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Cross-party MPs demand answers over SFI26 chaos

Philip Case 28 September 2026
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© Tim Scrivener© Tim Scrivener

MPs have demanded answers from Defra after the £253m budget for the second window of the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026 (SFI26) was exhausted in less than six hours.

More than 100 Conservative MPs have backed a letter from shadow Defra secretary Victoria Atkins criticising the handling of the scheme, while a separate letter from 30 Liberal Democrat MPs has called for farmers who missed out to be given another opportunity to apply.

See also: Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026: The haves and have-nots

SFI26 Window 2 opened on Tuesday 22 September but closed at 3.48pm after the available budget had been allocated. Defra has confirmed that about 12,200 applications were submitted.

The Conservative letter describes the launch as “shambolic” and raises concerns about the first-come, first-served system, technical problems with the application service and difficulties contacting the Rural Payments Agency (RPA).

It says about 12,500 existing agreement holders failed to secure a new SFI26 agreement, raising concerns about the future of environmental actions already being carried out on farms.

The MPs also cite reports from English farmers who missed out by seconds, while others said they submitted applications containing errors because they feared missing the deadline.

“Since Tuesday, our inboxes have been inundated with messages from farmers and advisers in despair,” the letter said.

Farmers also reported problems with the application system, including options being incorrectly flagged as incompatible, while some applicants said they struggled to get help from the RPA helpline.

Lib Dems letter

The Liberal Democrats have separately called for farmers who were “unfairly shut out of Window 2” to be given another opportunity to apply.

The letter, led by Sarah Dyke and Tim Farron, said the government should take immediate action to address the situation and provide greater clarity over the future of the scheme.

The party has also criticised the first-come, first-served approach, arguing that it left farmers competing for limited funding based on how quickly they could submit their applications.   

The NFU has also raised concerns over the abrupt closure of Window 2 and is seeking further information from Defra and the RPA.

Defra has said that farmers who were unsuccessful in securing an agreement will have another opportunity to apply for SFI in 2027.

The department has also said that applications submitted during Window 2 are being processed, with agreements offered where there is sufficient budget.

The government has acknowledged that farmers who missed out will be “deeply disappointed”, but has defended its handling of the scheme.

Pressures and uncertainty

The SFI26 launch comes as farm businesses continue to face pressure from rising costs and uncertainty over future agricultural support.

It is understood that Defra secretary Dame Angela Eagle will address farmers at the NFU’s breakfast briefing at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool today (Monday 28 September), where the SFI and other issues affecting the sector, including inheritance tax, are due to be discussed.

NFU president Tom Bradshaw is expected to press the government for greater clarity over the future of SFI and call for the 2027 scheme to open as soon as possible next spring, allowing agreements to begin from 1 April.

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