SFI26: scheme rules and guidance

Q: 2. When you can apply

There will be 2 application windows for SFI26 . ‘Window 1’ will open in June 2026 for 2 eligible groups. Read section 3: ‘Check if you’re eligible to apply’ for more details. ‘Window 2’ will open in September 2026 for all farmers and land managers. As in previous years, the Rural Payments Agency ( RPA ) will open applications in a controlled way. 2.1 Window closure Window 1 will remain open for around 2 months. It may close sooner if demand is high and the Window 1 budget is fully allocated. We cannot set a fixed application closure date for Window 2 as that will depend on demand. Once applications open, we’ll publish updates on how much of the Window 1 and Window 2 budget has been allocated on Defra ’s Farming Blog . We intend to do this once 25%, 50% and 75% of the funding is allocated. 2.2 SFI26 agreement limits Each farm business, as identified by its Single Business Identifier ( SBI ), can only: have one SFI26 agreement – this applies across Windows 1 and 2 apply for a maximum agreement value of £100,000 per agreement year These limits only apply to SFI26 agreements. You can still apply for an SFI26 agreement if you have an existing SFI24 or SFI23 agreement.

Q: 15. Contact the RPA

If you have a general question about SFI , contact RPA by: email: ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk - use ‘ SFI ’ in the subject header and include your SBI telephone: 03000 200 301 - Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5pm, except bank holidays post: PO Box 325, Worksop, S95 1DG If you need to raise a specific query about your application, follow the guidance on how to contact RPA about SFI .

Question 1

1. Overview of the Sustainable Farming Incentive

Accepted Answer

The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) pays farmers and land managers to do sustainable land management activities that:

protect and benefit the environment
support food production
improve productivity

These activities are referred to as ‘SFI actions’.

You can apply for an SFI26 agreement to get paid to do SFI actions if you and your land are eligible. The agreement will usually last for 3 years, depending on which actions you select. You’ll be paid in quarterly instalments.

1.1 Read the rules which apply to SFI26 agreements

To make sure you understand what you’re required to do under an SFI26 agreement, read:

the SFI26 agreement terms and conditions, which are further explained in these scheme rules
the requirements set out in each SFI26 action on the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool (or the HTML print version)

The scheme rules are contained in the following sections of this document:

section 4 ‘About SFI actions’
section 5 ‘Check your land is eligible for SFI actions’
section 6 ‘Check you’ll have management control of the land’
section 9 ‘About your SFI26 agreement’
section 10 ‘Get any regulatory consents before you do your SFI actions’
section 11 ‘When and how much you’ll get paid’
section 12 ‘Complying with your SFI26 agreement’
section 13 ‘What happens if you breach your SFI26 agreement’
section 14 ‘Changes to your SFI26 agreement’

The other SFI26 scheme information (in this document and on the SFI26 GOV.UK webpage) includes guidance to help you apply for, and manage, your SFI26 agreement.

Rules for existing SFI23 and SFI24 agreements

If you already have an agreement for:

the SFI24 offer (including the re-opened SFI24 offer), you must continue to follow the relevant version of the SFI24 scheme information for your agreement – you can find these versions on the ‘SFI24: agreement holder’s information’ webpage
the SFI23 offer, you must continue to follow the requirements in the SFI 2023 handbook

1.2 Main changes for SFI26

We have made the following main changes to the SFI26 offer:

there are 71 actions (compared with 102 actions in SFI24)
only farms with at least 3 hectares of agricultural land are eligible to apply for an SFI26 agreement
there’s an annual agreement value limit of £100,000 per year for SFI26 agreements
each farm business can only have one SFI26 agreement
there’s a limit on the area of land that you can add to rotational SFI26 actions after the first year of an SFI26 agreement
there are no longer any 5-year actions – instead almost all actions last for 3 years, except some organic conversion actions
supplemental actions can only be applied for if a supporting base action is selected in the same SFI26 application
the SFI management payment has been removed for SFI26 agreements

Question 2

2. When you can apply

Accepted Answer

There will be 2 application windows for SFI26.

‘Window 1’ will open in June 2026 for 2 eligible groups. Read section 3: ‘Check if you’re eligible to apply’ for more details.

‘Window 2’ will open in September 2026 for all farmers and land managers.

As in previous years, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will open applications in a controlled way.

2.1 Window closure

Window 1 will remain open for around 2 months. It may close sooner if demand is high and the Window 1 budget is fully allocated.

We cannot set a fixed application closure date for Window 2 as that will depend on demand.

