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SFI26 Window 2 closed less than 6 hours after opening on 22 September.
Defra announced that 100% of the £253 million budget had been allocated, made up of the £180m initially allocated for Window 2. This has been added to with the additional £50m announced by the Prime Minister in August, a further £3m not allocated in the first application window and an additional £20m announced by the Farming Minister on 23 September to support claims submitted by the closure.
Defra stated that those who started an application but did not submit it before Window 2 closed will not be able to submit it, while highlighting two small ‘exception groups’ who got in contact with the RPA before the window closed.
The two groups who will be able to continue their applications are:
- ‘Assisted digital’ farmers who need the RPA to complete an application on their behalf.
- ‘Technical issue’ farmers who had technical issues with the application service and contacted the RPA before the window closed.
These two groups will be identified and contacted by the RPA in due course.
The RPA state that they are also working through queries from farmers and others received via email as quickly as possible.
The RPA will also be contacting those that ‘started but not submitted’ Window 2 in due course.
Applications are being processed in the order in which they were submitted, although some applications require additional checks and can therefore take longer to assess.
The RPA will provide an update on when successful applicants can expect to receive their agreement offer in due course.
The NFU is continuing to raise issues and seek clarity with the RPA and Defra on the Window 2 situation.
For more details, visit: GOV.UK | SFI26: Window 2 now closed and GOV.UK | SFI26 Window 2: an update
3 steps to take if you experienced issues with SFI26 Window 2
1. Raise concerns
Members should continue to follow up with the RPA any concerns they have including supplying any evidence to demonstrate the challenges faced.
The RPA have previously stated that if the system prevented you from applying for a combination SFI actions which you should be able to apply for on the same available area within a land parcel, you need to:
- Email the RPA at [email protected] as soon as possible – use ‘SFI26’ in the subject heading and include your SBI (Single Business Identifier).
- Attach clear screen shots of what you’re seeing to your email.
- Explain what steps you took before you were prevented from applying.
For guidance on the RPA’s complaints process, visit: GOV.UK | Complaints procedure
For raising an SFI-specific query, visit: GOV.UK | Sustainable Farming Incentive query form
2. Get support
For queries or any legal or professional advice, please call NFU CallFirst on 0370 8458458.
Know where to find help and support – reach out to your network to check in and find mental health and wellbeing support in your area using our mental health directory.
3. Feed into NFU lobbying
The NFU is already feeding members concerns into the RPA and Defra and will continue to do so as we advocate for an SFI offer that matches farmers’ ambitions to deliver environmental improvement.
Help hold the government to account by completing our new SFI feedback form – share your experiences of applying for SFI26 Window 2 and the impact missing out on the window will have on you and your farm.
SFI Window 1
SFI26 Window 1 closed at 23:59 on Friday 28 August.
Defra have subsequently confirmed that the total budget allocated was £57m, with £3m underspend from the original budget of £60m transferred to Window 2. The NFU is monitoring the progress of the remaining agreement offers still to be issued.
Both windows
The RPA (Rural Payments Agency) continue to process applications received and all agreement offers need to be accepted within 30 days.
A further update is expected on this activity.
Please read the ‘Waiting for or have an agreement offer’ section for more information.
Drought easements
Following weeks of NFU lobbying, Defra has announced drought easements.
From 15 August, there are flexibilities to deal with the drought. The Defra announcement lists by action the flexibilities available.
The full list of easements can be found here: GOV.UK | Hot and dry weather: temporary support for farmers in 2026
In summary, for specific actions:
- It is possible to cut or graze the action to provide forage. This can be for your own use or to share with the wider community. It should not be for profit.
- It is possible to create a firebreak for an approaching wildfire or to protect infrastructure from potential wildfire risk. This is on land that is below the moorland line, not priority habitat (eg, not on species rich grassland). When the risk has passed, you are expected to reinstate the action.
- There are easements for late establishment of options, up to 30 September.
- If you try to establish an action this summer or autumn and it fails, you need to notify the RPA. If you have tried to establish an option this spring or summer and it failed you need to notify RPA. For SFI you need to write within 8 weeks. You do not need to re-establish these failed actions or options this year in order to be paid. However, you must re-establish them next year to continue to be paid for the actions or options in subsequent agreement years.
- If the land involves an SSSI you may need consent from Natural England to change management.
When using the easements you must keep records.
RPA requires you to complete this specific form for each agreement you are applying easements. You need to keep this on file.
For more information on what to do, visit: GOV.UK | Hot and dry weather: temporary support for farmers in 2026
In addition, you should keep records of your field operations at parcel level, relevant invoices, stocking and grazing records. RPA may ask for these records at any time.
Unable to deliver on scheme requirements
Members are reminded of the processes to follow if they can’t deliver scheme requirements, including if the drought status of the county your land is in changes from ‘drought’ to ‘normal’ and thus you will no longer qualify for the temporary adjustments.
