On Tuesday 11th March 2025 we received our newest shock announcement from Defra, closing the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 2024 scheme. This felt like another huge blow, especially when we had been assured by the Labour government that they would continue with this scheme and gave no warning it might ever close. Therefore I wanted to take this opportunity to set out what we do actually know here and what may be to come.
What we know about the existing scheme:
The SFI scheme is no longer taking new applications - this shut when the announcement was made.
If you are already in an SFI agreement, this will be honoured for the life of the agreement.
If you have already applied and not accepted the agreement to date, this needs to be accepted within 10 days of the offer date, otherwise the offer is likely to be withdrawn.
If you have submitted an application, but not received an offer, this will come as long as your application is valid.
An exception here will be made for those in SFI pilot schemes, if your pilot agreement has already or is due to expire, you will still be able to apply for the SFI scheme.
What we know about any future scheme:
Defra has announced that a reformed SFI scheme will be announced in the summer of 2025.
The endorsed actions that were expected to be released this summer will form part of the reformed SFI scheme.
The budget for any future SFI scheme will be confirmed in the spending review this summer.
Gemma's thoughts:
This announcement came as much as a crushing blow for me as it did for you. Whilst I had been expecting the announcement regarding the capital grants back in the autumn, this one I really did not. I believe any future scheme will be capped in terms of spend on a land area basis, but we will have to await the detail here. I suspect the number of options available will also be cut, but will await further information.
What we can do now:
Stay positive, as an industry we are very resilient and adaptable. If you have mapping changes to do, use this as an opportunity to do so. I will let you know as soon as there is an update here so that once available, you can make the most of the grants for your land.
If you have any further queries please do get in touch with Gemma on 07533340847 or gemma@blackdownconsulting.co.uk
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