Once applications open, we’ll publish updates on how much of the Window 1 and Window 2 budget has been allocated on Defra’s Farming Blog. We intend to do this once 25%, 50% and 75% of the funding is allocated.

2.2 SFI26 agreement limits

Each farm business, as identified by its Single Business Identifier (SBI), can only:

have one SFI26 agreement – this applies across Windows 1 and 2
apply for a maximum agreement value of £100,000 per agreement year

These limits only apply to SFI26 agreements. You can still apply for an SFI26 agreement if you have an existing SFI24 or SFI23 agreement.

Question 3

3. Check if you’re eligible to apply

Accepted Answer

To apply for an SFI26 agreement, you need to meet both:

the eligibility requirements which apply to all SFI26 applicants (explained in section 3.1)
the additional eligibility requirements for Window 1 (explained in section 3.2) or Window 2 (explained in section 3.3)

3.1 Eligibility requirements which apply to all SFI26 applicants

You can only apply for an SFI26 agreement in either Window 1 or Window 2 if you:

are a farmer or land manager
have land that’s eligible for the SFI actions you want to select – read section 5 ‘Check your land is eligible for SFI actions’
will have management control of the eligible land you’ll enter into your selected SFI actions for their entire duration (usually 3 years, unless you select organic conversion actions) – read section 6 ‘Check you’ll have management control of the land’
have at least 3 hectares (ha) of agricultural land (defined in section 3.4) linked to your SBI at the point you want to start an application – this does not set a minimum area you need to enter into your SFI26 application

You cannot apply for an SFI26 agreement on common land (including shared grazing).

3.2 Additional applicant eligibility requirements for Window 1

To be eligible to apply in Window 1, your farm business (as identified by its SBI) needs to meet both the following criteria:

It was registered with the RPA, so it had an SBI by 1 January 2026, and the SBI had some agricultural land (defined in section 3.4) linked to it on that date.
It qualifies as either a small farm (defined in section 3.2.1), or a farm without an existing Environmental Land Management (ELM) revenue agreement (defined in section 3.2.2) – your farm business only needs to be in one of these groups.

This is in addition to the eligibility requirements which apply to all SFI26 applicants (set out in section 3.1).

If you’re eligible for Window 1 but do not apply during that window, you can apply in Window 2 instead.

If you believe that you may be eligible to apply in Window 1, but you are unable to start an SFI26 application in the Rural Payments service, contact the RPA as soon as possible.

3.2.1 Definition of small farms

A small farm is defined as a farm business which had up to 50ha of agricultural land registered with the RPA and linked to its SBI on 1 January 2026.

Agricultural land is defined in section 3.4.

3.2.2 Definition of farms without an existing ELM revenue agreement

A farm without an existing ELM revenue agreement is defined as a farm business which did not have a live, RPA-administered ELM revenue agreement on 1 January 2026.

Your farm business will qualify under this group if it did not have an agreement for any of the following RPA-administered ELM revenue schemes on 1 January 2026:

SFI
Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier (CSMT)
Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) – this includes both woodland-only and mixed agreements under the legacy and current CSHT schemes
Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) under Environmental Stewardship

RPA-administered ELM revenue schemes do not include schemes such as:

standalone Capital Grants
private sector schemes
Landscape Recovery

3.3 Additional applicant eligibility requirement for Window 2

To be eligible to apply in Window 2, your farm business needs to be registered with the RPA (so it has an SBI) at the point you want to start an application.

This is in addition to the eligibility requirements which apply to all SFI26 applicants (set out in section 3.1).

3.4 Definition of agricultural land for SFI26 applicant eligibility

Agricultural land is defined as land registered by the RPA with the following land covers shown on your digital maps:

arable land
permanent grassland
permanent crops

This applies to:

the 3ha minimum area threshold at the point you want to start an application (explained in section 3.1)
the Window 1 requirement to have had some agricultural land linked to the farm business’ SBI on 1 January 2026 (explained in section 3.2)
the maximum 50ha threshold for small farms in Window 1 (defined in section 3.2)

3.5 If you’ve received a Lump Sum Exit Scheme payment

If you’ve received a payment under the Lump Sum Exit Scheme to leave or retire from farming:

as an individual – you’re not eligible to apply for an SFI agreement, unless you repay the lump sum
as a partnership or limited company – if only some partners or shareholders left the business, the remaining partners or shareholders can apply for an SFI agreement without repaying the lump sum

3.6 If you receive delinked payments

If you receive delinked payments (which replaced BPS payments from 2024), you’re eligible to apply for an SFI agreement. This is because you will not be paid twice for a similar activity on the same area of land at the same time (known as ‘double funding’).

