Charles Goadby never wanted to rely on a penny in subsidies for his farm set within the green and pleasant lands of the north Warwickshire countryside.
As a proud dairy farmer, the 47-year-old father-of-two wanted to focus “every square inch” of his 1,400 acres on food and milk production, and once believed post-Brexit environmental subsidies threatened to turn many farmers into “subsidy junkies”.
But a significant squeeze on margins and the wish to bring in cash for a robotic milking system led to a redress of the situation – and on Wednesday, he met with a farming expert to discuss an application for the government’s sustainable farming incentive (SFI).
Providing winter bird feed and creating of grass margins along watercourses could warrant £10,000 a year, Mr Goady estimated, and give access to capital funding for the wanted farming equipment.
But last week, Labour announced that SFI, which was launched in 2022, was now fully subscribed and closed to new applications with immediate effect. Under £1bn worth of deals already agreed, farmers are paid for managing land to protect soil, restore hedgerows and boost nature recovery.
“I was gobsmacked,” said Mr Goadby, who said he now makes just £50 a week from his farming business already “propped up” by the conversion of industrial units. He said he now lives off his wife’s primary school teacher salary.
“It will impact us hugely, you take away the SFI, you take away another income while we try desperately to survive. You don’t make a penny from farming anymore, it’s unsustainable and so we now need the support. This is devastating.”
Mr Goadby, who has around 700 cows and also grows wheat, barley and oats, said the government’s abrupt closure of SFI was another “attack” on the farming sector, months after chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a change to inheritance tax for farmers.
“With my father aged 81, we’re looking at a succession plan, but we fear inheritance tax will destroy us,” Mr Goadby said. “How are we going to raise £800k, and pay it over 20 years – we’re going to have to sell up land to survive which will make us less viable.”
In his community, Mr Goadby said two farmers had killed themselves over the past two years. “There will be more from this [scrapping of SFI],” he added.
Food security minister Daniel Zeichner told the Commons last week that the government planned to “redesign” the SFI programme. The scheme was the largest part of new environmental land management (Elms) project which replaced EU-era farming subsidies.
Also impacted is Northamptonshire farmer Ben Aveling, who had already seeded 20 acres of “low input” grassland for a yet-to-be submitted application for cash under the SFI programme. The land, Mr Aveling said, could have been used for growing wheat, raising £16,000.
The 39-year-old father-of-three has already heavily diversified his 250-acre farm. Three years ago he set up clamping and has created an online farm shop.
He said: “Farming has become less profitable, and so we have focused on other ways to make money such as through environment schemes – but to now hear it has been closed off despite our work is bitterly disappointing.
“It feels like an absolute onslaught on farming with another thing taken away from us as we struggle to survive. Labour is putting food security at risk, and that places at risk our job to feed the nation.”
Last week, farmers gathered by the Houses of Parliament to protest over the scrapping of the scheme, as well as the changes to inheritance tax.
The rise in anger in the farming community has also put many newly-elected rural Labour MPs in a difficult position. Around 40 have reportedly joined a “rural growth group”, sending a letter to Ms Reeves on their concerns over the inheritance levy.
In November, Labour peer Baroness Ann Mallalieu warned the party faced a wipeout of rural MPs at the next election.
On Tuesday, farmers met Mr Zeichner to discuss their concerns over the scrapping of SFI in a meeting organised by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU). President Tom Bradshaw said: “We made it clear to the minister that this decision not only threatens the livelihoods of numerous farmers, especially upland farmers, commoners and tenants, but also undermines the ability of farm businesses to deliver environmental work.”
Sarah Lee, director of policy at the Countryside Alliance, told The Independent: “Farmers are being asked to navigate an increasingly unerctain landscape, from concerns about the farm tax to broader economic pressures, while continuing to produce high-quality food and tackling biodiversity decline and climate change.
“This decision comes at a time when confidence in the farming sector is already fragile. Closing to applications without immediate clarity on what comes next risks exacerbating uncertainty.”
A government spokesperson said: “We inherited farming schemes which were underspent, with farms missing out on millions of pounds.
“The government proudly secured the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history. We now have record number of farmers into schemes and more money being paid to farms than ever before. As a result, we have now hit the maximum limit of the scheme and have stopped accepting new applications.
“The government will reopen a new and improved SFI scheme with more details coming this summer.”