Great Massingham farmer says funding frenzy adds to pressure

A farmer said it was "very, very worrying" to miss out on funding from a new government scheme to support green projects.

Lex Brun from Great Massingham in Norfolk said he hoped to get £100,000 from the Sustainable Farming Initiative (SFI), but applications closed down in less than six hours.

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) said Brun was one of many unsuccessful farmers and may now have to cut back on environmental schemes.

While the government said there would be more funding next year, farming minister Stephen Morgan said he had "heard" concerns and that lessons would be learned.

The SFI is a post-Brexit scheme that replaced EU subsidies with payments to landowners for environmentally-friendly land management.

It gives money to farmers who have turned parts of their land over to schemes such as planting hedges, creating wildflower margins and protecting the soil.

This year's fund offered £253m in total, with applications opening at 10:00 BST on Tuesday 22 September, but the money ran out by 15:48 the same day.

"It was unprecedented for it to be such a scramble, it's been likened to getting tickets for an Oasis concert," said Brun, whose crops include wheat, barley and oilseed rape.

His environmental projects include turning over some land to wildflowers to support nature, including birds and insects.

Brun had hoped to receive up to £100,000 in payments, but when he completed the online application at 16:00, the window had closed.

Facing pressures from "massive increases" in costs for fuel and fertiliser and "very mediocre returns" on his harvests, he is now considering using more of his land for commercial crops.

"It's a very, very worrying position," he explained.

"It destroyed confidence in the government and what they said they were trying to achieve."

Cath Crowther, the regional director for the CLA, said many other farmers found themselves in a similar position and called for more government funding to be announced in October's budget.

"We know that there's not much money out there, that health, defence, etc are all so important, but [so is] food production."

Adrian Ramsay, the Green MP for Waveney Valley, said "a lot of farmers" had been frustrated by the SFI application process.

"There just isn't the confidence the funding is going to be there in the years to come," he added.

Farming Minister Stephen Morgan said he had "heard the concerns" of farmers who are "deeply disappointed."

He said he was "determined to work closely with farmers as we learn lessons from this year" including "exploring alternatives to a first-come, first-served application process."

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it would provide further information about funding applications in 2027 "soon".

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Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs