The divide between Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ is leaving farm businesses ‘high, dry and desperate’, NFU president Tom Bradshaw has told Labour MPs at the party’s conference in Birmingham.Â
Addressing Labour MPs, ministers, party members and farmers at the NFU’s Great British Breakfast during Labour Party Conference, NFU president Tom Bradshaw called for urgent clarity for affected farmers, following the farcical nature of the second SFI 26 application. Its closure just six hours after it opened on September 22 left many farmers without access to funds needed for environmental work on their farms.
Mr Bradshaw urged the government to open the next iteration of SFI in early 2027 and take action in the Budget to strengthen farm business resilience and safeguard the nation’s food security.
He warned Labour MPs that farm businesses are facing a deepening cashflow crisis, as conflict in the Middle East drives up input costs, diesel prices soar, and poor yields following the hottest summer on record have compounded the impact of cuts to Basic Payment Scheme support.
Mr Bradshaw said: “The SFI budget was exhausted in less than six hours. Farmers charged with producing the nation’s food, delivering for nature and building the resilience of their businesses have been left high, dry and desperate.
“We warned Defra for months that demand would far outstrip the funding available. Farmers want to deliver for the environment and embrace more sustainable farming, but the budget did not match that ambition.
“We now have SFI ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’, based purely on the speed of pressing a button. We cannot go on like this. We are calling on the government to commit to opening the next iteration of SFI in early 2027, allowing agreements to begin from 1 April.
Defra secretary Dame Angela Eagle vowed to address the issues with the SFI process, ,cknowledged the ‘real frustration and anger’ caused when she addressed the NFU meeting. She promised to sit down with the NFU ahead of the next window and ‘put it right’, in particular the ‘first come, first served’ approach, Farmers Weekly reported.
NFU asks
The NFU is asking Defra to:
- Open SFI27 in early 2027, to allow agreements to start from 1 April, prioritising those with expiring agreements to minimise gaps in environmental payments. This should be followed by regular opportunities to access SFI.
- Address the unfairness – ensure the budget for SFI27 can match farmers’ ambitions to deliver environmental improvement, including those with expiring agreements.
- Enable common land to access both SFI and CSHT (Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier).
- Publish a clear ELMs (Environmental Land Management) roadmap covering the remainder of this Parliament which sets out when farmers and growers can expect new ELMs schemes to be opened, so that they can plan their business options.
- Secure a review, conducted and published by the RPA (Rural Payments Agency), into the barriers encountered by applicants on 22 September 2026, including an assessment of the number of incomplete or unsuccessful applications
Ahead of the Budget in October, it is asking government to:
- Increase the Annual Investment Allowance to at least £5 million and extend its scope, supporting long-term investment in productivity, energy efficiency and water management.
- Provide funding for temporary interest-free Keep Britain Growing Loans, helping businesses hit hardest by this summer’s challenges to continue producing food next year.
- Ensure the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism does not put domestic food producers at a disadvantage to imports.
- Remove changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief, giving farm businesses greater confidence to invest, grow and plan for succession.
- Introduce enhanced capital allowances for incorporated and unincorporated businesses, encouraging investment in low-carbon technology and infrastructure.