DEFRA published the full details of the 2026 Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) this afternoon, and there is a great deal for farmers across Devon and Cornwall to consider. The scheme has been substantially redesigned; simpler in structure, wider in reach, and with some notable changes to payment rates that will affect farms in this part of the country in particular.
This article sets out what has changed, what is staying the same, and – most importantly – what you should be doing right now to make sure you are well positioned when the first application window opens in June.
If you would like to discuss how SFI26 applies to your specific holding, please do get in touch.
What Is the SFI and Why Does It Matter?
The Sustainable Farming Incentive is England’s principal agri-environment scheme, replacing the old Basic Payment Scheme as the main route for farm businesses to receive public funding. It pays farmers for managing land in ways that deliver environmental benefits – soil health, water quality, biodiversity, and more – while continuing to produce food.
After a turbulent period that saw the scheme abruptly close in March 2025, SFI is relaunching for 2026 with a reformed offer that the government hopes will be more accessible, better targeted, and more straightforward to navigate.
The Key Changes for 2026
A Simpler Offer
The number of available actions has been cut from 102 to 71. DEFRA has removed roughly a third of the previous options – primarily those with low uptake, or those considered to deliver poor value for money relative to their impact on food production and the environment. The remaining 71 actions are intended to cover all farm types, and the full list is set out below.
Two Application Windows
Applications will open in two stages this year:
- Window One opens in June 2026 and is reserved for small farms (up to 50 hectares) and farms that do not currently hold an existing ELM revenue agreement. It will remain open for approximately two months, or until the window budget is used up.
- Window Two opens in September 2026 and is open to all farms.
For farms across the South West without an existing agreement, this is particularly significant: you will qualify for the June window, giving you priority access before the scheme opens more widely in the autumn.
A New Minimum Threshold
To be eligible for SFI26, a farm must have at least 3 hectares (approximately 7.4 acres) of agricultural land. This threshold was recommended by Baroness Batters in her recent Farming Profitability Review and is designed to focus the scheme on active farming businesses.
A New Annual Payment Cap
No single SFI 26 agreement can be worth more than £100,000 per year, and each farm business is limited to one agreement. This is a direct response to the previous scheme’s distributional problem – in SFI 24, 25% of all funding went to just 4% of farms. For the majority of holdings in Devon and Cornwall, the cap will not be a practical constraint, but it does signal a clear shift in the government’s priorities.
Five-Year Actions Become Three-Year
Actions that previously required a five-year commitment will now run for three years. This is a welcome change for tenant farmers, many of whom operate on shorter leases and have historically found longer commitment periods difficult to accommodate. It is a change that should make SFI significantly more accessible across much of the rural South West.
The Management Payment Is Removed
The annual SFI management payment, which was introduced as a transitional measure in earlier iterations of the scheme, has been discontinued. The funding released will be redirected to support more agreements.
Payment Rate Changes
Good News for Upland Farmers
Moorland grazing and shepherding rates have been increased substantially, and – notably – these uplifts will apply to existing agreements as well as new ones. This is particularly relevant to farmers on Dartmoor, Exmoor, and Bodmin Moor:
- UPL1 (Moderate livestock grazing on moorland): rises from £20/ha to £35/ha
- UPL2 (Low livestock grazing on moorland): rises from £53/ha to £89/ha
- UPL3 (Limited livestock grazing on moorland): rises from £66/ha to £111/ha
- UPL8 (Shepherding, stock removed for at least 4 months): rises from £43/ha to £74/ha
- UPL10 (Shepherding, stock removed for at least 8 months): rises from £48/ha to £102/ha
DEFRA has stated these increases are intended to properly compensate upland farmers given recent changes in livestock prices.
Some Rates Are Coming Down
Three actions are seeing reduced rates for new SFI26 agreements, though existing SFI23 and SFI24 agreements are unaffected:
- Herbal leys (CSAM3): reduced from £382/ha to £224/ha
- Winter bird food on arable and horticultural land (CAHL2): reduced from £853/ha to £648/ha
- Legume fallow (CNUM3): reduced from £593/ha to £532/ha
The reductions reflect Defra’s view that the previous rates were set too high and were drawing productive land out of food production at too great a rate. The recalibration is intended to bring these actions back into better balance with the farming system.
| A note on base and supplemental actions: Under SFI26, supplemental actions can only be applied for alongside their corresponding base action, in the same agreement and at the same time. This is a change from the previous structure and is worth bearing in mind when you are planning which actions to include. |
What Should You Be Doing Now?
