Record farmers in SFI schemes as government successfully allocates sustainable farming budget

With record numbers of farm businesses in farming schemes and the sustainable farming budget successfully allocated, the Government has today (Tuesday 11 March) stopped accepting new applications for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI24).   

Every penny in all existing SFI agreements will be paid to farmers, and outstanding eligible applications that have been submitted will also be taken forward.  

This Government inherited farming schemes which were underspent, meaning millions of pounds were not going to farming businesses. At the budget, the Government proudly secured the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country's history, with £5 billion was committed in the farming budget over a two-year period.  

As a result of the Government's determination to get more farmers to participate, there is now a record 50,000 farm businesses and more than half of all farmed land is now managed under our schemes.   

The largest of these schemes, SFI24, now has more than 37,000 multi-year live agreements and is not only delivering sustainable food production and nature's recovery for today and the years ahead, but it is also putting money back into farmers pockets.  

However, this Government inherited an uncapped scheme, despite a finite farming budget. The highest ever level of participation in SFI means the maximum limit has now been reached. Therefore, as SFI has reached its completion the Government is stopping accepting new SFI applications today.  

Now is the right time for a reset: supporting farmers, delivering for nature and targeting public funds fairly and effectively towards our priorities for food, farming and nature.    

Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs Daniel Zeichner said:    

This Government is proud to have set the biggest budget for sustainable food produce in history, to boost growth in rural communities and all across the UK, under our Plan for Change. 

More farmers are now in schemes and more money is being spent through them than ever before. That is true today and will remain true tomorrow.  

We have now successfully allocated the SFI24 budget as promised.

Environmental Land Management scheme agreements will remain in place, including SFI, and there will be a new and improved SFI on offer with details to follow the Spending Review. This will be underpinned by the Government's cast iron commitment to food security, focusing on food production, creating more resilient farm businesses alongside supporting nature recovery.  

  The future SFI offer will build on what has made the current scheme effective. It will:   

• Deliver our vision of a sector with food production at its core, supporting less resilient farm businesses alongside nature recovery; 

• Ensure it delivers value for money for taxpayers alongside investing in sustainable food production and nature recovery;   

• Cap the budget and put in place strong budgetary controls so that SFI is affordable to the public purse;  

• Better target SFI, in a fair and orderly way, towards the priorities set out on food, farming and nature;   

• And, as the scheme is designed and evolving, listen to farmers feedback to ensure we learn and improve the scheme for the future.   

The improved SFI scheme will be another step in this government's New Deal for farmers to support growth and return farm businesses to profitability.    

The Government recently announced a raft of new policies to help boost profits for farmers and will go further to ensure farming becomes more profitable for the future by backing British produce, protecting farmers in trade deals, improving supply chain fairness and reforming planning rules on farms to support food security.   

The Seasonal Worker Visa Scheme has also been extended for 5 years, the government have committed £110 million in farming grants to improve productivity, trial new technologies and drive innovation in the sector and announced plans to invest over £200 million in a new National Biosecurity Centre to protect livestock from diseases.    

As set out in the Plan for Change, the Government is focused on supporting our farmers, rural economic growth and boosting Britain's food security and are going further to develop a 25-year farming roadmap to make the sector more profitable in the decades to come.  

ENDS  Information for SFI agreement holder  

• All existing SFI agreement holders will continue to be paid under the terms of their agreement for its duration.   

• Agreement holders who entered into a three-year SFI agreement earlier this year, will be paid until 2028.   

• Any eligible submitted SFI application where the agreement has not yet started will also be considered.   

• For those in the SFI Pilot, they will be able to apply when the pilot agreement ends. If you were in the Pilot, and your agreement has ended already but you do not yet have a live SFI agreement, you will be able to apply.  

The New Deal for Farmers includes:     

• Extending the Seasonal Worker visa route for five more years giving farms a pipeline of workers and certainty to grow their businesses. Annual quota reviews will ensure we strike the right balance – supporting farms while gradually reducing visa numbers as we develop alternative solutions.   

• Backing British produce: The government is committed to using its own purchasing power to back British produce, with an ambition, where possible, for half of food supplied into the public sector to be produced locally or certified to high environmental standards. For the first time ever, the government will review food currently bought in the public sector and where it is bought from. This is a significant first step to understanding how to make the most of the government's purchasing power.   

• Using planning reforms to support food production: Ensuring our reforms make it quicker for farmers to build the buildings, barns and other infrastructure they need on their farms to boost food production.    

• Diversifying income streams: Helping farmers make additional money from selling surplus energy from solar panels and wind turbines by accelerating connections to the grid and support them during difficult harvests and supply shocks.       

• A fair supply chain: Boosting profitability through fair competition across the supply chain. New rules for the pig sector will come this spring, ensuring contracts clearly set out expectations and changes can only be made if agreed by all parties. Similar regulations for eggs and fresh produce sectors will follow with the government ready to intervene with other sectors if needed.       

• £110 million investment in technology: The Farming Innovation Programme which supports research and development of agri-technology for farmers, for example the chemical free cleaning for integrated milking equipment, which lowers energy costs and chemical use. The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund provides grants of up to £25,000 to buy new equipment such as electric weeders to reduce chemical use.   

• Protecting farmers in trade deals: The government will uphold and protect our high environmental and animal welfare standards in future trade deals.   

• Strengthening Britain's biosecurity: Setting up a new National Biosecurity Centre to transform the Animal and Plant Health Agency animal health facility at Weybridge, investing £200 million to improve our resilience against animal disease to protect farmers and food producers.   

Funding announced in the November Budget:    

• £5 billion for the farming budget over two years – with the largest ever directed at sustainable food production and nature's recovery in our country's history. Environmental Land Management schemes will remain at the centre of our offer for farmers and nature, with the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier and Landscape Recovery all continuing.   

• £60 million through the Farming Recovery Fund to support farmers affected by unprecedented extreme wet weather last winter