3.7 Eligibility of public bodies

A public body is a formally established organisation that is publicly funded to provide a public or government service.

Public bodies include:

Crown bodies (included all government departments, executive agencies and trading funds)
non-departmental public bodies
local authorities
national park authorities
park corporations

See a list of all departments, agencies and public bodies.

Public bodies are eligible to apply for an SFI agreement if they will not be paid under SFI to complete activities that they are already:

required to do by statutory duty, which means they’re part of the public body’s obligations
being paid to do by other funding sources, as this would be double funding

If you’re a tenant on land owned by a public body, you can only enter that land into an SFI agreement if there will be no double funding. Read section 6.3 ‘Land you occupy under a tenancy agreement’.

Question 4

4. About SFI actions

Accepted Answer

This section includes scheme rules which apply to SFI26 agreements.

The SFI26 actions include:

70 actions previously offered under the SFI24 offer – any changes for SFI26 have been identified in each action
1 replacement action GRH12: ‘Manage rough grassland for upland breeding waders’ (instead of GRH1: ‘Manage rough grazing for birds’ which was available in the SFI24 offer)

You can apply for the SFI26 actions without specialist advice or prior endorsement.

If your land (including landscape features, as relevant) is eligible, you can apply for any combination of SFI26 actions.

There are specific rules which apply to different types of SFI26 actions. For example, ‘limited area’ SFI actions. These are explained in this section.

4.1 Where you can find the SFI26 actions

Each SFI26 action is set out in the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool. You can search and filter to view actions by action codes (for example, ‘SOH1’), land types or areas of interest (such as ‘soil health’).

There’s also a print version of the SFI26 actions if you prefer this format.

Annex A provides a summary of the SFI26 action codes, titles and payment rates.

4.2 What’s explained in each SFI26 action

Each SFI26 action includes the mandatory requirements you must comply with to get paid.

The following details are included in each SFI26 action:

action code, for example ‘SOH1’ – you may find it helpful to write down this code, so you have it to hand when you apply
the action’s duration – most SFI26 actions have a 3-year duration (apart from some organic conversion actions)
how much you’ll be paid each year of the action’s duration
the action’s aim – this sets out what you would expect to see on the ground by completing the action, and the purpose of that outcome
where you can do the action – this includes eligible land types (or landscape features) and land covers, compatible land uses, eligibility of protected land, if it’s a total or part available area action, and whether it’s rotational or static
what to do to complete the action
when to do the action
how to do the action
evidence to keep
other SFI or CSHT actions, and CS or ES options you can do on the same area in a land parcel as the action

Most SFI26 actions also include voluntary advice to help you do the action. You do not have to follow this, as it is not part of the action’s requirements.

4.3 Rotational SFI actions

Some SFI actions are ‘rotational’. This means that, for the second and third years of an SFI26 agreement, you can:

move the location of the action to another eligible land parcel
change the eligible area entered into the action (subject to the new maximum area limit rule which applies to SFI26 agreements as explained in section 4.3.1)

Each SFI26 action in the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool sets out if it’s a rotational action.

When you select a rotational SFI action in your SFI26 application, you’ll tell the RPA its location and area for the first year of your SFI26 agreement.

The location you enter into your SFI26 application can be either:

where the rotational SFI26 action is located at the point you want to start an application
where you will locate it, if it’s an action you can start doing within 12 months of your SFI26 agreement’s start date

4.3.1 Maximum area limit for SFI26 agreements

The area you enter for the first year of your SFI26 agreement sets the maximum area limit for that rotational SFI action. This means you cannot increase the area entered into the action above this limit for the second and third agreement years.

You can decrease the area entered into a rotational SFI action for the second and third agreement years.

If you decrease the area for the second agreement year, you can increase it for the third agreement year. However, the area cannot be more than the maximum area limit set in the first agreement year.

For example, if you enter 10ha for the first year, you could decrease it to 5ha for the second year and increase it back up to 10ha for the third year.

4.3.2 Rotational actions declaration

If your SFI26 agreement includes rotational SFI actions, you must complete a ‘rotational actions declaration’. This is to tell the RPA about the location and area of your rotational SFI actions for the next year of your SFI26 agreement.

You must complete and submit your rotational actions declaration towards the end of the first and second years of your SFI26 agreement. You will not be paid for the next agreement year until you do this.

The RPA will issue further guidance on how to do this for SFI26 agreements.

4.4 Static SFI actions

Some SFI actions are ‘static’ only. This means you must do the action at the same location and on the same area each year of its duration.