With the June window around four months away, this is a good moment to get your preparation underway. Based on the current guidance, here are the most useful steps:
Check Your RPA Mapping
Log into the Rural Payments service and verify that all your field boundaries, land use codes, hedgerows, and other features are accurate and up to date. Errors in your mapping can delay or complicate an application, and there will not be much time to resolve issues once the window opens. If you are unsure how to do this, or if your mapping has not been reviewed recently, it is worth addressing now.
Review the Actions Against Your Farm
The full list of 71 actions is set out below. Work through them with your land in mind: what do you have, what are you already doing, and what could you realistically commit to for a three-year agreement? Your hedgerows, watercourses, grassland type, arable fields, ponds, and any heritage features all open up different options. Think about combinations – for example, buffer strips alongside waterbody management, or soil health actions sitting alongside IPM measures.
Contact Your Catchment Sensitive Farming Adviser
For Devon and Cornwall, the CSF team can be reached at csf.devonandcornwall@naturalengland.org.uk, or by calling Natural England on 0300 060 3900. If you are considering any capital grant works alongside your SFI agreement – yard infrastructure, slurry storage, fencing near watercourses, and so on – some of these require CSF adviser sign-off before an application can proceed. It is worth making contact now rather than waiting until the window is already open.
Stay Updated
Full scheme guidance and the Window One budget will be published before June. Subscribe to the DEFRA Farming Blog at defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/subscribe to receive updates as they are released. DEFRA has committed to publishing clear budgets and not closing windows without warning – a welcome change from the abrupt closure in 2025!! But with a fixed budget for each window, early preparation will still matter.
Seek Tailored Advice
Every farm is different, and the combination of actions that makes sense for one holding may not suit another. If you would like to talk through how SFI26 applies to your specific situation – whether that is working out which actions fit your land, checking your eligibility, or understanding how the new scheme interacts with any existing agreements – please do get in touch. I am happy to help.
The Full List of SFI26 Actions
The 71 actions available in SFI26 are set out below, grouped by theme with annual payment rates. Full guidance on eligibility and management requirements for each action will be published by DEFRA before the June window opens.
Agroforestry
| Code | Action | Annual Payment |
| AGF1 | Maintain very low density (30–50 trees/ha) in-field agroforestry on less sensitive land | £248/ha |
| AGF2 | Maintain low density (51–130 trees/ha) in-field agroforestry on less sensitive land | £385/ha |
Boundary Features
| Code | Action | Annual Payment |
| CHRW2 | Manage hedgerows | £13/100m (one side) |
| BND1 | Maintain dry stone walls | £27/100m (both sides) |
| BND2 | Maintain earth banks or stone-faced hedgebanks | £11/100m (both sides) |
Buffer Strips
| Code | Action | Annual Payment |
| CAHL4 | 4m–12m grass buffer strip on arable and horticultural land | £515/ha |
| CIGL3 | 4m–12m grass buffer strip on improved grassland | £235/ha |
| BFS1 | 12m–24m watercourse buffer strips on cultivated land | £707/ha |
| BFS6 | 6m–12m habitat strip next to watercourses | £742/ha |
Farmland Wildlife — Arable and Horticultural Land
| Code | Action | Annual Payment |
| AHW2 | Supplementary winter bird food | £732/t |
| AHW3 | Beetle banks | £764/ha |
| AHW4 | Skylark plots | £11/plot (min 2 plots/ha) |
| AHW5 | Nesting plots for lapwing | £765/ha |
| AHW6 | Basic overwinter stubble | £58/ha |
| AHW7 | Enhanced overwinter stubble (subject to 25% area cap) | £589/ha |
| AHW8 | Whole crop spring cereals and overwinter stubble | £596/ha |
| AHW9 | Unharvested cereal headland | £1,072/ha |
| AHW10 | Low input harvested cereal crop | £354/ha |
| AHW11 | Cultivated areas for arable plants | £660/ha |
| CAHL1 | Pollen and nectar flower mix | £739/ha |
| CAHL2 | Winter bird food on arable and horticultural land — reduced rate for new agreements | £648/ha |
| CAHL3 | Grassy field corners or blocks | £590/ha |
Farmland Wildlife — Grassland
| Code | Action | Annual Payment |
| GRH1 | Manage rough grazing for birds | £121/ha |
| GRH7 | Haymaking supplement | £157/ha |
