Following a successful legal challenge by the NFU, Defra has reopened the Sustainable Farming Incentive offering a short but valuable second chance for qualifying farmers to apply.
We caught up with Partner and Head of Agribusiness, David Kinnersley, who argues that despite the small application window and extra restrictions, farmers are better off applying now than waiting until 2026 if eligible.
“Thanks to what was essentially a government admin error, certain farmers now have another opportunity to apply for SFI grants after the scheme was shut for applications in March this year.
“A misleading message on the SFI website when applicants saved their progress stated that their applications had been saved, would be accessible for two months, and that six weeks’ notice would be given ahead of the SFI scheme closing.
“But when Defra closed the scheme without warning, the NFU was able to argue that the government should reopen it due to the incorrect messaging.
“The question is, what should farmers who had an application outstanding do now?
“It’s clear that the scope of applications is much more limited. Only farmers who had started applications within two months of 11th March 2025 are eligible – no new applications are allowed.
“Even then, only one application per farm is allowed, with a maximum value of £9,300 per year, with no additional land added to rotational actions after the first year.
“Despite this, applicants who think that they may be eligible should consider their options and seek advice, as the application window will be short.
“Waiting for an updated SFI scheme is risky, because the terms or eligibility criteria will likely be different.
“That said, the maximum value of the reopened scheme is quite low, so certain farmers may not think it is worth the effort.
“Defra has also suggested that a reformed SFI offer is being worked on and may be announced in the summer in partnership with stakeholders. It remains to be seen what this will look like or if it will happen on time, so it would still be a risk for farmers to hold out for it.
“We would encourage any farm which had an outstanding SFI 2024 application not to dismiss this second chance. With details of fresh schemes still unconfirmed, it would generally be better to apply than wait, but we would encourage farmers to seek expert advice ahead of doing so.”
Find out more here.
