The second application window for the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026 (SFI26) opened on Tuesday 22 September.

SFI26 Window 2 was open to farmers and land managers who were registered with the Rural Payments Agency (RPA), had a Single Business Identifier (SBI) and at least 3 hectares of eligible agricultural land linked to that SBI. Farmers with an existing Environmental Land Management (ELM) revenue agreement ending on or before 28 February 2027 could also apply early through the Start an Application Early (SAE) route.

DEFRA had confirmed £233 million was available for Window 2, including £3 million unallocated from Window 1 and an additional £50 million announced as part of support for farmers facing drought and rising costs.

Demand proved high, with DEFRA confirming that 100% of the available budget has been allocated within just over six hours of the application window opening.

TFA Chief Executive, George Dunn, said: “Never before have we experienced a situation where a scheme budget has been entirely exhausted in a matter of hours. Sadly, there will be many who will have been unable to get a valid SFI application accepted, which will be devastating for those businesses who have suffered so much in the recent past with the severe drought and rampant disease especially Bluetongue. The TFA’s assessment is that we are a long way off having a realistic and sustainable public payments for public goods platform, to replace the previous Basic Payment Scheme system, in England. We urgently need to hear from DEFRA about its plans for SFI 2027 so that those farmers who have not been able to get in this year will not have to wait a year or more before getting another opportunity. Equally, we need a root and branch reassessment of the current Farming and Countryside Programme to enable DEFRA to provide a more coordinated and properly resourced policy to deliver the aspirations of its own Farming Roadmap. Without that review, the Roadmap currently looks like a road to nowhere.”

There are two limited exception groups for farmers who contacted the RPA before SFI26 Window 2 closed and may be able to continue their applications:

• Assisted digital applicants – those who need RPA support to complete an application.

• Technical issue applicants – those prevented from applying because of a problem with the application service.

The RPA will also need to confirm what happens to applications that were started, but not submitted, before the window closed, including whether these will be withdrawn or allowed to continue. Applications will now be processed broadly in the order they were received. Some may require additional checks, which could affect processing times. To read more, click here.

If you have any questions or concerns about SFI26, please contact Lynette Steel, TFA Farm Policy Adviser, at Head Office.

This news article was written TFA Farm Policy Adviser, Lynette Steel

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