Farmers locked out of SFI mid-application can now access funding, Defra confirms

Farmers who were locked out of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme despite being midway through an application will now be allowed to access support.

Defra says those who saved their application but didn't submit within two months of the scheme's closure will be allowed to apply up to a maximum of £9,300 per application.

It comes after the scheme was shut without any warning in March, sending shockwaves through the farming sector. Defra had said that “SFI has reached its completion” so stopped accepting new applications with immediate effect, with a revised scheme to follow.

With talk of a potential legal challenge to the lack of notice, the government now says the thousands of affected farmers will be supported. Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner said he is "addressing the situation and have remade the decision to close the SFI 2024 scheme to new applications, without notice, on 11 March".

Country Land and Business Association (CLA) President Victoria Vyvyan said:

“We’ve been lobbying for the government to take note of the thousands of farmers who were mid-application when the SFI scheme suddenly shut, and we’re glad they have now listened.

“It’s a limited amount of money, but it does take a bit of the sting out of the suddenness of the closure.

“The way for Defra to avoid such a shock again is to be open and transparent, and work with industry to design the revised scheme.”

In a statement Minister Zeichner said: "Given that the budget for the SFI 2024 scheme has been fully allocated, any further agreements entered into under the SFI 2024 scheme will need to be funded from other areas of Defra’s departmental budget.

"My department will announce further details on how this approach will be implemented shortly, including the timing of when applications from eligible applicants can start."

In future the CLA would like to see nature-friendly farming schemes funded appropriately, and treated by government in the same manner as national infrastructure or public services.

A CLA survey last month found almost 95% of respondents were looking to apply for more SFI options before it suddenly closed.

Minister Zeichner confirmed that those who made applications to SFI 2024 that were started within two months of 11 March 2025 but were not submitted when it was closed would be allowed.

According to the government, this affects around 3,000 applications, which were started on 12 January 2025 or later.

Importantly, eligible applicants will be given a six-week window to make an application, and they will be contacted with information about when the window will open and close.

Agreements offered to eligible applicants will be subject to some restrictions:

• Only one application may be submitted per farm business.
• Agreements will be offered up to a maximum value of £9,300 per year for the duration of the agreement (excluding the SFI management payment, which would not count towards the value limit). The maximum value reflects the median average agreement value for existing SFI 2024 agreements.
• Agreement holders will not be able to add more land to 'rotational' SFI actions after year one of their agreement.

In his statement, Minister Zeichner said that, as the SFI 24 budget has been fully allocated, any further agreements entered into under the scheme would be funded from other areas of Defra's departmental budget.

The decision does not change arrangements for the small groups the government previously identified would be able to make applications for agreements under the SFI 24 scheme despite its closure.

These include:

• Farmers who were in the SFI pilot
• Assisted digital applications
• Applicants with known system issues that prevented them from submitting applications.

Defra will be contacting these groups shortly to explain the detail of how their applications will be taken forward.