Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 2026

Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 2026

Window 1 will open in June 2026 and will remain open for around 2 months – although it may close sooner if the budget is fully allocated. It will be open to both small farms and farms without an existing environmental land management (ELM) revenue agreement.

Window 2 will open in September and will remain open until the budget is allocated.

 

Limits have been applied to SFI2026 to hopefully allow more people to access the SFI and reduce the amount of land being taken out of food production.

The cap on options that take land out of production and are intended to be done on a small proportion (up to 25%) of the farm have been kept in SFI 2026 offer with the addition of Over Winter Stubble.

There are 71 options available to choose from and all options now have a three-year duration.

 

Moorland options have increased as below;

• UPL1: Moderate livestock grazing on moorland – £35/ha (increased from £20/ha)
• UPL2: Low livestock grazing on moorland – £89/ha (increased from £53/ha)
• UPL3: Limited livestock grazing on moorland – £111/ha (increased from £66/ha)
• UPL8: Shepherding livestock on moorland (remove stock for at least 4 months) – £74/ha (increased from £43/ha)
• UPL10: Shepherding livestock on moorland (remove stock for at least 8 months) – £102/ha (increased from £48/ha)

 

Rates have been reduced for the SFI26 options as below;

• CSAM3: Herbal leys from £382/ha to £224/ha
• CAHL2: Winter bird food from £853/ha to £648/ha
• CNUM3: Legume fallow from £593/ha to £532/ha

These reductions will only apply to SFI26 applications and not any previous agreements.

 

There are 11 actions which you must only do on a proportion of your farm. These actions are referred to as ‘limited area’ actions and include:

• CIPM2: Flower-rich grass margins, blocks, or in-field strips (IPM2 in the SFI 2023 offer)
• CAHL1: Pollen and nectar flower mix (AHL1 in the SFI 2023 offer)
• CAHL2: Winter bird food on arable and horticultural land (AHL2 in the SFI 2023 offer)
• CAHL3: Grassy field corners or blocks (AHL3 in the SFI 2023 offer)
• CIGL1: Take improved grassland field corners or blocks out of management (IGL1 in the SFI 2023 offer)
• CIGL2: Winter bird food on improved grassland (IGL2 in the SFI 2023 offer)
• WBD3: In-field grass strips
• AHW1: Bumblebird mix
• AHW9: Unharvested cereal headland
• AHW11: Cultivated areas for arable plant
• AHW7: Enhanced overwinter stubble.

 

For more information or advice please call Jess, Molly or Jenny on 01756 692900