SFI26: scheme rules and guidance: v4.0 August 2026

Applies to England

SFI26: scheme rules and guidance: v4.0 August 2026

Window 1 closed for applications at 11:59pm on 28 August 2026.
Window 2 will open in September 2026 for all farmers and land managers.

1. Overview of the Sustainable Farming Incentive

The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) pays farmers and land managers to do sustainable land management activities that:

• protect and benefit the environment
• support food production
• improve productivity

These activities are referred to as ‘SFI actions’.

You can apply for an SFI26 agreement to get paid to do SFI actions if you and your land are eligible. The agreement will usually last for 3 years, depending on which actions you select. You’ll be paid in quarterly instalments.

1.1 Read the rules which apply to SFI26 agreements

To make sure you understand what you’re required to do under an SFI26 agreement, read:

• the SFI26 agreement terms and conditions, which are further explained in these scheme rules
• the requirements set out in each SFI26 action on the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool (or the HTML print version)

The scheme rules are contained in the following sections of this document:

• section 4 ‘About SFI actions’
• section 5 ‘Check your land is eligible for SFI actions’
• section 6 ‘Check you’ll have management control of the land’
• section 9 ‘About your SFI26 agreement’
• section 10 ‘Get any regulatory consents before you do your SFI actions’
• section 11 ‘When and how much you’ll get paid’
• section 12 ‘Complying with your SFI26 agreement’
• section 13 ‘What happens if you breach your SFI26 agreement’
• section 14 ‘Changes to your SFI26 agreement’

1.2 Main changes for SFI26

We have made the following main changes to the SFI26 offer:

• there are 71 actions (compared with 102 actions in SFI24) – this includes 1 replacement action GRH12: Manage rough grassland for upland breeding waders (instead of GRH1: Manage rough grazing for birds which was available in the SFI24 offer)
• only farms with at least 3 hectares of agricultural land are eligible to apply for an SFI26 agreement
• there’s an annual agreement value limit of £100,000 per year for SFI26 agreements
• each farm business can only have one SFI26 agreement
• there’s a limit on the area of land that you can add to rotational SFI26 actions after the first year of an SFI26 agreement
• there are no longer any 5-year actions – instead almost all actions last for 3 years, except some organic conversion actions
• supplemental actions can only be applied for if a supporting base action is selected in the same SFI26 application
• the SFI management payment has been removed for SFI26 agreements

2. When you can apply

There will be 2 application windows for SFI26.

‘Window 1’ closed for applications at 11:59pm on 28 August 2026. It was open to 2 eligible groups: small farms and farms without an existing Environmental Land Management (ELM) revenue agreement.

‘Window 2’ will open in September 2026 for all farmers and land managers.

As in previous years, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will open applications in a controlled way.

2.1 Window 2 closure

We cannot set a fixed application closure date for Window 2 as that will depend on demand.

Once applications open, we’ll publish updates on how much of the Window 2 budget has been allocated on Defra’s Farming Blog. We intend to do this once 25%, 50% and 75% of the funding is allocated.

2.2 SFI26 agreement limits

Each farm business, as identified by its Single Business Identifier (SBI), can only:

• have one SFI26 agreement – this applies across Windows 1 and 2
• apply for a maximum agreement value of £100,000 per agreement year

These limits only apply to SFI26 agreements. You can still apply for an SFI26 agreement if you have an existing SFI24 or SFI23 agreement.

3. Check if you’re eligible to apply

To apply for an SFI26 agreement, you need to meet both:

• the eligibility requirements which apply to all SFI26 applicants (explained in section 3.1)
• the additional eligibility requirements for Window 2 (explained in section 3.3)

3.1 Eligibility requirements which apply to all SFI26 applicants

You can only apply for an SFI26 agreement in Window 2 if you:

• are a farmer or land manager
• have land that’s eligible for the SFI actions you want to select – read section 5 ‘Check your land is eligible for SFI actions’
• will have management control of the eligible land you’ll enter into your selected SFI actions for their entire duration (usually 3 years, unless you select organic conversion actions) – read section 6 ‘Check you’ll have management control of the land’
• have at least 3 hectares (ha) of agricultural land (defined in section 3.4) linked to your SBI at the point you want to start an application – this does not set a minimum area you need to enter into your SFI26 application

You cannot apply for an SFI26 agreement on common land (including shared grazing).

3.2 Additional applicant eligibility requirements for Window 1

No longer relevant as Window 1 has closed for applications.

3.3 Additional applicant eligibility requirement for Window 2

To be eligible 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.

This is in addition to the eligibility requirements which apply to all SFI26 applicants (set out in section 3.1).

