Where Is the DEFRA Roadmap Taking Farming, and How Will We Know When We Have Arrived? | TFA Webinar

The Farming Roadmap sets out a 25-year vision for farming in England. But what does it mean for tenant farmers and how will we know when it is working? In September, the second application window for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI26) closed within six hours of opening. This recording addresses it head on. In this Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) webinar, recorded live on Wednesday 21 October 2026, Mike Rowe, Director General of Food and Farming at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), sets out where the Roadmap is heading and what it commits to for the tenanted sector. He is then joined by Tom Foster of the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) and Lynette Steel from the TFA for a live Q&A hosted by TFA Chief Executive, George Dunn. Watch this 60-minute on demand webinar to hear: • Why the Farming Roadmap is not about hitting a single finish line, but about building a resilient, forward-facing sector • Why producing food and restoring nature should never depend on owning land • The Roadmap's commitments for tenant farmers, including support for longer-term tenancies and action on the Law Commission's review of agricultural tenancy law • How progress will be measured, from domestic food production to Environmental Improvement Plan targets • The options being considered for SFI as ministers move away from first-come, first-served • The technical issues farmers experienced on the day, and the new route for Higher Tier agreements on common land What the TFA is calling for: • Multi-year budget certainty • Fixed application windows and a more streamlined application process for SFI • A solution for farmers with expiring Higher Level Stewardship agreements, and those on commons and uplands • A more holistic "Whole Farm Plan" approach to funding • Better data transparency between DEFRA, the RPA and the industry • A land sharing approach that protects food production and the environment together, with particular concern for tenanted upland land Speakers: Mike Rowe, Director General of Food and Farming, DEFRA Tom Foster, Grants Service Owner, RPA Lynette Steel, Farm Policy Adviser, TFA George Dunn, Chief Executive, TFA (Q&A host) Robert Martin, National Chair, TFA (Event chair) Event sponsored by Roythornes Solicitors About the TFA The TFA represents tenant farmers, farm business tenants, share farmers and contract farmers across England and Wales. To find out more about membership, visit https://www.tfa.org.uk Subscribe to the TFA YouTube channel to be notified of future webinars and member briefings. #TenantFarmers #FarmingRoadmap #SFI #DEFRA #TenantFarmersAssociation Useful Links ► Tenant Farmers Association: http://www.tfa.org.uk/ ► Roythornes Solicitors: https://www.roythorne.co.uk/site/sect... ► Subscribe for future TFA webinars and updates:    / @tenantfarmers