The new Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer will launch this year. It will continue to support sustainable farming in England and help encourage growth.
In response to feedback, we are improving the new SFI offer to:
- make it simpler and more focused
- improve fairness and accessibility
- provide certainty and transparency
These changes will deliver an SFI that is simpler and fairer, so farmers can plan with confidence.
We will work with stakeholders now to get these changes right before the new SFI offer launches, and we will publish full scheme details before the first application window opens.
Simplicity and focus
To make the new SFI offer simpler and more focused, we are streamlining it by reducing the number of actions.
There will still be a broad offer to suit different types of farms and plenty of choice, with greater emphasis on actions that support sustainable food production.
This will include:
- limiting how much land can be put into actions that take land out of production. Previously, there were 10 ‘limited area’ actions in SFI. We are exploring whether more actions should be limited to a small proportion of the farm so they work alongside food production
- reviewing payment rates for actions that take land out of production where uptake has been particularly high.
Fairness and accessibility
We want as many farmers as possible to benefit from SFI. This will help us achieve the government’s target of doubling the number of farms providing sufficient year-round resources for farm wildlife by December 2030, compared with 2025.
We are considering ways to do this and will publish further details before we launch the new SFI offer.
Certainty and transparency
We know you need certainty to plan ahead, so we can confirm there will be two SFI application windows this year.
| Opens | Who can apply | |
|---|---|---|
| First window | June |
Those with small farms
Those without existing environmental land management agreements |
| Second window | September | All farmers. This includes those with small farms and those without an existing ELM agreement who did not apply in the first window |
Budgets
We’ll set clear budgets for each application window and provide regular updates so you know when funding is close to being fully allocated.
Budgets will be confirmed before the first application window opens in June.
We will not close application windows without warning.
Definitions
After consulting with stakeholders, we will publish a clear definition of “small farms” before the first application window opens in June.
We will also publish a precise definition of “farms with no existing environmental land management agreement” ahead of the first application window. For this purpose, environmental land management agreements administered by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will be taken into account, including previous versions of the SFI, Countryside Stewardship and Higher Level Stewardship (HLS). Other schemes not administered by the RPA, such as private sector schemes or Landscape Recovery, will not be included.
If you are classified as a small farm and already have an environmental land management agreement, you will still be able to apply in the first window.
Stay informed
This morning, we published a blog post summarising the Secretary of State's OFC2026 speech. It includes a number of announcements to support farmers in England.
Subscribe to the Farming blog to receive updates on the SFI offer and information from the Farming and Countryside Programme.
The 
22 comments
Comment by C posted on
With application window opening in September I find it hard to believe that many of the SFI options will be able to be established/planted in the 2026 year due to the late timing in the year so that leaves at least another year before any of these new agreements start providing a real benefit. It makes me wonder if you have considered the actual timing of when farmers can establish certain crops to meet your wildlife goals? Why not open the applications early this year so we can get these new options established in the spring/summer of 2026?
Having read the speech at Oxford Farming Conference this morning it looks like you will be applying some sort of cap on areas/values. Could this cap be related to our old BPS payment amount to ensure fairness to all sizes of farms?
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Charlie,
Thanks for getting in touch and sharing your concerns about timings. We wanted to ensure that there is an SFI offer available within 2026 so farmers are able to plan into 2027 and beyond. SFI is a 3-year scheme, and each SFI Action description sets out when and how that action should be delivered in the “when to do it” section. This is an example of how we currently describe the approach: https://www.gov.uk/find-funding-for-land-or-farms/csam2-multi-species-winter-cover-crop
We will update our actions and it is important farmers read the description of each action carefully. We will announce the details of the cap before we open applications. If you subscribe to the Farming blog, you’ll get a notification as soon as any new information is available: https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/subscribe/
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by Simon Ward posted on
Has it been taken into account that small farms are not always reliant on farming income and have the best opportunity of converting the gross margin payment to something approaching the net margin through the use of contractors? The sector under threat is the commercial family farmers that produce most of our food. These farmers will not have the opportunity to improve efficiency by the sensible provision of environmental goods until later in the year when it will be too late plant and plan cropping.
To obtain value for money the target option area should be defined by region and farmers should be allowed to bid to supply. This would make it easier to control the budget and ensure delivery of the environmental targets.
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Simon
Thank you for your feedback, I've shared this with the SFI policy team. The first window in June will be for small farms and for those without a current ELM agreement. There are commercial family farms who hadn’t previously applied for SFI and don’t have ELM agreements, so we're hopeful this window approach provides an opportunity to prioritise farmers in that position. It also provides an opportunity to spread the funding as widely and fairly as possible.
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by John Hawkins posted on
Hello. When will DEFRA release the detail for these new SFI schemes please so that Farmers can start planning now? Thank you in advance
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi John,
Thank you for getting in touch. We will publish full scheme details before we open the first application window in June. If you subscribe to the Farming blog, you’ll get a notification as soon as the guidance is available https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/subscribe/
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by Paul posted on
As you might imagine - a critical question from farmers is what is Defra's definition of a 'small farm' ?