3.4 Definition of agricultural land for SFI26 applicant eligibility

Agricultural land is defined as land registered by the RPA with the following land covers shown on your digital maps:

• arable land
• permanent grassland
• permanent crops

This applies to the 3ha minimum area threshold at the point you want to start an application (explained in section 3.1).

3.5 If you’ve received a Lump Sum Exit Scheme payment

If you’ve received a payment under the Lump Sum Exit Scheme to leave or retire from farming:

• as an individual – you’re not eligible to apply for an SFI agreement, unless you repay the lump sum
• as a partnership or limited company – if only some partners or shareholders left the business, the remaining partners or shareholders can apply for an SFI agreement without repaying the lump sum

3.6 If you receive delinked payments

If you receive delinked payments (which replaced BPS payments from 2024), you’re eligible to apply for an SFI agreement. This is because you will not be paid twice for a similar activity on the same area of land at the same time (known as ‘double funding’).

3.7 Eligibility of public bodies

A public body is a formally established organisation that is publicly funded to provide a public or government service.

Public bodies include:

• Crown bodies (included all government departments, executive agencies and trading funds)
• non-departmental public bodies
• local authorities
• national park authorities
• park corporations

Public bodies are eligible to apply for an SFI agreement if they will not be paid under SFI to complete activities that they are already:

• required to do by statutory duty, which means they’re part of the public body’s obligations
• being paid to do by other funding sources, as this would be double funding

If you’re a tenant on land owned by a public body, you can only enter that land into an SFI agreement if there will be no double funding. Read section 6.3 ‘Land you occupy under a tenancy agreement’.

3.8 If your ELM revenue agreement is ending soon (Window 2 only)

You would usually have to wait until your existing ELM revenue agreement ends before applying for the full range of SFI26 actions on land in that agreement.

This is because many SFI26 actions would:

• be incompatible with what is in your existing agreement
• result in you being paid twice for the same activity

For Window 2, there will be some new functionality in the SFI26 application service for farmers with eligible ELM revenue agreements that are ending soon. Before these agreements end, this will allow these farmers to:

• ‘start an application early’ (SAE) for SFI26 when Window 2 opens in September 2026
• apply for the full range of SFI26 actions on land in their expiring agreements
• accept an SFI26 agreement offer, with the SFI26 agreement starting after their relevant eligible expiring ELM revenue agreement ends

3.8.1 Eligible expiring ELM revenue agreements

You can only use the SFI26 Window 2 SAE functionality if your farm business (identified by its SBI) has an eligible ELM revenue agreement that ends on or before 28 February 2027.

This is the latest end date that would still give farmers enough time to apply for and enter an SFI26 agreement in this financial year. SFI26 agreements must start by 1 April 2027 to use this financial year’s available budget.

The following table sets out the ELM revenue schemes and agreement end dates which will be eligible for the new SFI26 Window 2 SAE functionality.

Table 1: Eligible ELM revenue schemes and agreement end dates

ELM revenue scheme	Agreement end dates
SFI23	From 30 September 2026 to 28 February 2027
Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier (CSMT)	31 December 2026
Legacy CS Higher Tier (CSHT)	31 December 2026
Environmental Stewardship Higher Level Stewardship (HLS)	By 28 February 2027

ELM revenue agreements due to end on 1 March 2027 or later are ineligible for the new SFI26 Window 2 SAE functionality.

3.8.2 Application process for farmers with eligible expiring ELM revenue agreements

The SFI26 application process will remain the same for all eligible farmers and land managers in Window 2.

However, the new SFI26 Window 2 SAE functionality will allow farmers with eligible expiring ELM revenue agreements (as set out in section 3.8.1) to apply for SFI26 actions on land that would not normally be available.

This is possible because the SFI26 agreement will not start until after the relevant eligible expiring ELM revenue agreement ends. Read section 3.8.3 ‘SFI26 agreement start dates for farmers with eligible expiring ELM revenue agreements’.

3.8.3 SFI26 agreement start dates for farmers with eligible expiring ELM revenue agreements

RPA will offer SFI26 agreements to farmers with eligible expiring ELM revenue agreements (as set out in section 3.8.1) before their expiring agreement ends, wherever possible. However, this cannot be guaranteed.

Where the RPA offers an SFI26 agreement to these farmers before their expiring agreement ends, the Window 2 SAE functionality will allow those farmers to accept their SFI26 agreement offer.

In this case, the SFI26 agreement start date will usually be the first day of the calendar month after the relevant eligible expiring ELM revenue agreement ends.

This is to avoid incompatibility and double funding between the SFI26 actions applied for and what is in the eligible expiring ELM revenue agreement.

