Two application windows
There will be two application windows this year for SFI. This is a departure from the unlimited access that operated in recent versions of SFI.
The first window will open in June 2026 for two groups:
- small farms
- farms without an existing ELM (Environmental Land Management) revenue agreement.
You could be eligible to apply under both these criteria but remember, you can only apply once for SFI26. The current definitions and rules for applying can be found at: GOV.UK | SFI26.
The second application window will open in September 2026 for all farmers and land managers that are eligible.
Defra has confirmed that they are inviting a small number of farmers who are eligible for window 1 to apply from around 18 June, to test the application service. They then plan that window 1 will open from 30 June 2026 for the two groups set out above.
Window 1 will remain open for around 2 months. It may close sooner if demand is high and the budget for the first window is fully allocated.
Once applications open, Defra will publish updates on how much of the first and second window budgets have been allocated on Defra’s Farming Blog. Defra intends to do this once 25%, 50% and 75% of the funding is allocated.
So there is still time to prepare for SFI26 and below is our updated guide to help you do this.
ELM agreements coming to an end soon (possible early access to SFI26)
On 11 June, Defra confirmed it was building new functionality into the SFI26 application service that will let farmers with expiring ELM agreements apply for land before they end.
This is currently expected to be available from the start of Window 2 in September 2026.
Defra aims to confirm whether this approach will be possible before Window 1 applications open, so affected small farms eligible for Window 1 can decide which application window is right for them if they also have land in soon-to-expire agreements.
Which window should I apply for?
Depending on your situation, you may have the option of choosing which window to apply for if you’re eligible for both but, you can only have one agreement for SFI26 across both windows.
Which one you do apply for will ultimately depend on your circumstances. Factors to consider include presence, proportion and remaining time left in existing ELMs revenue schemes such as Countryside Stewardship or SFI23. You can also only make one application per RPA-recognised business for SFI26.
What you can do to prepare
What is clear is that this new approach is going to be a challenge for many given the time demands of the farming year in the coming months.
Here are the key steps to think about now before the application windows open and summer farm work really gets under way:
1. Check your digital maps show the correct land details
Whether you believe your RPA mapping is up to date or you have not looked at them since the last BPS claim or agreement application, you need to check them carefully. What’s also key is to ensure you have management control for SFI26, considering the three year duration of the scheme. This is set out in Section 6 of the SFI26 Scheme Guidance.
This is the most important check to do given that SFI is a land based scheme and the way the Rural Payments service uses the land details it holds to determine whether you can access particular SFI actions, as those SFI actions have land eligibility requirements.
Example: If you want to put an arable based SFI action on a field, but the RPA mapping shows the field is showing as permanent pastures, the service is not going to allow you to apply for that SFI action.
Therefore, both what is on the ground as well as recorded on the RPA service needs to align. This includes both the land cover – the board land types (for example, arable land, permanent grassland, permanent crops, or relevant non-agricultural land cover) and the land use (for example, the land cover is arable and the land use are compatible with one another).
If the land covers and land uses are not compatible, or their areas do not match, this will prevent you from selecting the affected land parcel in your SFI26 application. Also, eligible land type, which is the actual type of land you have that may be grassland, needs to be suitable for the SFI actions that you plan to use. Section 5 of the SFI26 Scheme Guidance will provide more information on land cover, land use and land type.
You need to ensure that your RPA mapping records show you have:
- At least 3ha of agricultural land. Needed to be able to start an application.
- All the land parcels you want to include in your SFI26 application are associated with the SBI (single business identifier) wishing to apply.
- The correct total area (in hectares) for each land parcel is shown, particularly looking at boundary or ineligible land use activity.
- The correct land covers for each parcel.
You do not need to check or update your RPA map hedge layer as this is not being used for SFI.
This is important to check now because you cannot add land or make certain land changes to land in an SFI application once it has been created and if it is being worked on.
If you have any existing schemes on your land, ensure that any changes made for SFI26 purposes are considered across those other schemes and, where necessary, inform the RPA of changes that affect those other schemes.
For more information read the RPA guidance on how to check your digital maps. If you find you need to update your digital maps, ask the RPA to do this as soon as possible so you are not waiting for changes to be carried out while the application windows are open. Read: GOV.UK | How to update your digital maps online.
Finally, there is also information set out in Sections 5, 6 and 10 of the SFI26 Scheme Guidance covering consents and checks you may need to do in order to apply for certain SFI actions on land which may have certain designations. For historical features, you may need to request an SFI HEFER (Historic Environment Farm Environment Record) or check if there are SSSIs (sites of special scientific interest), trees or wildlife habitats present.
2. Are your details up to date?
Check your registered contact details are up to date in the Rural Payments service as the RPA use these details, including your business email address, to contact you about your SFI26 application and agreement offer.
To apply in window 2, your farm business needs to be registered with the RPA (so it has an SBI) at the point you want to start an application. For window 1, eligible applicants had to be registered with the RPA by 1 January 2026 as set out in the guidance.
3. Check your permissions
You need to have the correct permission to apply for an SFI26 agreement for your business (SBI).
To check this:
- Sign into the Rural Payments service
- Navigate to ‘Business Overview’
- Select ‘Give people permission to act for this business’
- To make an application you need to have one of the following permissions:
- ‘Business Details: Full’
- ‘BPS: Submit’
- ‘CS Applications: Submit’.
If you have someone helping you with an application and applying on your behalf, you need to check that they’re registered with the RPA in the Rural Payments service, and that you have given them the correct permissions.
4. Read the SFI26 guidance and plan your application
On 17 June, Defra published the final scheme information for SFI26.
If you have previously read the near-final version of this guidance, there have been a small number of changes made.
You can easily identify these changes in the change log by navigating to the base of the page and selecting ‘Show all updates’ beside the ‘Last updated’ timestamp by visiting: GOV.UK | Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026 (SFI26): scheme information
It is really important before applying for SFI26 to read the guidance carefully, especially if you are familiar with the previous SFI offers. If you have an SFI23 or 24 agreement it is important to continue to follow the respective scheme information for those agreements. As set below, this guidance forms part of the contract you have with Defra for SFI26.
The guidance includes sections listed below, which are explained further in our scheme explainer: SFI – scheme guidance and information
- Terms and conditions
- Scheme rules
- SFI26 action information and mandatory requirements
- Guidance on applying
You can find the information published above via: GOV.UK | Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026 (SFI26): scheme information
The Find Funding tool is really helpful to help you drill down the 71 actions to those interested in and have a think first before heading online to pull together application. To help those classified as a small farm, Defra has set out a map of popular SFI actions by region, showing the most common actions chosen by mixed/arable and grassland farms up to 50 hectares already in SFI agreements.
Finally, when looking at the SFI actions, take particular notice of the compatibility of the SFI actions and how they interact with other SFI/CS/ES agreements that you may have, especially rotational action requirements. Also consider how they will work beyond Year 1 of an agreement and how SFI actions work when you may have an agreement start date that does not fit in with your farming/cropping year.
If you have any queries on the scheme requirements please ask. Contact either the RPA or NFU CallFirst.
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