\u201cWe tried our utmost. We were fully prepared; everything was checked and triple-checked and through no fault of our own we were denied this opportunity. I\u2019m shell-shocked,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
The wild bird feed mix field alongside a corn field on Peter Hatley\u2019s farm in Landbeach, Cambridgeshire. Photograph: Antonio Olmos\/The Guardian<\/p>\n
By 4pm on Tuesday, just six hours after it launched, the SFI had run out<\/a> of money after a rush some compared with \u201cthe scramble for Oasis tickets<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n SFI is part of a package of payments that replaced the EU\u2019s common agricultural policy, paying farmers to look after nature, soil and other public goods, rather than simply for farming and owning land. Figures suggest that up to 10,000 farmers with funding agreements that will expire in March 2027 either chose not to apply or could not apply.<\/p>\n Historically, Hatley says his farm could weather a level of uncertainty with confidence that, if he had one bad harvest, the next would probably be good. But in the face of the rapidly changing climate, this is no longer a given.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 2024 we had extreme rain, in 2025 a lack of rain caused depressed yields and then this year, I mean, it\u2019s 25C at the end of September. We\u2019re at breaking point. We can\u2019t ride this storm,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Farmers across the country are reporting a devastating outlook, with crop-destroying heat and drought, and soaring fertiliser costs tied to the war in Iran piling pressure on what has already been a challenging few years.<\/p>\n Hatley says not receiving funding will undo 20 years of hard work to create diversity. Photograph: Antonio Olmos\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Hatley has spent years slowly diversifying his farm and creating space for nature but says without the SFI funding he has no choice but to reverse this.<\/p>\n \u201cI will undo all the hard work over the last 20 years and move to a mono crop with maize. It\u2019s not a threat, it\u2019s what I will do for my family. It will break our hearts but my children come first. I\u2019m just thankful my father is not here to see it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cThe skylarks, the lapwings, they\u2019ll go. I\u2019ll have to put more cows on my grass so the bugs and the dragonflies will suffer. If I said this to anybody else, it would sound like blackmail, but it\u2019s not; it\u2019s a business fact. How do I explain to the bank manager that I can\u2019t afford to pay my mortgage this month because I put wood pigeons and birds of prey first?\u201d<\/p>\n Martin Lines, chief executive of the Nature Friendly Farming<\/a> Network, said the speed at which the funding ran out showed the \u201cdesperation\u201d many farmers were experiencing.<\/p>\n Mat Cole, an uplands farmer in the south of England, could not log in to the scheme as it launched because he was busy at market day. But as soon as he could, he rushed home and by noon was ready to apply. After spending a few hours preparing his application, he submitted it at 3.50pm, only to be greeted by an error message.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790402309_30_1000.jpg\")
<\/p>\n