SFI26 Window 2: what happened, and what to do now?

There's no other way to say it, Window 2 was chaos.

Applications opened at 10am on Tuesday 22nd September with a budget of £253m. Within two hours Defra said 25% had been allocated, 90 minutes later it was 50%, and just before 4pm it confirmed the window was closed and all the money had gone, in just 348 minutes - less than six hours!

Everyone knew demand would be strong. But nobody we've spoken to expected the budget to go that quickly, including agents, farmers, the RPA, and people who've worked on these schemes for years. We don't think anyone reasonably could have.

We know now from the stats Defra published this morning that 12,200 applications were submitted during those 348 minutes! 72% of which were from farm businesses with existing ELM scheme agreements ending before 28th Feb 2027, and around 10% were from farm businesses without any existing agreements.

From speaking to our farmers and our agents we know how much work went in beforehand: the mapping, the planning, the kitchen-table conversations, getting everything ready so you could move fast on the day, and many of you did move as fast as you could.

For a lot of people, it still wasn't enough.

From the farmers who've answered our survey so far, nearly half didn't get an application in. Only one of the agents who responded managed to submit for every client.

Speed was only part of the problem. Many applications that should have gone through smoothly were held up by the RPA system itself.

The biggest issue was clashes with existing agreements, especially Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier and SFI23 agreements due to end. Parcels were correctly mapped and plans were checked, and the portal still refused them.

One agent summed up the day in a single line:

"Out of the 13 I submitted I had just 1 go through without a glitch."

Then there was the timing. Farming doesn't stop because a portal opens, and a window that shuts mid-afternoon hit hardest the people doing their own applications around a working day:

"I checked if it was open at midnight last night then again at 9 and 10am. I took sheep to market and went to do it when I returned and the window was closed. How is this fair?"

"I was up until 3.30am calving and then needed to check on the calves in the morning… went home early at 4pm to do my application, only to find I was too late.”

"It would have been better to have opened the applications overnight when farmers could have put in a night shift after dealing with the normal nonsense farming and livestock throw at you."

Agents felt it too:

"When you have a list of clients, who do you prioritise? How many awkward conversations have agents got to have today?"

For a lot of families these agreements aren't a nice-to-have. They're the difference between a workable year and a very hard one. We're not going to pretend this is fine. One person summarised it perfectly - "This isn't Glastonbury tickets, this is people's livelihoods."

If you submitted an application: The RPA is processing applications in the order they were submitted. Some need extra checks, so they may take longer. Defra says it will confirm when successful applicants can expect offers. If you get an offer, accept it within 30 calendar days, or it will be withdrawn.

If your application includes SSSI land: Submit your SSSI notice to Natural England for consent as soon as you can. The RPA can't offer you an agreement until you've done this.

If you started but didn't submit: In most cases, you won't be able to finish your application. Defra says there are two exceptions, and both only apply if you contacted the RPA before the window closed at 15:48:

• Assisted digital: farmers who need the RPA to complete the application for them.
• Technical issue: farmers who were prevented from applying by a problem with the application service.

Whilst it’s not clear, if the portal blocked you because of a clash or error and you contacted the RPA for the window closed, you may be in the technical issue group. The RPA will contact everyone with a started-but-not-submitted application to tell them whether it will be withdrawn or can continue. Keep your screenshots, emails and call records ready.

If you didn't get in at all: Defra plans to open SFI again in 2027. Ministers have committed to keeping the main design of SFI stable for the rest of this Parliament. Defra says it will work with farming organisations on refinements before then, which is exactly where your feedback counts.

Look at what's still open: Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier remains open to new applicants. It offers 10-year agreements that combine land management actions and capital items. There's also a simpler Expression of Interest route for:

• woodland improvement
• agroforestry
• species-rich grassland
• scheduled monument management

Look after yourself: If the last few days have taken a toll, you're not alone. Talk to friends, family, us, or others. The Farming Community Network also has a number you can call (03000 111 999 available 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM every day) to speak with volunteers who understand farming and rural life.

• Feeding back to the RPA and Defra. We're pulling together responses into feedback on how this window was run and what needs to change. We see a wide range of businesses, from family farms to large estates to one man band agents to the largest agents in the UK, and we want to use that for the benefit of the whole industry. If you haven't yet, please fill in the survey - here for farmers and here for agents. All comments stay anonymous unless you tell us otherwise.
• Keeping your plans ready. Everything you've planned in JustFarm stays exactly as it is. On the smallest off chance more budget is released, or another window opens, we'll help you move on it straight away.

Thank you for everything you did on the 22nd, and for everything you do for the land you look after.

Please know it matters.

If you want to talk it through, email contact@justfarm.app.