The Sustainable Farming Incentive - 2026

Details of the new SFI scheme that will be available later in 2026 were announced by Emma Reynolds at the NFU Conference yesterday

Yesterday, at the NFU annual conference, Emma Reynolds, the current Secretary of State for Environment and Rural Affairs announced further information on the new Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme, following the initial information that was shared at the Oxford Farming Conference earlier this year.

We now know that the new SFI scheme will open in June to small farms and those without an existing environmental land management revenue agreement. A second window will then open in September for all farms. It is worth noting, that there are currently no set closing dates for these windows, because that will depend on the number of applications submitted and how quick the budget is allocated.

The new SFI has been slim lined from previous rounds, there will now be 71 actions available instead of 102, some of the payment rates have also been reduced and there will be a new annual agreement cap of £100,000.

Some further important points to note:

• To apply as a small farm, you will need to farm a minimum of 3ha, up to a maximum of 50ha.

• Each farm business can only apply for one SFI26 agreement.

• Agreement holders will not be able to increase the area of rotational actions beyond what is included in year 1. Do note the area can still change over the three years, but cannot increase beyond what is originally applied for.

• Enhanced overwinter stubble will now be added to the 10 actions for which there is an existing area limit cap. These actions cannot be done on more than 25% of the total agricultural area of the farm.

• There will no longer be an SFI management payment available to entrants to the scheme.

• The management plan options are no longer available under SFI26

There have been rate reductions to the following three options for all new agreements:

Option Name	Option Code	Old payment rate	New payment rate
Herbal leys	CSAM3	£382	£224
Winter bird food	CAHL2	£853	£648
Legume fallow	CNUM3	£593	£532

For more information on what options are now available to you, please contact Gemma on 07533340847 or gemma@blackdownconsulting.co.uk