Each SFI26 action in the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool sets out if it’s a static action.

4.5 Limited area SFI actions

There are some ‘limited area’ SFI actions that:

take land out of agricultural production
you can only do on a small proportion (up to 25%) of your farm, as you are unlikely to deliver the action’s aim if you do it on a larger area

There are 10 limited area SFI actions. They include:

CIPM2: Flower-rich grass margins, blocks, or in-field strips (IPM2 in the SFI 2023 offer)
CAHL1: Pollen and nectar flower mix (AHL1 in the SFI 2023 offer)
CAHL2: Winter bird food on arable and horticultural land (AHL2 in the SFI 2023 offer)
CAHL3: Grassy field corners or blocks (AHL3 in the SFI 2023 offer)
CIGL1: Take improved grassland field corners or blocks out of management (IGL1 in the SFI 2023 offer)
CIGL2: Winter bird food on improved grassland (IGL2 in the SFI 2023 offer)
WBD3: In-field grass strips
AHW7: Enhanced overwinter stubble
AHW9: Unharvested cereal headland
AHW11: Cultivated areas for arable plants

Each SFI26 action in the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool sets out if it’s a limited area action.

You can select as many limited area SFI actions as you wish, but the total eligible area you enter into them must not be more than 25% of the total agricultural area of your farm. This 25% limit applies across:

all SFI agreements applied for on or after 26 March 2024
CSHT agreements from 2025 onwards

If you have an existing SFI 2023 agreement which you applied for before 26 March 2024, the 25% limit is not applied retrospectively to that SFI agreement. However, if you apply for an SFI26 agreement, the 25% limit will be applied across all your SFI agreements. This means you will not be able to enter more land into limited area SFI actions if you’ve already exceeded the 25% limit.

For example, if the total agricultural area of your farm is 100 hectares, you must only enter up to a total of 25 hectares of eligible land into any combination of one or more of these limited area SFI actions.

For the purpose of these limited area SFI actions:

‘farm’ means all the land parcels linked to your SBI at the point you apply for an SFI agreement – these parcels are shown on your digital maps
‘agricultural area’ means the area in each land parcel that’s registered with an arable, permanent grassland or permanent crops land cover

Defra will keep this 25% limited area action rule under review.

4.6 Supplemental SFI actions

There are some ‘supplemental’ SFI actions which you can only do in combination with a ‘base’ action.

Each SFI26 action in the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool sets out:

if it’s a supplemental or base action
which base and supplemental actions can be done together

You can only apply for an SFI26 supplemental action if you select a supporting base action in the same SFI26 application.

4.7 Organic-specific SFI actions

There are some ‘organic-specific’ SFI26 actions for:

organic conversion, which you can only do on land that’s registered as ‘in conversion’ with a DEFRA-licensed organic control body (OCB)
organic land management once you’ve converted your land to organic status, which you can only do on land that’s registered as ‘fully organic’ with an OCB

You can find the organic-specific SFI actions in the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool.

You can enter organic land into other SFI actions which are not organic-specific if it’s an eligible land type. Read section 5.1 ‘Eligible land for area-based SFI actions’ for more information.

4.8 Agreement level SFI actions

There is 1 ‘agreement level’ SFI26 action (AHW2: Supplementary winter bird food). You do not enter specific areas of land into this action. Instead, you enter the relevant tonnage which you want to include in your SFI26 agreement.

Question 5

5. Check your land is eligible for SFI actions

Accepted Answer

This section includes scheme rules which apply to SFI26 agreements.

You can only do SFI actions on an area of land or landscape feature if it is:

in a land parcel that’s entirely located within England
eligible for the SFI actions you select

5.1 Eligible land for area-based SFI actions

Each area-based SFI action sets out which land is eligible for the action. This includes:

eligible land types, such as improved permanent grassland
eligible land covers (which are registered on your digital maps) and their compatible land use codes (which you declare in the Rural Payments service)

It’s your responsibility to check that the area (in hectares) of land you enter into each area-based SFI action is eligible.

5.1.1 Eligible land types

Land type describes the type of land in more detail. For example, different types of grassland, such as improved grassland.

The area you enter into each area-based SFI action must be an eligible land type for the action at the start of your SFI26 agreement. If the land type changes because of the action you’re doing, it will not affect eligibility. You’ll continue to be paid for the action.

The following table defines eligible land types for SFI.