The SFI26 agreement start date may not be the first day of the calendar month after the relevant eligible expiring ELM revenue agreement ends if, for example:

• the RPA cannot offer an SFI26 agreement until after the relevant expiring agreement ends
• the farmer does not accept their agreement offer before the relevant expiring agreement ends

If you have multiple eligible expiring ELM revenue agreements, your SFI26 agreement will not start until after the agreement with the latest expiry date ends.

For example, if you have a CSMT agreement ending on 31 December 2026 and an SFI23 agreement ending on 28 February 2027, your SFI26 agreement will not start until 1 March 2027 at the earliest.

All farmers with eligible expiring ELM revenue agreements will have their SFI26 agreement start date delayed until after their relevant expiring agreement ends. This is because the new Window 2 SAE functionality cannot differentiate between these farmers. This includes if they apply only for:

• compatible SFI26 actions on land in their eligible expiring ELM revenue agreement
• other land that is not in their eligible expiring ELM revenue agreement

4. About SFI actions

This section includes scheme rules which apply to SFI26 agreements.

The SFI26 actions include:

• 70 actions previously offered under the SFI24 offer – any changes for SFI26 have been identified in each action
• 1 replacement action GRH12: ‘Manage rough grassland for upland breeding waders’ (instead of GRH1: ‘Manage rough grazing for birds’ which was available in the SFI24 offer)

You can apply for the SFI26 actions without specialist advice or prior endorsement.

If your land (including landscape features, as relevant) is eligible, you can apply for any combination of SFI26 actions.

There are specific rules which apply to different types of SFI26 actions. For example, ‘limited area’ SFI actions. These are explained in this section.

4.1 Where you can find the SFI26 actions

Each SFI26 action is set out in the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool. To view all 71 of the SFI26 actions, enter ‘SFI26’ into the search function.

You can also search and filter to view actions by action codes (for example, ‘SOH1’), land types or areas of interest (such as ‘soil health’).

There’s also a print version of the SFI26 actions if you prefer this format.

The SFI26 action codes on GOV.UK are the same as they were for the SFI24 versions of the actions.

Annex A provides a summary of the SFI26 action codes, titles and payment rates.

4.2 What’s explained in each SFI26 action

Each SFI26 action includes the mandatory requirements you must comply with to get paid.

The following details are included in each SFI26 action:

• action code, for example ‘SOH1’ – you may find it helpful to write down this code, so you have it to hand when you apply
• the action’s duration – most SFI26 actions have a 3-year duration (apart from some organic conversion actions)
• how much you’ll be paid each year of the action’s duration
• the action’s aim – this sets out what you would expect to see on the ground by completing the action, and the purpose of that outcome
• where you can do the action – this includes eligible land types (or landscape features) and land covers, compatible land uses, eligibility of protected land, if it’s a total or part available area action, and whether it’s rotational or static
• what to do to complete the action
• when to do the action
• how to do the action
• evidence to keep
• other SFI or CSHT actions, and CS or ES options you can do on the same area in a land parcel as the action

Most SFI26 actions also include voluntary advice to help you do the action. You do not have to follow this, as it is not part of the action’s requirements.

4.3 Rotational SFI actions

Some SFI actions are ‘rotational’. This means that, for the second and third years of an SFI26 agreement, you can:

• move the location of the action to another eligible land parcel – this can be a land parcel that’s already in your SFI26 agreement, or you can add a new land parcel
• change the eligible area entered into the action (subject to the new maximum area limit rule which applies to SFI26 agreements as explained in section 4.3.1)

Each SFI26 action in the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool sets out if it’s a rotational action.

When you select a rotational SFI action in your SFI26 application, you’ll tell the RPA its location and area for the first year of your SFI26 agreement.

The location you enter into your SFI26 application can be either:

• where the rotational SFI26 action is located at the point you want to start an application
• where you will locate it, if it’s an action you can start doing within 12 months of your SFI26 agreement’s start date

4.3.1 Maximum area limit for SFI26 agreements

The area you enter for the first year of your SFI26 agreement sets the maximum area limit for that rotational SFI action. This means you cannot increase the area entered into the action above this limit for the second and third agreement years.

You can decrease the area entered into a rotational SFI action for the second and third agreement years.

If you decrease the area for the second agreement year, you can increase it for the third agreement year. However, the area cannot be more than the maximum area limit set in the first agreement year.

For example, if you enter 10ha into a rotational SFI action for the first year, this sets the maximum area limit for that action for the duration of your SFI26 agreement. You could decrease the area to 5ha for the second year and increase it back up to the maximum 10ha for the third year.

4.3.2 Rotational actions declaration

If your SFI26 agreement includes rotational SFI actions, you must complete a ‘rotational actions declaration’. This is to tell the RPA about the location and area of your rotational SFI actions for the next year of your SFI26 agreement.

