SFI26 Now Open

Defra has opened Window 1 of SFI26 and provided information on ‘soon-to-expire’ agreements which will be eligible to apply for SFI in Window 2.

Window 1 opened on 30th June for small farms (less than 50 Ha) or for those who have not got an existing ELM revenue agreement (SFI, CSMT, CSHT or HLS).  Applicants in Window 1 need to have been registered with the RPA (i.e. had an SBI) on 1st January 2026 with some agricultural land linked to that SBI at that time. This perhaps hadn’t been appreciated by everyone.

Defra originally said Window 1 will be open for around 2 months or until the £60 million available for this window is fully allocated whichever is the sooner.  However, as at 3rd July 50% of the budget had already been allocated.  Defra publishes updates when approximately 25%, 50% and 75% of the budget has been allocated.  If farms are eligible for Window 1 but opt not to apply now (or don’t submit an application in time), they can apply in Window 2 later this year instead.  It may be prudent to do this if they have a soon-to-expire agreement – see below for more information.

Window 2 is expected to open in September.  It will be available to all farmers and land managers who have an SBI at the point of application, with at least 3ha of eligible agricultural land linked to it.  Window 2 has £180m allocated to it plus any unallocated funds from Window 1 (which is looking unlikely). Defra will also publish updates when approximately 25%, 50% and 75% of the Window 2 budget has been allocated.  Looking at the speed in which Window 1 is being allocated and with Window 2 accepting ‘soon-to-expire’ (see below) agreements, Window 2 is not expected to be open for long before the budget is all used up.

Soon-to-expire

A question that has repeatedly been asked is ‘will Window 2 be closed before those with agreements expiring late in 2026 or early in 2027 are able to apply?’. Historically, it has not been possible to make an application until an existing agreement has finished, where that land is already tied into specific actions.   In our previous article, we mentioned Defra was working on new functionality to allow ‘soon-to-expire’ ELM agreement holders to apply in the September window, before any existing agreements had finished. This is something the computer had always said ‘no’ to.  Defra has said this new functionality will be available for Window 2 (from September 2026). For SFI26, it will apply to farmers with agreements expiring by the end of February 2027, under the following schemes:

• SFI23
• Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier (CSMT)
• Legacy CS Higher Tier (CSHT)
• Environmental Stewardship Higher Level Stewardship (HLS)

The new functionality will allow SFI26 agreements to start after the existing agreement has ended. This means there will be no funding gap for these farmers.  For those whose agreements expire after this date there is less certainty, Defra has said ‘Farmers with agreements expiring at the end of March 2027 or later may be able to apply for a future SFI offer. We’ll announce the timing of the SFI27 offer in due course’.

Small farms, eligible to apply in Window 1, which have a ‘soon-to-expire’ agreement may want to consider whether it is more beneficial to wait for Window 2, so they can have an agreement across all their land.  As a reminder, it is only possible to have one SFI26 agreement.

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