Statement on the removal of species-rich grassland action from the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026 - Buglife
A number of organisations, including Buglife, have joined together to share a statement with the Food Security Minister and Defra Director Mike Rowe calling on the UK Government to consider the impacts of the removal of species-rich grassland action from the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026.
Read the statement below:
Plantlife and Partner Statement on the removal of species-rich grassland action from the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 2026
Farmers have been dealt a new blow by the UK Government’s unexpected decision to pull the plug on vital funding for Priority Habitat species-rich grasslands. The GRH6 option has been removed from the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer for 2026, despite being introduced in August 2024, only 18 months earlier. Defra’s rationale is that a comparable action is available in Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT), however CSHT is currently only available to farmers by invitation. There is no openly accessible funding for farmers who want to manage or restore their species-rich grazing pastures and meadows.
In the name of ‘simplification’, Defra’s decision:
- creates further financial pressures and uncertainty for farmers;
- puts at further risk England’s most threatened and irreplaceable farmland habitats and species;
- weakens the links between farming practice, heritage and important habitats and landscapes, and;
- makes it harder, not easier, for farmers to deliver action through ELM which contribute to government targets and ambitions on restoring nature, climate, healthy food, meeting “30by30”, and delivering Local Nature Recovery Strategies.