Next SFI budget will have to be £1bn, National Farmers' Union tells Defra
The 2026 Sustainable Farming Incentive was described as a “shambles” after the main application window closed within six hours, with thousands of farmers missing out.
Next year’s Sustainable Farming Incentive needs a budget of around £1bn to meet demand from farmers and support the Government’s legally-binding environmental targets, bombshell analysis has found.
Research from the National Farmers’ Union has revealed that around £960m of funding is set to be freed up from expired or expiring schemes.
The NFU’s analysis shows that a whopping 48,000 farmers are eligible to apply next year, with around 10,000 missing out in the “shambolic” situation in September.
The £310m scheme pays farmers in England for “public goods” such as insecticide-free farming, wildflower strips and managing ponds and hedgerows.
The window for the vast majority of applicants in 2026 slammed shut in less than six hours in September, after the fund was entirely allocated.
This led to what farmers described as a “shambles”, with the NFU saying that funding was handed out based on “the speed of pressing a button”. MPs heard that one farmer left a funeral early to try and apply.
Farming Minister Stephen Morgan has since pledged to move away from the first-come first-served selection process.
But the NFU says the only way to satisfy the increased demand, which will help the Government hit its legally-binding targets, is with a budget of around £1bn.
Vice-president Robyn Munt said: “Farmers have shown in their droves that they want to take part in agri-environment schemes.
“The experience of SFI26 left no doubt about the strength of that demand.
“For years, the government has contracted farmers to deliver the environmental work needed to underpin its legally binding targets.
“Farmers have committed land, time and resources to restoring hedgerows, creating buffer strips and improving soils, all while continuing to produce food.
“As existing agri-environment schemes come to an end and funding is freed up, Defra must honour its side of the partnership with farmers by reinvesting that money in SFI27 and ensuring its budget matches demand.
“It should open the scheme in early 2027 and ensure the wider Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs) are fully functioning, alongside publishing a clear ELMs strategy which would give farmers the certainty to plan and invest.
“When farmers invest, the benefits reach far beyond the farm gate, strengthening environmental delivery, domestic food resilience and rural communities across the country. The ball is now firmly in Defra’s court.”
The NFU’s asks for next year’s SFI have been shaped by two member surveys, it said.
Speaking to MPs last month, Mr Morgan said: “I am very keen to learn lessons this year - I’ve heard heartbreaking stories of the impact it’s had and how stressful it has been for farmers.
“We understood the levels of demand, which was why I was pleased to make sure we secured the additional funding, which was the £50m the Prime Minister announced in August followed by an additional £20m.
An Environment Department (Defra) spokesperson said: "We are backing our hard-working farmers with the largest nature-friendly budget in history, committing £11.8bn to be fully spent on sustainable farming and food production over this Parliament.
“We are already looking at how we can improve SFI27 and work closely with farmers as we shape the next phase.”