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Sustainable Farming Incentive

Asked by Mr Lee DillonLiberal DemocratDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled Answered 22 June 2026UIN 9755

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether farmers with Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier agreements due to expire in 2026 will be able to apply for Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026 agreements before their existing agreements expire; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure a smooth transition between schemes.

Answered by Stephen Morgan

Defra intends to help farmers with soon-to-expire Environmental Land Management revenue agreements to access the full SFI26 offer sooner. Additionally, for farmers in Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) agreements that expire in 2026, Natural England will discuss options for entering into new CSHT agreements before their agreements expire.

Defra is developing functionality on the SFI26 application service to allow farmers to apply for land covered by these agreements before they expire. Defra expects this to be in place from the start of the second SFI26 application window from September 2026.

Defra expects to be able to confirm whether this will be possible towards the end of June.

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