Three-quarters of SFI26 Window 1 funding now allocated

Three-quarters of the funding available through the first application window for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI26) has now been allocated, prompting Defra to urge eligible farmers to apply soon before it runs out.

An update published on Monday (13 July) said 75% of the £60m budget for Window 1 had been committed based on applications received, leaving a shrinking pool of funding for those yet to submit.

SFI26 is open to farms with up to 50ha of eligible agricultural land, or those who have not been in an Environmental Land Management (ELM) revenue scheme before.

There may be one agreement for each farm business, which is subject to a £100,000 cap a year.

See also: £240m for new SFI scheme ‘insufficient’ says NFU

A Defra spokesman said farmers were responding positively to the redesigned scheme, which aims to support investment in farm businesses while improving food production, nature and long-term countryside resilience.

The spokesman said the new scheme had been designed to prioritise smaller farms and those businesses new to ELM schemes, helping ensure support reached those that had previously been less likely to benefit.

“We’re keeping the process transparent by publishing regular updates on demand, so farmers know exactly how applications are progressing ahead of the wider window opening in September,” he added.

Digital maps

Defra is advising farmers to check that all land parcels they wish to include are correctly shown on their digital maps before submitting an application, and they have at least 3ha of eligible agricultural land registered before applying.

Any mapping changes should be requested through the Rural Payments service as soon as possible to avoid delays.

The department said it would continue monitoring demand and issue a further update if the remaining Window 1 budget is fully allocated before applications close.

Farmers who miss out on the first round will be able to apply in Window 2, which is expected to open in September.

Pent-up demand

Tenant Farmers Association chief executive George Dunn said that given how long access to the SFI had been switched off, it was no surprise that there was a significant amount of pent-up demand.

“It seems clear that much of this initial demand was driven by agents putting in multiple applications for their clients,” he said.

He added that as demand now levels off, there is still time for more farmers below 50ha or without a current ELM scheme agreement to apply before the budget is spent.