SFI Window 2 opened on the morning of 22nd September and then closed less than 6 hours later with the £233 million budget fully allocated. Since then, the Farmer Network has had calls from distressed farmers and agents who did not manage to submit applications before the scheme closed and is gathering evidence about how this has impacted our members.
If you, or your agent, were planning to apply but had not submitted the application, please provide us with information on this online form SFI Window 2 Survey. We want to build up a clear picture of the impact across our Network areas so this can be raised with relevant organisations. The short on-line form asks for brief details of your situation, issues you encountered when applying and the impact this will have on you and your business. The information will be kept confidential and when shared will be anonymised. We would also encourage you to send this information to your MP. If you don’t want to use this form, please email the information to admin@thefarmernetwork.co.uk.
We know this has caused a lot of distress and please let us know if you need additional support. You can also contact the Farming Community Network helpline on 03000 111999 and RABI's counselling service is on 0800 1884444.
SFI APPLICATIONS STARTED BUT NOT SUBMITTED
Defra's SFI Blog has a section on applications that were started but not submitted which is copied out below:
If you started an application but did not submit it before Window 2 closed, you will not be able to submit it. This is because we closed the window when we had enough applications to allocate the full Window 2 budget. We will allow two small ‘exception groups’, who contacted the RPA before Window 2 closed, to continue with their applications. They are:
- ‘assisted digital’ farmers - who need the RPA to complete an application on their behalf
- ‘technical issue’ farmers - farmers who were prevented from applying because of a technical issue with the application service.
The RPA will contact ‘started but not submitted’ Window 2 farmers in due course to confirm whether their applications will be withdrawn, or they’re in an exception group and can continue with their application. Farmers who didn’t apply for Window 2 may be eligible to apply for the SFI offer in 2027. We will publish more details in due course.
If you think you fall into the second bullet point of “farmers who were prevented from applying because of a technical issue with the application service” we suggest you email the RPA details of the technical issue including your SBI number and ask that you are considered as part of the “exception” group.
