Sustainable Farming Incentive budget is spent – what this means for Yorkshire’s farmers and agriculture

The UK Government has closed the Sustainable Farming Incentive, but what does this mean for farming in Yorkshire?

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has confirmed that as from 11 March 2025 no new applications for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) will be accepted. This is due to the record numbers of farm businesses in farming schemes and the sustainable farming budget being allocated.

All current submitted applications will be processed, and payments will be made if applicant is eligible.

Following the Spring Statement a reformed SFI scheme has been announced with direct funding going to areas with the greatest potential to do more for nature and where there is less ability to access decent returns from agriculture markets or other sources of investment.

What this means for you:

1.    If you have an SFI Agreement:

Nothing changes. You will continue to receive payments as normal under the terms of your agreement. In many cases for another three years. 
If your agreement expires in October 2026, you may be eligible to apply for the reformed SFI offer after your current agreement ends.  
More details will be provided by Defra later this year. If you entered an SFI agreement this year, you will be paid until 2028. 

2.    If you’ve been offered an agreement but haven’t yet accepted :

You need to accept your SFI agreement offer within 10 working days of it being offered (as explained in the agreement offer letter). If you don’t, Defra may withdraw your SFI agreement offer. 

3.    If you submitted an SFI application before it closed:

You will be offered an agreement, provided your application is eligible. 

4.    If you submitted an SFI application before it closed applications but have not yet received an offer:

You will be offered an agreement, provided your application is eligible. 

5.    If you have an SFI Pilot agreement or your SFI Pilot agreement has ended:

If you are in the SFI Pilot, you will be able to apply when your pilot agreement ends.  If you were in the Pilot and your agreement has ended already but you haven’t submitted an application for the expanded SFI offer yet, you will be able to apply. 

Here's what our lawyers have to say: “The abruptness of this decision will concern the farming community as applications that have begun but have not been submitted will not now be processed.”