The SFI26 budget

Farming Minister Dame Angela Eagle has confirmed that the total budget for new Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreements will be £240 million.

This builds on around £560 million already committed to farmers delivering over 39,000 live SFI agreements. 

Of the £240 million available for SFI26, up to £60 million has been allocated to Window 1, which is aimed at 2 groups: small farms and those without an existing Environmental Land Management (ELM) revenue agreement. Window 1 is scheduled to open for applications from 30 June 2026. 

Any funding not allocated through Window 1 will be added to the budget for Window 2, which is due to open in September 2026 for all farmers and land managers. 

Window 1 has narrower eligibility criteria than Window 2. The budget has been set to ensure funding is available for Window 1 applicants while retaining funding for Window 2 later in the year. 

We intend to publish updates when 25%, 50% and 75% of the Window 1 budget is allocated. This approach will help avoid sudden, unexpected closures and provide greater transparency and certainty. We plan to do the same for Window 2.  

To receive notifications when these updates are published, subscribe to the Farming Blog. 

Get ready to apply  

You can find the steps to get ready to apply in the near-final versions of the SFI26 scheme information published on GOV.UK last week.

We will publish final versions of the SFI26 scheme information next week, before we invite a small number of farmers who are eligible for Window 1 to apply from around 18 June. 

If you're planning to apply, it's worth bookmarking the SFI26 GOV.UK page now so you can easily find the latest information when it's available. 

Farmers with soon-to-expire ELM revenue agreements 

Some farmers have land in existing ELM revenue agreements that are due to expire soon. This includes SFI23, Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier (CSMT), Legacy CS Higher Tier (CSHT), and Environmental Stewardship Higher Level Stewardship (HLS). 

Usually, these farmers would not be able to access the full SFI26 offer until their existing agreement expires. This is because many SFI26 actions would: 

• be incompatible with what’s in their existing ELM revenue agreement 

• mean we’d be paying twice for the same thing on the same land, at the same time (known as ‘double funding’) 

In response to feedback from farmers and stakeholders, we intend to help farmers with soon-to-expire ELM revenue agreements to access the full SFI26 offer. 

We are developing functionality on the SFI26 application service to allow farmers to apply for land covered by these agreements before their existing agreements expire. We expect this to be in place from the start of Window 2 in September 2026. 

Some small farms which are eligible for Window 1 also have land in soon-to-expire agreements. Therefore, it may be possible for them to apply for Window 2 instead and benefit from the flexibility we intend this new functionality to provide.  

We expect to be able to confirm whether this intended approach will be possible before applications open for Window 1, so affected small farms can make an informed choice.  

Learn more 

As we get closer to the launch of SFI26, we want to make sure you have the information you need to decide whether the scheme is right for you and feel confident about applying. 

Throughout June, we’ll be holding a series of events to explain the offer, talk through the application process and answer your questions. You can register for an event on our Eventbrite page. 

We’ve also produced a leaflet that provides an overview of Sustainable Farming Incentive and how to get started. 

For the latest from the Farming and Countryside team, including when applications open, subscribe to the Farming Blog. By subscribing, you'll receive an email notification whenever we publish a new post.