Table 1: Definitions of land types for SFI

Land type	Definition of land type
Arable land used to grow crops	Land that’s been cultivated to produce arable crops. For example, combinable crops, root crops, crops grown for animal feed (such as forage rape), field vegetables and cut flowers, bulbs or soft fruit which are not ‘permanent crops’.
Temporary grassland	Land that’s often part of an arable crop rotation and has usually been grassland for less than 5 consecutive years.
Arable land lying fallow	Fallow land that’s available for crop production.
Horticultural permanent crops	Non-rotational horticultural crops that usually occupy the land for 5 years or more and provide repeated harvests. This includes commercial orchards, bush fruits, hops and vines.
Permanent grassland	Land used to grow grass (or other herbaceous forage) for 5 consecutive years or more that’s not been included in an arable crop rotation.
Improved permanent grassland	Permanent grassland (as defined) that’s been agriculturally ‘improved’ by doing at least one of the following activities: - regularly reseeding, or reseeding within the last 15 years - regularly applying fertiliser (typically at least 100 kilograms per hectare per year of nitrogen as an artificial compound fertiliser or animal manures and slurries) - blanket herbicide application to treat weeds - maintaining field drains - taking conserved forage as silage, haylage or hay more than once a year Improved permanent grassland will usually have a high cover of ryegrasses and white clover, with a low cover of wildflowers and sedges.
Semi-improved low input permanent grassland	Permanent grassland (as defined) that’s had some agricultural ‘improvement’ by doing at least one of the following activities: - applying low amounts of artificial compound fertiliser or animal manures and slurries - applying localised herbicide to treat weeds - maintaining field drains infrequently (hay meadows may be more actively drained) - taking conserved forage as hay or haylage no more than once a year Semi-improved permanent grassland will usually have a moderate cover (around 30%) of ryegrasses and white clover, with a high cover of wildflowers and sedges.
Unimproved low input permanent grassland (including rough grazing)	Permanent grassland (as defined) that’s had no agricultural ‘improvement’, usually for at least 15 years. For example: - no reseeding - no application of artificial compound fertiliser or animal manures and slurries - no application of herbicide to treat weeds
Species-rich permanent grassland	Permanent grassland (as defined) that has: - minimal cover of white clover and perennial rye grass – this will usually be less than around 10% of the area - a species-rich sward – this usually means there are more than 15 plant species per square metre, including grasses - a high cover of wildflowers and sedges, excluding white clover, creeping buttercup, and injurious weeds – this will usually be more than around 30% of the area
Moorland (including rough grazing)	Permanent grassland (as defined) and certain non-agricultural features, such as scrub, scree, bracken and bog, which are above the moorland line. The vegetation of moorland areas is usually: - semi-natural moorland habitats including heathland, blanket bog, rough acid grasslands, rushy flushes, swamps, mires and bracken - upland calcareous grassland Much upland moorland is either registered common land or shared grazing.

5.1.2 Eligible land covers and compatible land uses

It’s important that you understand:

the differences between the ‘land covers’ and ‘land uses’ in each of your land parcels
how land covers and land uses may affect your ability to apply for area-based SFI actions in a land parcel

The following table explains the differences.

Table 2: Differences between land covers and land uses

Difference	Land covers	Land uses
Different level of detail	Land covers describe broadly what covers the surface of the ground in a land parcel. For example, arable land, woodland or man-made structures such as farm buildings.	Land uses describe the detailed way you’re using the land cover in a land parcel. For example, an arable land cover is being used for land uses such as winter wheat or whatever specific arable crop you’re growing on that land.
Different identification methods	Each land cover is identified by either an agricultural or non-agricultural cover. There are 3 agricultural land covers (arable land, permanent grassland and permanent crops). There are a number of non-agricultural land covers, such as farmyards, woodland and ponds.	Each land use is identified by a ‘land use code’. There are a number of land use codes. You can find them on GOV.UK.
Different recording methods	You register land covers with the RPA. They are shown on your digital maps in the Rural Payments service.	You declare land uses on the ‘Land use’ screen in the Rural Payments service. They are not registered by the RPA or shown on your digital maps.
Different processes for updating	You ask the RPA to update the land covers shown on your digital maps. To request an update, sign in to the Rural Payments service, select ‘Land’ and use ‘Request rural land changes’. Updating your land covers does not update the land uses you’ve declared.	You update your declared land uses in the Rural Payments service. To do this, sign in to the Rural Payments service, select ‘Land’ and use the ‘Land use’ screen. Updating your land uses does not update the land covers on your digital maps.

