Martin Lines: "The closure of SFI has highlighted just how fragile the current system is"

Mr Lines, chief executive of the Nature Friendly Farming Network, writes about Defra’s sudden SFI closure, how farm support payments are 'failing' farmers, the urgent action needed and why farmers cannot wait 18 months

Chris Brayford
clock • 4 min read
Martin Lines, chief executive at the Nature Friendly Farming Network said: "With no new scheme available until 2026, thousands of farmers are left wondering how to keep their businesses viable in the meantime. Waiting 18 months for a new scheme simply is not an option."
Image:

Martin Lines, chief executive at the Nature Friendly Farming Network said: "With no new scheme available until 2026, thousands of farmers are left wondering how to keep their businesses viable in the meantime. Waiting 18 months for a new scheme simply is not an option."

Sustainable Farming Incentive Last week's sudden closure of applications to the 2024 Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) took everyone by surprise, leaving many farmers in limbo. Some were on the...

To continue reading...

Already a member? Login for full access.

Login

New to Farmers Guardian? Register for 1 free article per week or become a member for unlimited access to essential farming news and insights.

article-img-580x358
Register for free Join Now

 

fg buy and sell
VIEW ADVERT

CASEIH VESTRUM 130 ACTIVE Drive 8

CASEIH VESTRUM 130 ACTIVE Drive 8

VIEW ADVERT
£POA
VIEW ADVERT

NEW CASEIH PUMA 220 Powershift 50kph

NEW CASEIH PUMA 220 Powershift 50kph

VIEW ADVERT
£POA
VIEW ADVERT

NEW CASEIH PUMA 220 Powershift 50kph

NEW CASEIH PUMA 220 Powershift 50kph

VIEW ADVERT
£POA

More on Politics

Elderly farmers who helped to rebuild Britain after WW2 'trapped' by IHT changes
Politics

Elderly farmers who helped to rebuild Britain after WW2 'trapped' by IHT changes

Is this the right way to treat a generation of farmers and business owners who fed a nation during conflict and rebuilt the country from the rubble of war?

Chris Brayford
Chris Brayford
clock 31 October 2025 • 4 min read
UFU executive vote confirms no confidence in DAERA
Politics

UFU executive vote confirms no confidence in DAERA

The Ulster Farmers’ Union said it represented a ‘deep dissatisfaction’ with the department

Alex Black
Alex Black
clock 31 October 2025 • 2 min read
OPINION: "Is the Government seriously asking farmers to cover less than 0.5% of the UK's annual debt interest bill?"
Politics

OPINION: "Is the Government seriously asking farmers to cover less than 0.5% of the UK's annual debt interest bill?"

Farmers Guardian’s Tom Ryder, hailing from a Cumbria-based family with a history in pedigree livestock breeding, reflects on how the Government’s proposed Inheritance Tax reforms risk overlooking the human realities behind the numbers

Tom Ryder
clock 30 October 2025 • 3 min read