The first farmers to sign up to the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) have now received their first payment, Defra has confirmed.
The early payments, worth 25% of the annual value of farmers’ agreements, have been made a month after the start of applications.
Every farmer whose agreement started on 1 October has received the payment to help improve cashflow.
It follows warnings by the NFU that farmers were in a 'perilous place' amid delays in SFI payments and 'through the roof' input costs and soaring interest rates.
As part of the post-Brexit support system, farmers will get paid for taking actions that support food production while also improving the environment.
According to Defra, there have been over 14,000 registrations of interest and almost 1,000 applications submitted since the scheme started accepting applications.
From the end of this week, the majority of farmers will no longer need to submit registrations of interest and will be able to apply directly online.
Defra Secretary Thérèse Coffey said: “I am delighted by the number of agreements that are already in place for the 2023 Sustainable Farming Incentive and that farmers are now being paid.
“We are engaging with farmers and taking onboard their feedback to continually improve the scheme, including delivering on our commitment to introduce early payments and taking steps to simplify the application process.”
Paul Caldwell, chief executive of the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) added: “We understand the importance of cashflow for farmers and hope the measures we have taken will assist in making a difference at an important time.
"We are continuing to work hard on getting more and more farmers involved in SFI.”
Additional actions under SFI 2023 were announced earlier this year, with Defra saying it wanted to ensure there was an offer workable for more types of farms.
The 23 actions cover existing themes including soil health and moorland, as well as new actions on hedgerows, integrated pest management, nutrient management, farmland wildlife, buffer strips, and low input grassland.
