SFI26: scheme information  now available

Near-final scheme information for this year's Sustainable Farming Incentive offer (SFI26) is now available on GOV.UK.  

We expect to open the first application window (“Window 1”) from 30 June 2026 for 2 groups: 

• small farms   

• farms without an existing Environmental Land Management (ELM) revenue agreement 

Before we do this, we will invite a small number of farmers who are eligible for Window 1 to apply from around 18 June. This is to test and refine the application service in a controlled way, to make sure it’s working as expected before full rollout. 

SFI supports sustainable food production alongside practical actions that improve soil health, protect water quality, support nature recovery and strengthen farm resilience.  

The scheme is designed to give you flexibility to choose actions that work for your land and farming system.  

The SFI26 offer is an iterated version of the 2024 scheme. Most features remain the same, so it should look and feel familiar if you’ve applied before. We’ve made some improvements to simplify and streamline the offer. 

The SFI26 scheme information published today includes near final versions of:  

• the terms and conditions which apply to all SFI26 agreements   

• the scheme rules, which explain the mandatory requirements set in the SFI26 terms and conditions   

• the requirements for each SFI26 action which are available on the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool on GOV.UK (or the HTML print version) – this means you can now review the actions available and consider which may work for your farm business 

• guidance to help you apply for, and manage, your SFI26 agreement 

We’re publishing this as near final versions to allow for final checks. We intend to publish final versions around mid-June before applications open.     

If you qualify as a small farm, you may find it helpful to view the map of popular SFI actions by region. This shows the most common actions chosen by mixed/arable and grassland farms up to 50 hectares already in SFI agreements.    

A second application window (“Window 2”) will open in September 2026 for all farmers and land managers.  

Get ready to apply 

You can find the steps you can take to get ready to apply in the SFI26 scheme information we’ve published today.

Learn more

Download our leaflet

We’ve put together a leaflet to help you understand the Sustainable Farming Incentive and how to get started – download it.

Join an event

We’re also holding a series of events across the country throughout June to talk through SFI26 and answer your questions. You can find upcoming events and register on our Eventbrite page.

Subscribe to the Farming Blog

For the latest updates from the Farming and Countryside team, subscribe to the Farming Blog. By subscribing, you’ll receive an email whenever a new post is published. We'll blog again when we publish the final versions of the SFI26 scheme information around mid-June.