Farmers have been left “high, dry and desperate” by inadequate SFI scheme, Bradshaw tells Labour party conference, continuing calls for support in upcoming Budget
The NFU has warned that the growing divide between farms receiving support from the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and those without it is pushing struggling farm businesses to the brink.
The union has called for the scheme to re-open in early 2027 with adequate funding to match demand.
The warning comes as window 2 of the SFI budget was exhausted in under six hours when it opened on the morning of 22 September, despite union warnings that demand would exceed the £253m available.
In response, the union has said farmers have been left “high, dry and desperate”.
Addressing Labour MPs, ministers, party members and farmers at the NFU’s Great British Breakfast during the Labour Party Conference, NFU president Tom Bradshaw called for urgent clarity for affected farmers.
Bradshaw said: “We warned Defra for months that demand would far outstrip the funding available. Farmers want to deliver for the environment and embrace more sustainable farming, but the budget did not match that ambition.
“We now have SFI ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’, based purely on the speed of pressing a button. We cannot go on like this. We are calling on the government to commit to opening the next iteration of SFI in early 2027, allowing agreements to begin from 1 April,” he continued.
Bradshaw said support for farmers in the upcoming budget would be critical given what it called a deepening cashflow crisis.
The combination of cuts to the Basic Payment Scheme, inflated input costs caused by conflict in the Middle East, record high diesel prices and poor yields following the hottest summer on record has underlined the urgent need for support, the union said.
“As the Prime Minister has recognised, 2026 has been the hardest summer for British farming in a generation. No sector has escaped. Confidence is fragile, cash flow is at crisis point and investment has suffered,” Bradshaw said.
Alongside SFI funding, the NFU has asked government for a range of interest-free support and tax reliefs in the upcoming Autumn budget.
“British farmers are ready to grow. What we need from the government is confidence, certainty and a fair chance to do it,” Bradshaw continued. “Food security cannot be delivered through slogans. It depends on farm businesses having the confidence, stability and financial strength to keep producing.”