You should notify the RPA as soon as possible.
For SFI agreements you should use the change of circumstance process. SFI requires you to email or write to the RPA with details of the change you want to make. More details are set out in SFI guidance, including section 13.2 of the current scheme guidance for SFI24 .
The RPA will deal with requests on a case-by-case basis. Please note that adjustments to agreements could lead to agreement values being amended.
For more guidance on dealing with dry weather please visit: Dry weather information and advice
Useful links:
- GOV.UK | SFI26: scheme rules and guidance – how to apply
- Key resources (including Defra’s scheme handbook, FIND tool and application videos, SFI cost/benefit tool and SFI26 limited area actions calculator)
Key resources
- The Defra handbook for all Sustainable Farming Incentive schemes can be found at: GOV.UK | Sustainable Farming Incentive guidance for applicants and agreement holders.
- Defra’s FIND tool to help farmers search through the SFI26 and other current schemes actions (SFI23, SFI24 actions are not located separately to avoid confusion).
- AHDB has launched a new SFI cost/benefit tool to help farmers better understand how SFI actions could impact their individual businesses and support more informed decision-making.
- Common application issues and how to solve them
- A range of videos including ‘how to apply’ video can be watched via: YouTube | SFI26 - How to apply for the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026
- SFI 2026 Limited area actions calculator
- What to expect from an SFI guidance visit
Please note that the SFI guidance includes the terms and conditions which are mandatory and apply to all SFI26 agreements and the scheme rules explains the mandatory requirements set out in sections 4 to 14 of the SFI26 terms and conditions.
Timeline for applications
The first application window opened on 30 June 2026 and closed on 28 August for small farmers and/or those without an agri-environment revenue agreement. A second application window opened on 22 September and closed less than 6 hours later for all other eligible farmers and land managers.
For Window 1, eligible farm businesses need to have been registered with the RPA by 1 January 2026 and have a single business identifier. This date will be used to assess whether the applicant meets the small farm eligibility definition – less than 50ha of agricultural land.
Window 2 was available for those registered with the RPA and who had at least 3ha of agricultural land associated with the registered business’ SBI.
The SFI offer and payments
You have free choice of which actions you take and how much you include in your SFI agreement. Some actions do have area constraints. Most actions can be on part of the field. A few are a whole field. Where the action is ‘whole field’, this is the available area of the field after incompatible areas have been removed.
All management payments including CSAM1 (soils), CNUM1 (nutrients), CIPM1 (integrated pest management), CMOR1 (moorland), agreement management payment have been removed. There is one ‘agreement level’ SFI26 action (AHW2: Supplementary winter bird food). You do not enter specific areas of land into this action. Instead, you enter the relevant tonnage that you want to include in your SFI26 agreement.
For each of the SFI actions, there are eligibility requirements, payment rates, and instructions on what you must or must not do. Each action contains advice to help you deliver the actions.
They are written in a way to be flexible for your farm, allowing you to use appropriate seed mixes for your soil, for example. The actions outline other actions that can be stacked on the same area; when you apply, the online system should identify this for you.
Finally, for SFI26 the RPA's IT systems will manage what you can and cannot apply for, such as maximum annual value of an agreement and ability to only have one agreement.
Additional payments
For SFI 2026, there will not be an agreement management payment.
For agreements entered into in SF23 or in SFI24, there is a management payment. The first-year payment, for agreements starting by March 2025, will be £40/ha for the first 50ha entered into agreement. After the first year, this will reduce to £20/ha. This is based on option area. There is only one payment per SBI. Your first SFI agreement will be used to calculate the payment.
Area limits
Defra has limited the combined area of ten actions to 25% of the farmed land. This limit is applied across all SFI agreements attached to the holding that started from 26 March 2024. The list has been extended for SFI 2026 applicants, with enhanced overwinter stubble (AHW7) added and now also includes Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier agreements from 2025 onwards. Defra has provided a tool to support the calculation. Visit: SFI 26 Limited area actions calculator
The actions limited are:
- CIPM2: Flower-rich grass margins, blocks, or in-field strips.
- CAHL1: Pollen and nectar flower mix.
- CAHL2: Winter bird food on arable and horticultural land.
- CAHL3: Grassy field corners or blocks.
- CIGL1: Take improved grassland field corners or blocks out of management.
- CIGL2: Winter bird food on improved grassland.
- WBD3: In-field grass strips.
- AHW1: Bumblebird mix.
- AHW9: Unharvested cereal headland.
- AHW11: Cultivated areas for arable plants.
- AHW7: Enhanced overwinter stubble (added for SFI26 applicants).
For an SFI26 applicant, without an existing SFI agreement, the actions limited by area are CIPM2, CAHL1, CAHL2, CAHL3. CIGL1, CIGL2, WBD3, and AHW7.