You can only apply for area-based SFI actions in a land parcel if:

its registered land covers (shown on your digital maps) are eligible for the SFI action
the land use codes you’ve declared are compatible with the land covers on your digital maps (a ‘compatible land use code’), and the land use areas match the land cover areas

For example, if the registered land cover is 10ha of arable land, there would need to be a corresponding 10ha of compatible arable land uses. This could include land use codes such as AC66 (winter wheat), TG01 (temporary grassland) or FA01 (fallow).

Each area-based SFI action sets out the eligible land covers and compatible land use codes.

Read Annex B: ‘Registered land covers and compatible land use codes’ for more information.

If the land covers and land uses are not compatible, or their areas do not match, this will prevent you from selecting the affected land parcel in your SFI26 application. We’ll publish how to apply online guidance to help you resolve this issue and continue with your application.

5.1.3 Available area you can enter into area-based SFI actions

The application service automatically calculates the area in each land parcel which may be eligible for each area-based SFI action you select. This is called the ‘available area’.

Each area-based SFI action sets out the available area in a land parcel that you can enter into the action. For example, total or part of the available area, or total available area only.

To calculate the available area in each land parcel, the application service takes the parcel’s total area and deducts (as relevant) any area that’s been:

declared with an ineligible land use code for the selected area-based SFI action
entered into another SFI or CSHT action, CS option or static Environmental Stewardship (ES) option that’s incompatible with the action or means there would be double funding

Any area that’s in a rotational ES option will be included in the available area. Therefore, you’ll need to deduct any area entered into a rotational ES option that’s incompatible with your selected SFI action, or means there would be double funding.

It’s your responsibility to check that the area you enter into an area-based SFI action in each land parcel:

is eligible for the action
will not overlap with any area entered into another SFI or CSHT action, CS option or ES option that’s incompatible or means there would be double funding

5.2 Eligible landscape features for feature-based SFI actions

Each feature-based SFI action sets out which landscape features are eligible for the action. This includes:

boundary features, such as hedgerows, dry stone walls, earth banks or stone-faced hedgebanks
ponds and ditches
weatherproof traditional farm or forestry buildings

It’s your responsibility to check that the landscape feature you enter into a feature-based SFI action is eligible for the action.

5.3 Land with historic or archaeological features

Each SFI action sets out:

if land with historic or archaeological features is eligible for the action
that you’re required to get an SFI Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (HEFER) from Historic England before you do the affected SFI action on this land if it’s eligible – read section 5.4.1 ‘How to request an SFI HEFER’

Historic or archaeological features include:

scheduled monuments
non-designated historic or archaeological features, known as ‘SHINE’ features, which have been created by your local authority Historic Environment Record
registered parks and gardens and registered battlefields

If land with historic or archaeological features is ineligible for an SFI action, this only affects the area where the feature is located in a land parcel. You can apply for the SFI action on the remaining area in the land parcel if it’s eligible for the action.

5.3.1 How to request an SFI HEFER

If you have not requested an SFI HEFER before, you need to register to use the HEFER portal. You will be sent an email to confirm your registration.

Once you’re registered, you can request an SFI HEFER by entering your SBI. You will be sent an email when your SFI HEFER is available to download. This will usually be within 2 days from when you request it.

You cannot use a HEFER you’ve already got for an SFI or CS agreement.

Your SFI HEFER will:

identify any known historic or archaeological features on the land parcels linked to your SBI at the time you request it
set out the requirements to follow when you complete your selected SFI actions on any area in a land parcel that contains historic or archaeological features

If your SFI HEFER identifies a scheduled monument, you may need to get consent from Historic England before you do your selected SFI actions on this land. Read section 10.2 ‘Scheduled monument consent’ to find out when you must get scheduled monument consent and how to get it.

5.3.2 Completing SFI actions on land with historic or archaeological features

When you do your selected SFI actions, you must avoid causing damage to historic or archaeological features.

Each SFI action sets out activities which you must avoid doing on land with historic or archaeological features, such as:

growing deep rooted species
allowing areas of scrub to develop

If an SFI action requires you to take soil samples, where possible, you should avoid doing this on land with historic or archaeological features.

If you need to take soil samples on a scheduled monument, you must not do this unless you have scheduled monument consent from Historic England. Read section 10.2 ‘Scheduled monument consent’ to find out how to get this.

If you need to take soil samples on a SHINE feature, registered park and garden or registered battlefield, you should only:

take enough soil samples to meet the SFI action’s requirements
sample to a maximum depth of 7.5 centimetres (cm) on permanent grassland or around 20 to 25cm on arable land (including temporary grassland)

5.4 Land that’s a site of special scientific interest (SSSI)

Each SFI action sets out:

if SSSI land is eligible for the action
that you’re required to get SSSI consent from Natural England before you do the relevant SFI action on eligible SSSI land

Read section 15.1 ‘SSSI consent’ to find out how to get SSSI consent.

