Farming Today - 26/09/26 Farming Today This Week: 'shambolic' and 'disheartening' SFI application process; pulses; heating oil costs
'Shambolic', 'disheartening' and 'carnage' - some of the words being used by farmers to describe the application process for England's biggest farm environmental scheme that opened, and closed, on Tuesday. This is the Sustainable Farming Incentive, which pays farmers for environmental work, like planting hedges or improving soil. On Tuesday, the total budget available was £253 million, it was a first come, first served system, with thousands of farmers applying and in six hours all the money had gone.
The millions of people in rural areas who rely on oil to heat their homes have seen prices rise by 40% in the past two months alone. They're not covered by the energy price cap, set by the regulator OFGEM, which limits the increase that most will see this winter because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Should the UK be growing more pulses? The Food Foundation looked into the potential for these crops and concluded that the UK could and should be growing more of them.
Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
Published on Saturday, 26th September 2026.
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