England's sustainable farming incentive

England's 2026 Sustainable Farming Incentive opened for applications on Tuesday morning and ran out of money just six hours later. The rapid exhaustion of funds triggered a frantic scramble, with some farmers comparing the application rush to the demand for concert tickets.

Peter Hatley logged on to his computer at 10am to apply. He encountered repeated error messages. By the time the technical problems were resolved, the funding had already been exhausted. Mat Cole, an uplands farmer in southern England, was busy at a market day during the launch. He rushed home and prepared his application, submitting it at 3.50pm. He received an error message and understood the funding had run out. He had thought he would have a week or more to apply.

Farmers impacted by climate and policy shifts

Peter Hatley runs a 240-hectare family farm in Cambridgeshire. His farm experienced extreme rain in 2024 and a lack of rain in 2025, which depressed yields. In September this year, temperatures reached 25C at the month's end. Hatley stated his farm historically could weather uncertainty, confident a bad harvest would likely be followed by a good one. That confidence is no longer valid due to the rapidly changing climate. Farmers across England are reporting a devastating outlook due to crop-destroying heat and drought. Hatley said they are at breaking point and cannot ride this storm.

Hatley has spent years slowly diversifying his farm and creating space for nature. Mat Cole has used previous SFI money to improve hedgerows, grasslands, and water quality. Both are now left uncertain about continuing these environmental improvements. Cole described the funding cutoff as shambolic.

Environmental work at risk of reversal

The Sustainable Farming Incentive is part of a package replacing the EU's common agricultural policy. It pays farmers to look after nature, soil, and other public goods, rather than just for farming and land ownership. Without this funding, farmers say they must abandon conservation efforts.

Hatley stated he has no choice but to reverse environmental work. He said he will undo 20 years of hard work and move to monoculture maize. He expressed gratitude that his father is not alive to see the potential reversal of their conservation work. He said the decision breaks his family's heart, but his children come first. Intensifying farming would mean skylarks and lapwings would disappear from his land, he said. Putting more cows on the grass would harm bugs and dragonflies.

The loss of access to the EU's basic payment scheme after Brexit is being managed through a complex system of environmental funds. These funds are seen as more likely to run out or be unexpectedly wound up annually. Global conflict has caused soaring costs for fuel and farming inputs, with fertiliser costs tied to the war in Iran.

Widespread implications for sustainable farming

Figures suggest up to 10,000 farmers with funding agreements expiring in March 2027 either chose not to apply or could not apply for the new SFI round. Martin Lines, chief executive of the Nature Friendly Farming Network, said the speed of the funding exhaustion showed the desperation many farmers feel.

The rapid depletion of funds shows systemic challenges in the transition from EU agricultural subsidies to England’s environmental land management scheme. Without the promised support, long-planned environmental projects are being abandoned. Peter Hatley states he must reverse 20 years of environmental work and switch to monoculture maize.