5.5 Land that’s conditionally exempt from Inheritance Tax

You may be able to enter land that’s conditionally exempt from Inheritance Tax (or designated as the object of a Maintenance Fund) into SFI actions.

This is only possible if you will not be paid under SFI for activities that duplicate or conflict with the requirements of the Inheritance Tax agreement (known as ‘undertakings’).

Read the guidance on ‘Eligible funding on land conditionally exempt from Inheritance Tax’ to find out which SFI actions you can apply for on land that’s conditionally exempt from Inheritance Tax.

5.6 Land that’s already in other funding schemes or grants

You can enter land that’s already in an agreement for another funding scheme or grant into SFI26 actions if it meets all 3 of the following conditions:

You and your land are eligible for both.
The activities you’re paid for under each scheme are compatible.
You will not be paid twice for the same (or a similar) activity on the same area of land at the same time (known as ‘double funding’).

These 3 conditions apply to land that’s already in an agreement for the following funding schemes and grants:

SFI24 (both the expanded SFI offer for 2024 and the re-opened SFI24 offer)
SFI23
the CSHT offer from 2025
CSMT (including the Wildlife Offers) or legacy CSHT
ES HLS
Landscape Recovery
the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme

You can enter land that’s in an existing capital grants agreement into an SFI26 agreement. This is because they pay for different things.

5.6.1 ‘Stacking’ other actions or options on the same area

Each SFI26 action sets out which other SFI actions, CSHT actions, legacy CSHT and CS options and ES options you can do on the same area in a land parcel as the SFI26 action. This is known as ‘stacking’.

5.6.2 ‘Co-locating’ other actions or options in the same land parcel

If an SFI26 action cannot be stacked on the same area as another SFI action, CSHT action, legacy CSHT and CSMT option, or ES option, you may be able to do it on a different area in the same land parcel. This is known as ‘co-locating’.

This is only possible if the area:

is eligible for the SFI26 action
you enter into the SFI26 action will not overlap with the area used for the other funding scheme or grant

5.6.3 Eligibility of land in private sector schemes

You can enter land (including landscape features) that’s already in a private sector scheme into SFI26 actions if it’s eligible for the action.

Private sector schemes include arrangements such as:

carbon trading
payments for natural flood management

Defra will review its policy on the eligibility of land in private sector schemes for SFI each year.

Question 6

6. Check you’ll have management control of the land

Accepted Answer

This section includes scheme rules which apply to SFI26 agreements.

You must have management control of the land parcels you enter into your SFI26 agreement for the entire duration of the SFI actions you select for that land.

This includes any landscape features, such as hedgerows or ponds. Each relevant SFI action explains how management control works for these features.

Most SFI26 actions have a 3-year duration. If you only select SFI actions with a 3-year duration, your SFI26 agreement will last for 3 years. In this case, you must have management control of the land in your SFI26 agreement for its entire 3-year duration.

However, there are a small number of organic conversion actions which last for up to 2 years. If you select these actions, you must have management control of the land you enter into them for the action’s entire duration. Their duration may be shorter than your SFI26 agreement’s duration if you also select 3-year actions.

6.1 Who has management control

You’ll have management control if you have sufficient control over how the land is managed to complete the SFI actions you’ve selected.

For SFI, this means you’re the person actively farming or managing the land. Usually, this means you’re:

an owner occupier who’s either farming or managing the land themselves, or employing a contractor
a tenant with a Farm Business Tenancy (FBT) under the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995, or an Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 tenancy – read section 6.3 ‘Land you occupy under a tenancy agreement’

If 2 or more farmers have a share farming agreement for the land (but their businesses are separate entities), only one farmer can:

have management control of that land
enter that land into an SFI26 agreement

You must:

keep evidence that you will have management control of the land in your SFI26 agreement for the duration of your selected SFI actions
provide this evidence if the RPA asks for it

6.2 Who does not have management control

You will not have management control of land for SFI if you’re:

a landlord, as you’re not actively farming or managing the land
a licensee, who only has access to the land under a licence arrangement – read section 6.4 ‘Land you access under a licence’
a contractor carrying out operations under the overall direction of the owner occupier or tenant

6.3 Land you occupy under a tenancy agreement

If you occupy land under an FBT or an Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 tenancy agreement, you must make sure that you will not breach the conditions of your tenancy agreement by entering this land into an SFI26 agreement.

