DEFRA has released a breakdown of the £5 billion budget allocated to farming for the years 2024/25 2025/26:
| Scheme | Funding (£m) |
| Delinked Payments | 1,050 |
| Live existing agreements (Higher Level Stewardship and Countryside Stewardship) | 1,800 |
| Sustainable Farming Incentive | 1,050 |
| Other environmental land management schemes | 350 |
| Farming grants (one-off payments to help improve the environment or increase productivity) | 350 |
| Animal Health, Welfare and Livestock Information Transformation | 150 |
| Mental health, Farming Resilience Fund, Prosperity Fund | 100 |
| Advice, pilots and technical support | 150 |
| Total | 5,000 |
DEFRA confirm that the £1.05 billion funding allocated to the Sustainable Farming Incentive has been exhausted, which is why we saw the unexpected closure of the scheme earlier this week (12 March 2025). The £1.05 billion was supposed to fund the scheme throughout the 2025/26 year. Its current closure leaves farmers without one of the key replacements to the Basic Payment Scheme.
Farmers will now need turn their attention more acutely to the remaining and upcoming funding options listed in our post on 12 March 2025.
We also encourage farmers to consider the opportunities afforded by Natural Capital as an alternate option to funding from agri-environmental schemes.
To learn more about any of these options please contact us on 01392 823935 or send an email to enquires@townsendcharteredsurveyors.co.uk