You must complete and submit your rotational actions declaration towards the end of the first and second years of your SFI26 agreement. You will not be paid for the next agreement year until you do this.

The RPA will issue further guidance on how to do this for SFI26 agreements.

4.4 Static SFI actions

Some SFI actions are ‘static’ only. This means you must do the action at the same location and on the same area each year of its duration.

Each SFI26 action in the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool sets out if it’s a static action.

4.5 Limited area SFI actions

Some SFI actions can only be done on up to 25% of your farm (‘limited area’ SFI actions). This is because:

• they take land out of agricultural production
• you are unlikely to deliver the action’s aim if you do it on a larger area

4.5.1 How the 25% limit works

The total eligible area you enter into any combination of one or more of the limited area actions must not be more than 25% of the total agricultural area of your farm. This applies across all SFI agreements, and CSHT agreements from 2025 onwards.

When you apply for limited area actions in your SFI26 application, the 25% limit will take into account any limited area actions you already have in:

• SFI 2023 agreements (see additional note)
• SFI 2024 agreements
• CSHT agreements from 2025 onwards

Note: the 25% limit was not applied retrospectively to SFI 2023 agreements which were applied for on or before 26 March 2024, however:

• any area you entered into limited area actions in that SFI23 agreement will count towards the 25% limit in your SFI26 application
• you will not be able to apply for more limited area actions in your SFI26 application if you exceeded the 25% limit in that SFI23 agreement

You may find it helpful to use the SFI26 limited area actions calculator.

For the purpose of limited area SFI actions:

• ‘farm’ means all the land parcels linked to your SBI at the point you apply for an SFI26 agreement – these parcels are shown on your digital maps
• ‘agricultural area’ means the area in each land parcel that’s registered with an arable, permanent grassland or permanent crops land cover

Defra will keep this 25% limited area action rule under review.

4.5.2 Actions affected by the 25% limit

Each SFI26 action in the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool sets out if it’s a limited area action.

For SFI26, the following changes have been made:

• AHW1: Bumblebird mix is no longer available in the SFI26 offer, so it has been removed from the SFI26 limited area actions
• AHW7: Enhanced overwinter stubble has been added to the SFI26 limited area actions

The following table sets out the limited area actions for SFI, and CSHT from 2025 onwards.

Table 2: Limited area actions

SFI limited area actions	CSHT limited area actions
CIPM2: Flower-rich grass margins, blocks, or in-field strips (IPM2 in the SFI 2023 offer)	CAB18: Flower-rich grass margins, blocks, or in-field strips (on arable land or permanent crops)
CAHL1: Pollen and nectar flower mix (AHL1 in the SFI 2023 offer)	CAB19: Pollen and nectar flower mix
CAHL2: Winter bird food on arable and horticultural land (AHL2 in the SFI 2023 offer)	CAB17: Winter bird food on arable and horticulture land
CAHL3: Grassy field corners or blocks (AHL3 in the SFI 2023 offer)	Not applicable
CIGL1: Take improved grassland field corners or blocks out of management (IGL1 in the SFI 2023 offer)	Not applicable
CIGL2: Winter bird food on improved grassland (IGL2 in the SFI 2023 offer)	Not applicable
WBD3: In-field grass strips (for SFI26 and SFI24)	Not applicable
AHW1: Bumblebird mix (for SFI24 only)	CAB16: Bumblebird mix
AHW7: Enhanced overwinter stubble (for SFI26 only)	Not applicable
AHW9: Unharvested cereal headland (for SFI26 and SFI24)	CAB10: Unharvested cereal headland
AHW11: Cultivated areas for arable plants (for SFI26 and SFI24)	CAB11: Cultivated areas for arable plants

4.6 Supplemental SFI actions

There are some ‘supplemental’ SFI actions which you can only do in combination with a ‘base’ action.

Each SFI26 action in the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool sets out:

• if it’s a supplemental or base action
• which base and supplemental actions can be done together

You can only apply for an SFI26 supplemental action if you select a supporting base action in the same SFI26 application.

4.7 Organic-specific SFI actions

There are some ‘organic-specific’ SFI26 actions for:

• organic conversion, which you can only do on land that’s registered as ‘in conversion’ with a DEFRA-licensed organic control body (OCB)
• organic land management once you’ve converted your land to organic status, which you can only do on land that’s registered as ‘fully organic’ with an OCB

You can find the organic-specific SFI actions in the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool.

You can enter organic land into other SFI actions which are not organic-specific if it’s an eligible land type. Read section 5.1 ‘Eligible land for area-based SFI actions’ for more information.

5. Check your land is eligible for SFI actions

(Section content omitted for brevity; see original document for full details.)

6. Check you’ll have management control of the land

(Section content omitted for brevity; see original document for full details.)

7. (Further sections omitted)