Farmers are being asked to share how the rapid closure of the latest SFI window affected their businesses
Farmers are being asked to tell MPs how they were affected after the £233 million Sustainable Farming Incentive funding pot was allocated within hours of opening.
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee has launched a survey seeking experiences from farmers and land agents who both succeeded and failed to submit applications during the latest SFI round.
Window 2 opened on 22 September and closed at 3.48pm the same day after the available budget was allocated. Around 12,200 applications were submitted, according to Defra.
The £233m funding pot was intended to pay farmers and land managers for actions supporting food production, environmental improvements and farm productivity.
Demand was particularly strong from businesses approaching the end of existing environmental agreements.
Around 72% of applications came from farm businesses with an agri-environment agreement due to expire by February 2027, equivalent to roughly 8,800 applicants.
MPs now particularly want to hear from farmers who missed out and whether being unable to secure SFI support will force them to change how they run their businesses or manage their land.
The EFRA Committee, which scrutinises Defra, will use the responses to inform its questioning of ministers and officials in the coming weeks and months.
Committee chair Alistair Carmichael MP said: “At a time when Defra needed to build a better level of trust with farmers, the last thing they needed was a day like last Tuesday.”
He said many farmers had been disappointed by the application process and faced greater uncertainty when trying to plan their businesses.
“We want to hear from as many farmers and land agents as possible about what their experiences were on the day and since then,” Carmichael said.
The survey asks farmers which part of England they operate in, their farm type and whether they managed to submit an application before the funding window closed.
Those who were unsuccessful are being asked what prevented them from applying and whether missing out on SFI funding will require changes to their business.
MPs also want to know whether applicants saw notifications issued as 25%, 50% and 75% of the available budget was allocated.
Defra had committed to publishing updates at those stages as part of efforts to provide greater transparency over how quickly the Window 2 budget was being used.
Carmichael said the experiences of those who missed out would help shape future scrutiny of the scheme.
“That real life experience will shape the questions that we are able to put to ministers and officials as we question them in the weeks and months to come,” he said.
The committee said it had kept the survey short because of the demands facing farmers at this time of year.
Farmers and land agents have until 6pm on Friday 16 October 2026 to submit their responses.