| GRH8 | Haymaking supplement (late cut) | £187/ha |
| GRH10 | Lenient grazing supplement | £28/ha |
| CLIG3 | Manage grassland with very low nutrient inputs | £151/ha |
| CIGL1 | Take grassland field corners or blocks out of management | £333/ha |
| CIGL2 | Winter bird food on improved grassland | £515/ha |
| SCR1 | Create scrub and open habitat mosaics | £588/ha |
| SCR2 | Manage scrub and open habitat mosaics | £350/ha |
Heritage
| Code | Action | Annual Payment |
| HEF1 | Maintain weatherproof traditional farm or forestry buildings | £5/sq m |
| HEF6 | Manage historic and archaeological features on grassland | £55/ha |
Integrated Pest Management
| Code | Action | Annual Payment |
| CIPM2 | Flower-rich grass margins, blocks or in-field strips | £798/ha |
| CIPM3 | Companion crop on arable and horticultural land | £55/ha |
| CIPM4 | No use of insecticide on arable crops and permanent crops | £45/ha |
Moorland
| Code | Action | Annual Payment |
| UPL1 | Moderate livestock grazing on moorland | £35/ha ↑ |
| UPL2 | Low livestock grazing on moorland | £89/ha ↑ |
| UPL3 | Limited livestock grazing on moorland | £111/ha ↑ |
| UPL5 | Keep cattle and ponies on moorland supplement (min 70% GLU) | £18/ha |
| UPL6 | Keep cattle and ponies on moorland supplement (min 100% GLU) | £23/ha |
| UPL8 | Shepherding livestock on moorland (remove stock for at least 4 months) | £74/ha ↑ |
| UPL10 | Shepherding livestock on moorland (remove stock for at least 8 months) | £102/ha ↑ |
↑ Increased rates apply to existing SFI agreements as well as new SFI26 agreements.
Nutrient Management
| Code | Action | Annual Payment |
| CNUM2 | Legumes on improved grassland | £102/ha |
| CNUM3 | Legume fallow — reduced rate for new agreements | £532/ha |
Organic
| Code | Action | Annual Payment |
| OFC1 | Organic conversion — improved permanent grassland | £187/ha |
| OFC2 | Organic conversion — unimproved permanent grassland | £96/ha |
| OFC3 | Organic conversion — rotational land | £298/ha |
| OFC4 | Organic conversion — horticultural land | £874/ha |
| OFC5 | Organic conversion — top fruit | £1,920/ha |
| OFM1 | Organic land management — improved permanent grassland | £20/ha |
| OFM2 | Organic land management — unimproved permanent grassland | £41/ha |
| OFM3 | Organic land management — enclosed rough grazing | £97/ha |
| OFM4 | Organic land management — rotational land | £132/ha |
| OFM5 | Organic land management — horticultural land | £707/ha |
| OFM6 | Organic land management — top fruit | £1,920/ha |
Precision Farming
| Code | Action | Annual Payment |
| PRF1 | Variable rate application of nutrients | £27/ha |
| PRF2 | Camera or remote sensor guided herbicide spraying | £43/ha |
| PRF4 | Mechanical robotic weeding | £150/ha |
Soil Health
| Code | Action | Annual Payment |
| CSAM2 | Multi-species winter cover crop | £129/ha |
| CSAM3 | Herbal leys — reduced rate for new agreements | £224/ha |
| SOH1 | No-till farming | £73/ha |
| SOH3 | Multi-species summer-sown cover crop | £163/ha |
Species Recovery and Management
| Code | Action | Annual Payment |
| SPM3 | Keep native breeds on grazed habitats supplement (more than 80%) | £146/ha |
| SPM5 | Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (more than 80%) | £11/ha |
Waterbodies
| Code | Action | Annual Payment |
| WBD1 | Manage ponds | £257/pond (max 3 ponds/ha) |
| WBD2 | Manage ditches | £4/100m (both sides) |
| WBD3 | In-field grass strips | £765/ha |
| WBD4 | Arable reversion to grassland with low fertiliser input | £489/ha |
| WBD6 | Remove livestock from intensive grassland during autumn and winter (outside SDAs) | £115/ha |
| WBD7 | Remove livestock from grassland during autumn and winter (SDAs) | £115/ha |
How Geering Surveyors Can Help
Understanding which actions are right for your farm, and how to structure an agreement that works alongside your existing operation, takes time and knowledge. As a Chartered Surveyor with experience across the Devon and Cornwall rural sector, I am well placed to help you navigate SFI26, review your RPA mapping, and plan a submission ahead of the June window.
If you would like a conversation about your specific holding, please get in touch via the contact page or call the office directly. I am also happy to discuss how SFI26 sits alongside other considerations – tenancy agreements, land values, succession planning, or any other rural property matters.
Full scheme guidance will be published by Defra before June. I will share further updates here on the Notes from the Field blog as details are confirmed.