Farmers have been left "in limbo" by the delayed launch of a government payment scheme for environmentally-friendly agriculture, said sector leaders.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) is part of a new system of environmental payments being launched while EU subsidies are being phased out after Brexit.

Defra has announced the 2023 scheme will be open for applications from September 18.

But the National Farmers' Union (NFU) said the "totally unacceptable" slippage from an expected August roll-out meant the earliest adopters will not see money in their accounts until January 2024.

NFU vice president David Exwood said: "This timeline is much later than farmers were led to expect and, as a result, most will not receive any SFI payments this year - one of the key tests for delivery of the scheme.

"Against a backdrop of farming businesses continuing to face huge economic challenges, facing into at least a 50pc reduction in the current direct payments in 2023, and continued high farm input inflation, this failure to deliver SFI and Countryside Stewardship reliably is totally unacceptable.

"For the sake of British food and farming, Defra has to get the SFI policy right, and soon."

The SFI pays farmers for taking actions to improve farm productivity while protecting and enhancing the environment. The 23 actions on offer under the 2023 scheme include soil health, hedgerows, integrated pest management, farmland wildlife and buffer strips.

Defra said a pre-registration window opened from August 30 would help smooth the application process by ensuring farmers had "all necessary information in place" ready for when the scheme starts to accept applications from September 18 - adding that the date would "provide certainty".

Environment secretary Thérèse Coffey said: "The SFI is important for sustainability - for production and profitability. With opening up the options, from mid September for everyone, there is likely to be an opportunity for every eligible farmer to join SFI."

Free Norfolk SFI workshop

Norfolk FWAG (Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group) is running a free SFI workshop on October 6 from 9-11am at the Colman Room on the Norfolk Showground.

Farm conservation adviser Nathan Walker said although the delayed SFI roll-out "will affect people financially", it has also created extra time for farmers to understand the scheme and consider all their options.

"It will definitely help if they register now to get on the system," he said.

"We have to be aware that farmers will not be invited into the scheme all at once, so people need to be ready for that.

"But the people who lose out the most are those who choose not to take stewardship or go into SFI, and whose BPS (Basic Payment Scheme subsidy) is on the way down - they will suffer financially.

"Our advice really has been that farmers need to look at a much wider scale as to where they diversify their income from. 

"The key message will be that if you are going to register your interest, you need to know what you want to do - so our workshop will be looking at all the available options and how they fit with current stewardship schemes."

Places can be reserved by visiting https://tinyurl.com/bdznh9vn or calling 01603 814 869.