SFI26: Sifting through the wreckage of the Sustainable Farming Incentive

Farmers are ploughing up environmental features after thousands were shut out of the Sustainable Farming Incentive when funding ran out less than six hours after applications opened.

In this episode of the Farmers Weekly Podcast, we hear from Lincolnshire farmer Charles Anyan as he returns buffer strips to wheat production following problems with his SFI application.

NFU vice-president Robyn Munt sets out what the union wants Defra to do next – including urgent clarity for farmers left without agreements and an earlier opening for SFI 2027.

Shadow farming minister Robbie Moore gives the Conservative response and argues that the government and Treasury must provide greater certainty over future funding.

And we visit the Allerton Project in Leicestershire, where a planned SFI agreement worth about £85,000 a year failed to get through.

Allerton head of sustainable farming Joe Stanley considers what the debacle means for environmental delivery – and whether private natural-capital markets can fill some of the funding gap.

Chapters

00:00 – SFI fallout: farmers start ploughing up environmental features

09:27 – Autumn drilling update: grassweed control with Bayer Crop Science

12:19 – NFU demands answers from Defra

25:41 – Political fallout from the SFI closure

37:18 – Markets: beef and sheep strengthen