Unlocking SFI26: Practical insights for South West farmers

The SFI was set up to support farmers in managing their land to benefit the environment as well as produce food. This central objective remains.

After the abrupt closure of SFI applications last year, the new scheme contains fewer actions, making it, the Government believes, less complex for farmers to navigate while still offering plenty of choice.

Main changes

The 102 actions have become 71, removing those attracting low uptake or delivering less for food production and the environment, prioritising value for money, biodiversity and water quality. Other changes include agreement limits, payment rates and the duration of actions:

·         A cap of £100,000 per year for all SFI26 agreements, with one agreement permitted per farm business.

·         The area or value of rotational actions cannot be increased beyond a year 1 level, although actions can be moved between fields to reflect crop rotations.

·         Some payment rates have been changed but are still based on the ‘income foregone plus costs’ approach.

·         Payment rates for some moorland actions have been increased, while those deemed to encourage land to be taken out of food production, eg. herbal leys and winter bird food, have fallen.

·         The SFI management payment is no longer available.

·         All actions have a three-year duration to benefit short-term tenant farmers.

Application windows

Only those with at least three hectares of land are eligible for an agreement.

Window 1: Applications open in June 2026 for two months or less if funding is fully allocated. It is limited to farms of 3-50 hectares and farms without an existing ELMs agreement.

Window 2: For all other farms, applications open in September 2026, with no fixed end-date given.

How to prepare

1.      Review the Rural Payments Agency mapping data to ensure land covers and field boundaries are recorded correctly

2.      Understand and check your eligibility and current DEFRA scheme commitments to confirm whether you fall into Window 1 or Window 2

3.      Explore what’s available and how it fits with your business goals – seeking external support from a farm advisor/consultant if necessary

“There’s no need to rush, but we know this is coming so it’s worth being prepared,” advises Jack. “Start planning in the new few weeks and stay up to date with the latest advice from Defra and the RPA so you don’t miss out on what’s available.”

A more detailed breakdown of the SFI26 actions and payment rates is available from the Defra Farming blog.

To hear more from Jack Pierce, listen to him on Farming Focus™: