The first round of the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026 (SFI26) is due to open on Tuesday 30th June 2026, following the recent announcement from the Rural Payments Agency (RPA).

For SFI26, there will be two application windows: one opening in June and a second opening later in the year, in September. Recently, the RPA released additional guidance on the scheme, along with several important updates and changes.

SFI WINDOW 1 – Opening on the 30th June 2026

When the first application window opens on Tuesday 30th June and it will be available to two categories of applicants. Businesses only need to meet one of the following criteria to apply:

• Small farms (3–50 hectares), with or without an existing ELM revenue agreement
• Farms of any size that do not currently hold an existing ELM revenue agreement.

In addition, the Single Business Identifier (SBI) must have been registered with the RPA before 1st January 2026.

SFI WINDOW 2 – September 2026

The second application window will be open to all farms with at least 3 hectares of agricultural land, those not eligible to apply in window 1.

If you have established a farming business during 2026, you will still be able to apply for SFI26, but only through this September application window. For this round, the SBI simply needs to be registered before the application submission date.

SFI26 Scheme Details

The scheme itself looks different from previous versions of SFI with 71 actions, down from 102 in SFI24, with some actions removed, some payment rates increased and others reduced. SFI agreements will run for three years, with monthly start dates available and quarterly payments. Importantly, SFI agreements cannot be transferred between businesses, so applicants should be confident they will have control of the land for the full three year term before applying.

Each SBI can only hold one SFI26 agreement, meaning businesses will only be able to apply through one of the two application windows. A funding cap of £100,000 per agreement year will apply. However, this cap will not be reduced by land already included within existing SFI agreements or other ELMS revenue schemes.

Capital Grants – July 2026

Capital Grants are expected to reopen in July 2026 and will be organised into the same six groups as last year. Funding limits will continue to apply as follows:

• £25,000 for the water quality, air quality, and natural flood management groups
• £35,000 for the boundaries, trees and orchards group.

Each application can include items from these groups up to the relevant funding limit, alongside items from the assessments or improvements groups. As in 2025, businesses will be able to submit one application per Single Business Identifier (SBI).

Alongside the usual main groups in 2025, two new categories were introduced with limited application windows and not much information was publicised on these. Worth reviewing for the 2026 offer is the wildfire assessment at £327.12 per farm and the educational visits up to 25 per year at £363 per visit, similar to the option under Mid Tier agreements.

We expect demand to be high across both schemes, so it is important to be organised before the application windows open. If you are interested in applying for SFI26 or Capital Grants, please contact us to discuss your options and ensure you are fully prepared ahead of the application windows.