted on Tuesday afternoon after overwhelming demand from farmers and land managers across England.
While ministers have pointed to the rapid uptake as evidence of the scheme's popularity, industry leaders argue it instead highlights a significant mismatch between available funding and the number of businesses seeking support.
The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) said the swift closure demonstrated longstanding concerns about underfunding.
The £233m SFI funding pot was exhausted on Tuesday afternoon after overwhelming demand (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
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."
He described the application day as "a scramble for thousands of farmers desperately trying not to be left behind" and urged Defra to provide clear guidance for those who were unsuccessful despite applying as quickly as possible.
NFU vice-president Robyn Munt said farmers were increasingly reliant on SFI payments as they sought both environmental improvements and greater business resilience amid ongoing financial pressures.
"The rapid uptake of the scheme comes as no surprise,"
she said.
"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."
However, Ms Munt warned that many businesses had been left facing fresh uncertainty, particularly those whose existing agreements are due to expire this autumn and winter.
Similar concerns were raised by the National Sheep Association (NSA), which said many livestock businesses now face a potentially damaging gap in income.
NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said the rapid closure may be portrayed as a sign of success, but warned it would leave many farmers excluded from a scheme they had expected to join or renew.
"We simply cannot expect farmers to live with this level of uncertainty when they are running businesses built on long-term decisions,"
he said.
Mr Stocker said farmers left outside the scheme could lose funding for environmental measures already being delivered on their land, creating significant financial challenges.
He described the situation as the result of "inadequate funding and poor budgetary control" and said it was unacceptable for England's flagship farming and environmental support programme to operate in such a way.
Defra has defended the operation of the scheme, saying steps had been taken to support smaller businesses and maximise the number of successful applications.
A spokesperson said small farms and those new to SFI were given priority access through an exclusive summer application window.
The department said ministers had allocated an additional £20m ahead of the second application round, on top of the £50m funding boost announced by the Prime Minister in August, bringing the total funding available for new agreements across both windows to £310m.
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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," he said.
"This is a scheme that works for farmers, backs food production, and delivers practical, sustainable land management."
Mr Morgan added that the Government "set out more on the next steps for SFI in 2027 soon".
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