The Scottish government is planning to increase funding for young farmers as rural secretary Fergus Ewing admitted the original pledge would not go far enough.
Speaking to an audience of new entrants in Perth, Mr Ewing said he is aiming to increase spending and make more land available for young farmers.
"Round three applications are still being assessed. There is no doubt that they have the potential to bust the original budget of £8million," he said.
"We are determined to provide extra funding and I very much hope to have news about this fairly soon.
"I would ask you to bear with us for a short period. It’s clear that there is a greater appetite for support that we were able to satisfy with the original budget."
NFU Scotland said they were concerned that the budget allocation is being quickly used up and the number of unsuccessful applications is already high.
Event organiser Kirsten Williams from SAC Consulting's Turriff office, said: "It will be a chance for new entrants of any age to hear at first hand the Scottish Government’s thinking on the future for new businesses.
"We are running the day under FAS and aim to bring new entrants together, to network and to highlight opportunities within the sector."
No 'quick fix'
Mr Ewing said he had been identifying organisations and opportunities to increase the amount of land available for younger farmers.
"I don't want this initiative to simply be a quick fix," he said.
"I want to have the philosophy of making land available to new entrant farmers embedded in the culture of such organisations- and all public bodies should do what they can to make more land available."
A report by Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) said as many as 20 per cent of Scottish farmers could quit the industry in 2017 as a result Brexit.
One fifth of respondents overall said it was more likely they would retire following Brexit. This feeling was lowest in those under 54 years of age.
The number of dairy farms in Scotland has also decreased to the lowest number since records began in 1903.
Andy McGowan, chief executive of the co-operative, Scottish Pig Producers, said there had been a large drop in the number of untis producing pigs in Scotland in recent years.
But Mr Ewing said he has identified a number of small units which will be made available for lease in the future.
He said: "Land owned by Forestry Enterprise Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Water and Orkney Islands Council is being considered and there will be news about that in the coming months."
He said the group was also engaging with private landowners and estates to 'persuade and encourage' them to make more land available to rent.