In addition, will applicants eligible for the 2026 round 1 be prevented or limited from applying in the 2026 round 2 instead?
Will farmers who accepted a 1 year CS extension in December 2025 - together with those whose CS ends this coming December, be able to apply in the 2026 round 2 in preparation for a 1 Jan 2027 start date?
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Paul,
Thank you for your questions. We will work with stakeholders to define what a small farm is, and publish this definition before the first application window opens in June. All farmers will be able to apply when the second application window opens in September. If you subscribe to the Farming blog, you’ll get a notification as any new information is available: https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/subscribe/
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by Gillian Wood posted on
What constitutes a small farm?
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Gillian,
Thanks for getting in touch. We are working with stakeholders to define this. We’ll let you know what the precise definition is before the first application window opens in June. If you subscribe to the Farming blog, you’ll get a notification as soon as the full guidance is available: https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/subscribe/
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by Torz Brown posted on
What constitutes a 'small farm'?
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Torz,
Thank you for your question. This is one of the details we’ll be working with stakeholders on. We’ll publish a precise definition before the first application window opens in June. If you subscribe to the Farming blog, you’ll get a notification as soon as the full guidance is available: https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/subscribe/
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by Rosemary Johnston posted on
Can you define “small farm” please so we can in your own words “plan for the future”.
Can you also let us know when the full list of “actions” will be available?
Thanks
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Rosemary,
Thank you for getting in touch. We will confirm the definition of a small farm and publish full scheme details before we open the first application window in June. We updated the post yesterday to be clearer about our approach to definitions. If you subscribe to the Farming blog, you’ll get a notification as soon as this information is available https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/subscribe/
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by Dan McKelvey posted on
These updates to the SFI scheme are greatly appreciated, I represent several small farms and have found it very difficult to get access to ELM schemes.
When can we expect detailed information on the updated offerings so we can best prepare for the application opening date in June?
Thanks
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Dan,
Thank you for getting in touch and sharing your experience. We’re sorry to hear you’ve found it difficult helping others access our schemes.
We will confirm the definition of a small farm and publish full scheme details before we open the first application window in June. We updated the post yesterday to be clearer about our approach to definitions.
If you subscribe to the Farming blog, you’ll get a notification as soon as this information is available https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/subscribe/
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by Becky posted on
I wish that this could be trusted. There was supposed to be a new SFI offering in Summer 2025 and there was no explanation as to why this didn't happen, nor any acknowledgement that it didn't happen. I phoned the SFI helpline several times and was only ever told that it was opening again soon. So disrespectful. What other industry would put up with this? Certainly not the NHS and I think the growing and providing of nutrient dense food from a nature friendly farm is equally as important as the healthcare service, if not more so, as a lot of the burden on the NHS would be alleviated by access to good food...
As someone who farms alone, it was a huge effort getting all the information together for a SFI application, alongside the winter routine...and then I couldn't submit my application due to errors made (and admitted) by DEFRA (and then the scheme closed without notice, despite the DEFRA website stating that 6 weeks notice would be given if the scheme ever needed to close) but because those errors didn't fit one of the exemptions, I wasn't allowed to apply after the window closed. I've had no government support whatsoever this year (the CS agreement ended in December 2024) and we've had significantly increased costs due to government policy, on the electric milk delivery van, on glass and needing to seek advice on IHT.
Why should I trust that a) the SFI re-opens in June, if this is classed as a small farm at 35.5 acres, and that b)that it won't close without notice again?
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Becky,
Thank you for getting in touch and sharing your concerns. We recognise that the closure of the SFI was frustrating for many people. In response, the Secretary of State confirmed that future application windows will not close without warning. For each application window, we’ll set clear budgets and provide regular updates so you can see when a window is nearing full subscription.
We understand how important clarity and certainty are for business planning, and we’re committed to improving how this information is shared. The first SFI application window will open in June and will be available to small farms. We’ll publish a clear definition of what is meant by a “small farm” ahead of the window opening.
If you’d like to stay up to date, you can subscribe to the Farming blog to receive a notification as soon as this information is published: https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/subscribe/
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by Sue Wise posted on
Hi I own just 5 acres in Devon, and need to renew all the fences, will small area like this be included.
Thanks
Sue
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Sue,
Thank you for getting in touch. We will publish a clear definition of “small farms” before the first application window opens in June.
In terms of renewing fences, this funding isn't included in SFI, but is provided via Capital Grants. Capital Grants 2025 is currently closed but we expect to open a new round this year. In the meantime, you can use the grant finder to find out what items might be available when it re-opens: https://www.gov.uk/capital-grant-finder?keywords=fences
If you subscribe to the Farming blog, you’ll get a notification as soon as any new information about SFI or Capital Grants is available: https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/subscribe/
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by Peter Clutterbuck posted on
What is the definition of a small farm??
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Peter,
Thank you for getting in touch. After consulting with stakeholders, we will publish a clear definition of “small farms” before the first application window opens in June. If you subscribe to the Farming blog, you’ll get a notification as soon as this information is available https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/subscribe/
Best wishes,
The Team