Eligibility
You need to have management control of the land to deliver the actions to be eligible for SFI.
To be eligible for SFI26 (for both windows one and two) farmers should have at least 3ha of agricultural land. This means that, at the point of application, the land needs to have been:
- registered with the RPA with the relevant agricultural land covers (arable land, permanent grassland or permanent crops)
- linked to the farm business’ SBI.
This minimum 3ha threshold does not mean you have to enter at least 3ha in your SFI26 application. You could apply on less than 3ha.
You will only be able to have one SFI agreement across both application windows for SFI26
Then, there are eligibility requirements for the SFI actions. Broadly, these require the land to be recorded on Rural Payments with the appropriate land cover. For example, for SFI arable actions, the field needs to have arable crops recorded. RPA mapping records need to match what is on the ground and that in turn allows the appropriate actions to be placed on the land. In addition, you need to have management control to be able to deliver the required actions.
Tenants
Tenants can apply for SFI without seeking their landlord’s consent (subject to the terms of their tenancy agreement). The tenant needs to be confident that they will have management control for the three-year term of the SFI agreement.
Tenants on short-term rolling tenancy agreements can enter SFI, provided they expect to have management control for three years. Defra has a more lenient penalty regime which means if land has to be removed in year two, due to issues outside of your control, it will not lead to penalties.
Common land and shared grazing
There will be pre-SFI26 agreements in place covering assessment of common land, but currently there is no access for common land or shared grazing in SFI26.
As the current IT system will not allow common land agreements to apply for SFI and CSHT, the NFU joins forces with national organisations in a letter to Farming Minister Dame Angela Eagle, asking for a solution to be put in place.
Agreement management
The length of the agreement will mirror the longest action included (usually 3 or 5 years). Some actions could be shorter than the length of the agreement, in particular some of the organic conversion actions. Agreements are managed online through the Rural Payments service, and there is a rolling application window. Agreements will start on 1st of the month. RPA support will be available for applicants who are not online.
Payments will be made quarterly, starting in the fourth month after your agreement starts. This will be for a quarter of the annual value of the agreement.
You will be required to complete an annual declaration confirming that you have completed the actions. This declaration will be needed to release the final quarterly payment for the year.
Once an agreement has started, it will not be possible to add new actions to that agreement. Removal of land or actions will not normally be allowed.
It is possible to have multiple SFI agreements on the same area of ground, provided the actions are compatible. This allows you to increase SFI actions over time.
It is not possible to transfer the agreement to another person. If you do need to end your agreement on an area of ground Defra may ask for repayments. There will be no penalties applied to the remainder of the agreement.
Crop rotations
Within SFI some actions can be rotated. For SFI26, it will not be possible to increase the area or value of a rotational action above the area you have in year one of your agreement. It will be possible to decrease the area.
The rules are different for existing SFI23 and SFI24 agreements. In the second and third years of your agreement you can enter a larger area than you entered into agreement for. Alternatively, you can decrease the area claimed, as long as it is at least 50% of the first year area. So, if your agreement has 10ha in year one for a rotational action, in year two that area could be 5ha and in year three it could be increased to 11ha.
Annual declarations
The annual declaration is how SFI agreement holders confirm that they have delivered against their agreement for that year. The final quarterly payment for an agreement years will be released after the declaration has been submitted.
Agreement holders are required to submit an annual declaration during the last two months of each relevant agreement year. The RPA will notify agreement holders when the submission period opens.
Before submitting an annual declaration, you should download a copy of the current year’s agreement.
Rotational declarations
The RPA requires you to tell it the location and area of your rotational actions for the second and third years of your SFI agreement. You need to do this even if you’re not making any changes to the location or area of these actions.
Your rotational actions declaration will be available in the RPA’s rural payments service once you’ve submitted your annual declaration.
For more information on annual declarations and rotational annual declarations for SFI23 and SFI24, visit: GOV.UK | Sustainable Farming Incentive: guidance for applicants and agreement holders.
Monitoring and compliance
If you are unable to deliver the actions (eg, flooding or drought prevents planting) then you need to notify the RPA as soon as possible. The RPA will advise on the best way forward (eg, a minor or temporary change to an agreement).You should use the change of circumstance process.
SFI requires you to email or write to the RPA with details of the change you want to make. More details are set out in section 13.2 of the current scheme guidance. The RPA will deal with requests on a case-by-case basis. Please note that adjustments to agreements could lead to agreement values being amended.
Each SFI action has its own record keeping requirements.
Defra says it wants to use different methods to assess agreement delivery, including remote sensing. The scheme moves away from inspectors to field officers. If they find something is not as it should be they have a role of being more supportive and advising how to improve delivery. Defra will not withhold payments on suspicion of any breach.
