UK farmers fury as £233m green fund compared to Oasis tickets
Thousands of English farmers missed out on a £233m green farming scheme after online applications closed in under six hours on Tuesday.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Sustainable farming incentive funding of £233m ran out in under six hours
- National Farmers Union demanded answers over the unexpectedly rapid closure
- Conservationists compared the scramble to frantic ticket sales for Oasis
- Defra confirmed that further funding opportunities will be reviewed for 2027
Thousands of farmers missed out on vital government funding after online applications for a £233m green scheme covering the whole of England closed down in under six hours on Tuesday.
Farming and environmental groups condemned the frantic race to secure the sustainable farming incentive (SFI) funding, with some comparing it directly to the chaotic online scramble required to secure Glastonbury or Oasis gig tickets.
The post-Brexit scheme, which replaced traditional EU subsidies with payments for farmers protecting nature and providing public goods, opened at 10:00 BST on Tuesday but completely ran out of budget by 15:48 BST.
The government stated that farmers responded in force to the initiative and promised further funding opportunities for 2027. Meanwhile, the National Farmers Union (NFU) called on the government to explain why the application window closed so rapidly, leaving numerous participants out of pocket.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
"The scramble for green farming schemes was worse than the dash for Oasis tickets."
Vicki Hird, Wildlife Trusts
NFU vice-president Robyn Munt noted that the rapid uptake came as no surprise. She explained that closing in less than six hours highlighted the massive scale of demand from farmers eager to deliver for the environment and invest in farm resilience.
The rapid depletion of the SFI budget exposes deep structural tensions within post-Brexit agricultural policies in the UK. As farmers transition away from legacy EU subsidies toward eco-friendly land management, fixed-pot funding models that close abruptly risk alienating producers who rely heavily on financial certainty to cope with compounding extreme weather events.
Vicki Hird, agriculture lead at the Wildlife Trusts, stressed that the budget had been completely inadequate for far too long, urging the Treasury to allocate greater funds to ensure long-term climate resilience in agriculture.
Cambridgeshire arable farmer Martin Lines, leading the NFFN, criticized the entire system of opening and closing windows within hours, arguing for continuous whole-farm agreements instead of doors shutting on day one.
Source: BBC Science & Environment
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