At the Oxford Farming Conference on Thursday, Defra Secretary Emma Reynolds delivered the keynote speech with a package of measures which are set out below. You can read the full speech here.
Next Steps with the Sustainable Farming Incentive
The new SFI offer for 2026 will include two application windows.
- The first window will open in June and will be for “farmers with small farms” and those without existing ELMs agreements.
- The second round will open in September for all farmers.
Defra is aiming to make the new SFI offer simpler. The number of actions is being reduced with greater emphasis supporting sustainable food production. This includes:
- Considering whether more actions should be limited to no more than 25% of the farm area – previously this applied to 10 actions such as Winter Bird Food.
- Reviewing payment rates for actions that take land out of production where uptake has been particularly high.
Defra does not define “small farms” but says it will publish clear definitions before the first window opens and that is considering “an agreement value cap to help share funding more fairly while delivering benefits for nature and climate”. The statement says that clear budgets will be set for each application window with regular updates about budget allocation and that they will not close application windows without warning.
Note from Veronica (our ENews editor) - So we have a little bit more information, but don’t know what “small farms” means, what options will be capped in future, whether there will be a maximum limit on SFI payments, or whether there will be sufficient budget available for farmers whose existing environmental agreements end in December. And why don’t they have an application window with a deadline, assess all the applications with clear criteria for scoring and then let applicants know whether they have been successful! This announcement has not given much clarity - if anything it has increased the uncertainty!