Where a breach is found, Defra can seek repayments. However, in most cases, Defra will only apply a reclaim to the area of the breach and it could be a one-year repayment, rather than multiple years.
Consents inc: SSSIs and other legal requirements
It is your responsibility to make sure the relevant consents are in place. Therefore, if you have land you wish to include with an SSSI or a scheduled monument, you need to have consents from Natural England or Historic England respectively.
Some SFI actions cannot be carried out on land containing a SSSI, historic or archaeological features. An SFI HEFER (Historic Environment Farmed Environment Record) will be required for land to be included where there are historic or archaeological features. This is available online through a HEFER portal.
Where SSSI consent is required for moorland actions, (UPL1-10) or low input grassland (CLIG3), Natural England will ask for additional information, stocking information and how you will manage the land. It is advisable to talk to Natural England or an expert adviser prior to applying for consent.
For more information on the new SSSI online advice and consent process, visit: NFU outlines new Site of Special Scientific Interest guidance | NFUonline
Compatibility with other schemes
You can have different schemes on the same parcel of land provided you are not being paid for the same action twice (known as double funding).
The scheme rules set out which SFI action is compatible with Countryside Stewardship or Environmental Stewardship options and SFI pilot standards, allowing them to be co-located. The Rural Payments service application system will calculate the available area in each for SFI action, removing areas with incompatible options or actions.
Land attracting private finance, such as carbon or natural flood management payments, can be entered into SFI. Defra will keep this under review. Be aware, the private finance provider may prevent SFI being stacked on the same area as they are supporting.
Waiting for or have an agreement offer
The RPA will offer SFI26 agreements in the Rural Payments service and will tell you when your SFI26 agreement offer is ready for you to check. You can either accept or reject it.
You will only be offered an SFI26 agreement if your application is eligible, and sufficient budget remains in the relevant application window to fund it. You will have 30 days to accept the SFI26 agreement offer.
If you reject your SFI26 agreement offer, you can start another SFI26 application (if applications are still open). However, this is at your own risk, as SFI26 applications may close before you have submitted your new application. It is important to check the offer your receive against what you applied for, generally they will match up, but sometimes there can be changes made by the RPA.
What you are signing up to – An SFI26 agreement is a legally binding agreement between you and Defra and it consists of your SFI agreement document (which you can view in the Rural Payments service once you’ve accepted your SFI26 agreement offer), the SFI26 agreement terms and conditions and the SFI actions you’ve selected – each SFI action on GOV.UK. When you enter an SFI26 agreement, you’re agreeing to comply with the published SFI26 agreement terms and conditions and complete the SFI actions you’ve selected (being the version published on GOV.UK when your SFI26 agreement started, unless the RPA offers you an updated SFI26 agreement).
Obtain, maintain and comply with any regulatory consents – You’re also agreeing to obtain, maintain and comply with any regulatory consents which are required to comply with your SFI26 agreement’s obligations and for the protection of historic and archaeological features (including scheduled monuments), trees and SSSIs.
Waiting for an SFI agreement offer and you’ve applied for SFI26 on SSSI land – It’s important that you submit the required SSSI notice to get consent from Natural England (GOV.UK) as soon as possible as the RPA cannot offer you an SFI26 agreement until you’ve done this. Read section 10.1 ‘SSSI consent’ in the SFI26 scheme rules and guidance on GOV.UK to find out how to do this.
When your SFI26 agreement will start and end – Usually, your SFI26 agreement will automatically start on the first day of the calendar month after you accept your agreement offer. You cannot select a different start date. Your SFI26 agreement will have a delayed start date if you’re subject to the new Window 2 functionality for eligible expiring ELM revenue agreements.
The start and end dates for your SFI26 agreement are shown in your agreement document (which you can view in the Rural Payments service).
Future SFI
SFI27
Defra state that Ministers have committed publicly to stabilising the main design of SFI for the duration of this Parliament so that farmers and land managers know what to expect in the years ahead.
In keeping with the commitments made in the Farming Roadmap 2050, Defra plan to offer an SFI scheme in 2027.
Work on SFI27 will start following Window 2 of SFI26. Defra will share further details as early as possible.
Farming Roadmap 2050
The Farming Roadmap, published on 24 June, signals Defra’s intention to evolve the ELM offer. Spatial targeting and bundling of actions will be introduced and, over time, some actions will be phased out by Defra as they become common practice or a regulatory requirement.
Defra has indicated that after 2030 most of the budget will go towards Countryside Stewardship and Landscape Recovery.
Read the NFU’s response: Farming Roadmap 2050: Growing England’s Future.
Land Use Framework publishes targets
The government’s Land Use Framework signals that, by 2030, ELM schemes, where appropriate, will be spatially targeted. For SFI 2027, an approach will be developed that focuses payments for a selection of SFI actions in areas of greatest impact; other actions will continue. More information will follow later this year.