Farmers describe fight for funding as 'fastest finger first'

A five-generation farming family said that they are "disappointed" and "dumbfounded" to have missed out on vital government funding.

Applications for the £233m Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) funding for England closed in under six hours, meaning some farmers like Dan Morris and his daughter Imogen had their applications rejected.

"There is a fundamental lack of understanding by the current government as to how farms run and operate", Morris said, adding that the funding window was run like a "fastest finger first competition".

In a statement, Farming Minister Stephen Morgan said he is "determined to work closely with farmers as we learn lessons from this year."

The SFI is a government scheme for landowners in England, which rewards environmentally-friendly land management.

It is a post-Brexit project that replaces European Union subsidies.

Each farm business can only have one SFI agreement at a time, with most of them lasting three years, with an annual value limit of £100,000 per year.

Applications for this year's round of funding opened at 10:00 BST on Tuesday 22 September, but funding had already run out by 15:48 BST the same day.

Dan Morris runs Black Lion Farm, a beef farm near Church Pulverbatch in Shropshire, and described receiving a "doom message" after applying for funding - "we had an email to say it's all closed but thank you very much for trying."

The process left him "bewildered," noting that "it's an extraordinary way to run it when it's such an important part of a farmer's income."

Morris stated that the SFI funding was "a large part of our forecast profit for next year," meaning the farm will have to rethink future investments.

Morris said his farm is not a minority - and that many farmers would have been busy in the fields whilst the application window opened and shut.

He added that Black Lion Farm would have spent money on letting hedgerows grow out further, fencing off watercourses to prevent cows from polluting the streams, and diversifying vegetation.

Morris explained that SFI funding is "a big part of the profitability of any farm," adding that "a farm is a working environment and we need to invest to grow."

The wider farming community feels "not listened to by the government," he added, noting the addition pressures of "family farm tax and the cost of fuel".

He said he thinks that the SFI needs a "more considered application process" to make the scheme fit for the future.

Dan Morris is the fourth generation to farm there - and his 20-year-old daughter Imogen is the fifth.

Seeing the family farm unable to access SFI funding this year is a "major concern," she said.

"It does make you worry about the future of our farm, and all farming really," Imogen added.

It is also making her think more about how she will run the farm in years to come, adding that "trying to have as many incomes as possible" is important.

"It's quite sad really - farming really is the backbone of the country."

Some farmers did have successful applications - Rory Lay, who farms beef, sheep and arable near Wem, is one of them.

"It was literally a mad scramble," he recalled, describing how "whoever got to the front first, they were the ones who will get confirmation of payments later down the line."

Lay said that in previous years, a "rolling entry form" was used, which gave farmers far more time to pull together their applications.

"It took me three months last time to confirm all my options," he explained.

This year, though, was "an absolute shambles," Lay said, adding that he had to "rush through my application" and "had to miss quite a few things out."

"I'm going to be doing, sadly, less for the environment because I wanted to get something rather than nothing at all," he said.

There have also been some "horror stories" from other farmers in the community.

Lay described how one farmer was hosting two school visits - "which the government give him a small payment towards" - and missed the six-hour window.

Even more poignantly, Lay noted that the funeral of two farmers, a father and son, who died after falling into a slurry tank in Cheshire was taking place on the same day of the SFI applications.

"There were a lot of farmers attending that event who wouldn't have even known it would open then shut within that time," Lay said, choked with emotion.

"They were giving their respects to their fellow farmers."

Lay said he even feels "guilty, a little bit," for receiving funding whilst others missed out.

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) is calling for the government to explain why the scheme opened and closed so quickly, with so many farmers left out of pocket.

NFU vice-president Robyn Munt said: "The rapid uptake of the scheme comes as no surprise. Its closure in less than six hours shows the scale of demand there is from farmers to deliver for the environment and to invest in farm resilience.

"The current cashflow pressures facing farmers and growers only exacerbates that demand as they look for certainty and clarity for the year ahead."

In a statement, Farming Minister Stephen Morgan said he has "heard the concerns" of farmers who are "deeply disappointed."

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

He noted that this year's successful SFI agreements mean farmers will receive "almost a third of a billion pounds each year, for three years."

The minister's statement added that "previously, a quarter of funding headed to just 4% of farms making claims," and that the government has "developed a fairer system to reach more farmers by capping applications at £100,000".

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it would provide further information on future opportunities for funding applications in 2027 "soon".

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