When you apply for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), we want your experience to be smooth and we want to offer you as much flexibility as possible.
In this post, we’ll set out what you can do and what we’re doing to make the process of applying as straightforward as it can be, so you can join the 14,000 other farmers, growers and land managers who've already applied.
Preparation
Our new online SFI actions checker tool will help you filter the actions you can get paid to do on your land. It complements the scheme guidance which you can find on GOV.UK and in the SFI Handbook.
The process to begin your application starts on the Rural Payments service.
Start by checking that you are eligible and your land is eligible. You should also check the registered details on your digital maps are up to date.
If you request updates before you apply, it'll speed things up. It takes time to make changes so it’s best to request them as early as you can.
Do make sure your contact details are up to date and your permissions are correctly set for SFI in the Rural Payments service.
You need to get your land use and land cover right for the system to show the relevant actions for you. This allows us to automate the question ‘is this land eligible or not?’ This automation has helped us to reduce the processing time to a week or two.
We’ve made it easier for you to make changes to land use and land cover. Land eligibility is a vital part of your application. We're assessing ways to streamline this.
Once you’ve done your preparation, applying for SFI should be straightforward. If you happen to run into any difficulties, for example if a parcel is not showing for you, get in touch with the RPA and they’ll help to resolve it. Remember to include your Single Business Identifier (SBI) number in your message or have it handy if you call them.
The RPA produced an SFI checklist leaflet if you’d like take a look, to print it off or share it.
Speed bumps
On average, it takes 15 days to process an application.
Occasionally, it can take longer depending on their size and compatibility with other schemes.
We know that applying for an SFI agreement if you farm common land can take longer.
Management control is the biggest factor slowing down an application’s progress. For example, when a landowner and tenant farmer submit separate applications and a parcel appears on both applications, the RPA undertakes checks to make sure that there isn’t any duplication or overlap of land.
It’s worth noting that if you’re applying for an agreement on a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), you must either give notice to Natural England or you must already have consent from Natural England. The RPA needs to make sure that the actions applicants want to do are compatible with any existing agreements on the land. The RPA can only process an application once Natural England has been in touch with them. Guidance on applying for SFI actions on SSSIs can be found on page 118 of The SFI Handbook.
Until recently, applicants needed to provide notice to Natural England where there was an SSSI within a parcel with MOR1 actions. MOR1 no longer requires applicants to gain consent or to notify Natural England. This is part of our commitment to make things as easy as possible for those who want to apply.
Please do share your feedback so we can continue to improve the process of applying for an SFI agreement and the guidance.
In cases where there have been delays, the RPA has been in touch with applicants to talk through the issue.
Assessing your application
Once you submit your application, it will be processed as quickly as possible – as mentioned, the average time this takes is 15 working days.
The scheme isn’t competitive so anyone who is eligible will get an agreement.
Once your application has been submitted and all compliance checks are complete, the RPA will notify you.
Continue to check Rural Payments service for any updates or correspondence from the RPA. Delays in responses will have a knock-on effect.
After you get your agreement offer
You will receive your first payment 4 months after your SFI agreement starts. After that you’ll be paid every 3 months, so you have a regular, reliable income.
Once you’re in SFI, you can add more land and actions to your agreement each year and you can have multiple agreements.
We recently announced that we are doubling the Management Payment for SFI so those with existing agreements will receive up to an extra £1,000 this spring. It will be extended to Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier for the first year of agreements starting by March 2025.
Contacting the RPA
You can use the Rural Payments service to raise a query about your SFI application, agreement or payment. Just sign into the Rural Payments service and select ‘Create or view a query’.
If you have a general question about SFI, you can contact the RPA by:
- email: ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk - use ‘SFI’ in the subject header and include your SBI number
- telephone: 03000 200 301 - Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5pm, except bank holidays
- post: PO Box 325, Worksop, S95 1DG.
14 comments
Comment by Caroline posted on
Is the increased Management Payment going to be extended to existing CS Mid Tier Agreements in their first year (i.e those that commenced on 1st Jan 2024), or just existing SFI Agreements?
Thank you.
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Caroline,
We announced we are doubling this payment so those with existing agreements receive up to an extra £1,000 this spring, and extending it to Countryside Stewardship mid tier for the first year of agreements starting by March 2025. In the first year, it will pay £40 per hectare for up to the first 50 hectares entered into an eligible agreement and £20/ha for the first 50 hectares for years 2 and 3. The uplift will apply to all current and new SFI23 agreement holders, as well as new agreements in the combined SFI and CS Mid-Tier offer when launched later this year.
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by Jesse Clay posted on
Hi, is it possible to commute from an existing Cs agreement to sfi ? I'm in hls.
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Jesse,
You will be able to apply for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and Countryside Stewardship (CS) Mid Tier this summer through a single application service, as announced in January's ATP Update. We'll share more guidance on this offer shortly, so subscribe to the blog.
We are looking to ensure that farmers in legacy agreements will be able to apply for almost all of the things they currently deliver, through this new offer and CS Higher Tier.
We also want to make the process of moving from an HLS agreement to the SFI and CS come into the new offer as straightforward as possible.
The new offer will be expanded to include a number of options that are currently available in the SFI and CS Mid Tier (and that were available in Environmental Stewardship). In general we will be offering equivalent options under both the SFI and CS to farmers with Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreements.
We will share further details of how we will support farmers to move between schemes from summer 2024.
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by Jonathan Kirby posted on
We are having issues with your maps being incorrect and your staff being unable to sort the issue despite several attempts. It doesn't help when the standard of spoken English in your staff is so poor.
Please can you allow us to communicate with individuals who have previously worked on the issue so there is some continuity.
Comment by Sarah Stewart posted on
Hi Jonathan,
If you give me permission to use the email address you provided when you left your comment, I can look into the maps issue.
Sarah
Comment by Jonathan Kirby posted on
Please do.
Comment by Sarah Stewart posted on
Thank you - I'll email in the next five minutes.
Sarah
Comment by Samuel posted on
Am I able to apply for both CS and SFI policies at the same time or is it one or the other?
Also, when did each of these policies first start rolling out?
Many thanks,
Samuel
Comment by Sarah Stewart posted on
Hi Samuel,
Yes, you can have a CS agreement and an SFI agreement at the same time (so long as we're not paying you twice for the same action) - that said, this summer, CS Mid Tier will become part of a single service together with the SFI actions. Essentially there will be a single front.
We started to roll SFI out in 2022. CS began in 1991.
Best wishes,
Sarah
Comment by David Helliwell posted on
I need someone to help me with what I can do with my land
Comment by Sarah Stewart posted on
Hi David,
The Farming Resilience Fund provides business support to farmers and land managers in the first few years of adapting to agricultural transition. If you have received direct payments since October 2022, you can get this support and it is free of charge. It is designed to help you make the right business choices for the future.
The list of advisers can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/get-free-business-advice-for-your-farm
Best wishes,
Sarah
Comment by Fran posted on
Payments are 4 times a year, from the 4th month onwards. Is there any idea of date? ie. First Tuesday in the month, or could it be anyday from the 1st to the end of the month?
Comment by The Team posted on
Hello Fran, thanks for getting in touch. The RPA have confirmed that payments are made on the 1st of the month or as close to this date as possible. If you need to speak to the RPA about an SFI payment, you can contact them by:
Email: ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk - for SFI use ‘SFI’ in the subject header and include your Single Business Identifier (SBI)
Telephone: 03000 200 301 - Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5pm, except bank holidays
Post: PO Box 325, Worksop, S95 1DG
Thanks,
The Team