SFI26 Round-up October 26 October 5, 2026 9:30 am Window 2 Window 2 for the SFI26 opened on the morning of 22nd September as planned. The system went live at 10am. Defra had promised to provide updates as the budget was allocated; the notifications of 25%, 50% and 75% of budget spent duly came through the next few hours. It was announced that all funds had been exhausted and the Window closed at around 4pm. The final budget was £253m as £3m of unused funds had been rolled-over from Window 1 and a further £20m was added just prior to opening. This surge of applications and exhaustion of the budget was no surprise to anyone. With it being clear that there would not be enough money to go round, people had been teeing-up their applications for weeks to submit as soon as possible – to make sure they were at the head of the queue. Demand was boosted by the inclusion of the ‘Start an Application Early’ (SAE) category of farmers with schemes that were still ongoing but due to end before 28th Feb 2027. There were a number of the usual glitches with the IT system reported – with the SAE applicants seemingly worse affected. It is unclear how many potential applicants were unsuccessful, but it is likely to be a significant number. With many businesses heavily reliant on SFI income, those that did not make the cut will be facing a big financial hit. There is also the issue of the £100,000 cap on SFI26 applications. Larger businesses, even if they were successful in applying, will see a big fall in income. It must be questioned whether the current first-come-first-served system is really the best way of allocating public money. If budgets are to be constrained (which they will be), then it would seem sensible to ‘ration’ agreements by favouring those that provide the best environmental outcomes. Perhaps Defra see this as a problem that will solve itself over time. The Farming Roadmap clearly laid out the SFI as a scheme will not continue beyond 2030. Instead, environmental payments will become far more targeted. It may be little consolation, but those farmers that failed to get into the SFI in this Window may just be getting a foretaste of what many more businesses face in future. Failed Applications There is some hope for those that started an application, but couldn’t submit and, crucially, contacted the RPA before the Window closed. They will be contacted by the RPA and an investigation undertaken into whether ‘technical issues’ prevented their application. If so, they should be allowed to continue with the application. It may take some time for the RPA to work through this process so not all potential applicants will have been contacted yet. It is not clear whether budget has been ‘held back’ to fund these applications. Whilst it may seem obvious to those on the receiving end that it is the RPA’s systems that were at fault, this has not always been accepted. We have had cases in the past where the RPA has claimed that it is simply incorrect field data that has caused the issue. It is not necessarily easy to prove otherwise as the RPA is the ‘gatekeeper’ of the system. Those who started an application but didn’t manage to submit it, and didn’t contact the RPA have simply lost the chance in this Window. They will have to wait until SFI27 – see below. Application Statistics Defra has released statistics on scheme applications under SFI26. Around 12,200 applications were accepted in Window 2. Of these, 72% were from those in the ‘Start an Application Early’ (SAE) category who have an existing agri-environment scheme running, but which is due to end before the 28th February 2027. 10% of applications were from those who had not had any agreement before. Unsurprisingly, Window 2 saw larger applications on average than Window 1 which was targeted at smaller farms. Just 21% of applications in Window 2 came from businesses with less than 50 hectares. Window 1 closed on the 28th August, and not all of the funds allocated were used. Defra received around 6,500 applications in this window. Of these; 69% were from small farms (farms with up to 50 hectares) 87% were from farms without an existing ELM revenue agreement 56% met both criteria The Department seems pleased that its aim of distributing funding more widely, especially to smaller farms, has been met. The median agreement value for SFI26 is £14,000. This compares with £31,000 in SFI23 and the Expanded Offer (aka SFI24). Again, this is not surprising, with Defra targeting smaller farms, the new £100K cap on agreements, and the change of options meaning most agreements are less valuable than previously. The most popular options under SFI26 were existing favourites – low-input grassland; hedge management; herbal leys; winter bird food; and no insecticides. Within the 6-hour period the window was open, the full £253m budget was allocated. This means around £700,000 per minute was being spent. The full statistics are at – https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/sfi-uptake-september-2026-window-2 . There is no data, and probably never will be, on the number of farmers who wanted an agreement, but did not get in. It seems highly likely that this will be in the thousands. There is also no measure of those who ‘truncated’ their agreements by dropping fields that were causing errors, simply to get through the process. SFI Feedback and Surveys Following the rapid closure of SFI26 Window 2, a number of organisations have been gathering evidence on farmers’ and advisers’ experiences of the application process. Most recently, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee (the body responsible for scrutinising Defra) launched its own survey on 1st October, seeking evidence from farmers and land agents to inform its Parliamentary scrutiny of Defra and the operation of the scheme. The survey can be found via https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/52/environment-food-and-rural-affairs-committee/news/218025/farmers-experiences-of-sustainable-farming-incentive-sought-in-efra-committee-survey/ responses need to be submitted by 16th October. SFI 2027 Defra has confirmed that there will be an SFI27 scheme next year. However, there are no further details at present. The Government is keen to minimise changes to the scheme as it wants the SFI to be ‘stabilised’. However, it will incorporate what it has learnt from both Windows of SFI26 into future schemes. Therefore, more information is only likely to arrive once it has had time to consider what happened.