Your SFI26 agreement can include land you occupy under a tenancy which is due to expire before the 3-year duration of your SFI26 agreement (or 2-year duration in the case of most organic conversion actions).

However, you must only enter this short-term tenanted land into an SFI26 agreement if you expect to have management control of it for the entire duration of the SFI actions you select.

This will usually be the case if, for example, you occupy land under an FBT granted for a term of:

more than 2 years, that you expect to continue on a rolling year-by-year basis
2 years or less, that you expect your landlord to renew when the term expires

If you are not sure if your tenancy will continue (or be renewed), you need to check this with your landlord before you enter the land into an SFI26 agreement.

6.4 Land you access under a licence

If you only have access to land under a licence arrangement (so you’re a licensee), it’s unlikely you have sufficient control over how the land is managed to complete what’s required in the SFI actions you choose.

In this case, the licensor (usually the owner occupier) can enter the land into an SFI agreement and make the licensee aware of its requirements, if relevant.

If, in practice, your arrangement with the landowner gives you wider land management responsibilities, similar to those of a tenant, you may be able to enter this land into an SFI26 agreement. For example, some licences on Ministry of Defence land operate in this way. If this applies, read section 6.3 ‘Land you occupy under a tenancy agreement’.

6.5 If you lose management control

If you lose management control of the land in your SFI26 agreement before it ends (or before the end date for the SFI actions on that land if that’s earlier), you must tell the RPA in writing as soon as possible.

Read section 12.2 ‘What to do if you cannot comply with your agreement’ to find out how to do this.

If you lose management control of:

some of the land, the RPA will remove the affected land parcels from your SFI26 agreement
all the land, the RPA will end your SFI26 agreement

In both cases, the RPA may ask you to repay some or all the payments you’ve already received.

If you do not tell the RPA about your loss of management control of the land, this may be a breach of your SFI26 agreement.

Question 7

7. Get ready to apply

Accepted Answer

Before you apply for an SFI26 agreement, you need to complete the following steps.

7.1 Register your business with the RPA (Window 2 only)

To apply in Window 2, your farm business needs to be registered with the RPA (so it has an SBI) at the point you want to start an application.

If you are not already registered with the RPA, call 03000 200 301 to register your farm business and get an online account for the Rural Payments service.

Once your business is registered, you can register all the agricultural and non-agricultural land parcels you want to include in your SFI26 application. These will then show on your digital maps in the Rural Payments service.

This step does not apply to Window 1 as eligible applicants had to be registered with the RPA by 1 January 2026. Read section 3.2 ‘Additional applicant eligibility requirements for Window 1’ for more information.

7.2 Check your digital maps show the correct land details

If your maps are not up to date, it may prevent you from applying for SFI26.

Before you start an SFI26 application, check that your digital maps in the Rural Payments service show:

at least 3ha of agricultural land (as defined in section 3.4) – you will only be able to start an SFI26 application if this is the case
all the land parcels you want to include in your SFI26 application, with the correct total areas (in hectares) and land covers

If you need to update your digital maps, use the Rural Payments service to ask the RPA to do this as soon as possible. To find out how to do this, you can:

read the guidance on how to update your digital maps online
watch the RPA’s rural land change request videos on YouTube

You do not need to check or update the registered hedgerow lengths on your digital maps. These are not used in your SFI application.

7.3 Check your registered contact details are up to date

Check your registered contact details are up to date in the Rural Payments service.

The RPA will usually use your registered business email address as the default method to contact you about your SFI26 application and agreement.

However, if you have contacted the RPA because you have difficulty applying online, the RPA will usually contact you by post instead. This means you need to check your registered business postal address.

Read the guidance on how to check and update your registered contact details in the Rural Payments service.

7.4 Check you have the correct permission to apply for SFI26

You need to have the correct permission to apply for an SFI26 agreement for your business (SBI). To check this:

Sign in to the Rural Payments service
From ‘Business Overview’, select ‘Give people permission to act for this business’

You need to have one of the following permissions:

‘Business Details: Full’
‘BPS: Submit’
‘CS Applications: Submit’

If you do not have one of these permissions, you need to ask someone with ‘Business Details: Full’ permission to give you the correct permission.

If you want someone else to apply on your behalf, such as an agent, you need to:

check they’re registered with the RPA in the Rural Payments service
give them the correct permission to apply for an SFI26 agreement

Read the guidance on how to give or update permissions in the Rural Payments service.

Question 8

8. How to apply

Accepted Answer

You can apply for an SFI26 agreement online in the Rural Payments service.

From your ‘Business overview’ screen:

select ‘Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 2026 offer’, then ‘Apply for or manage an SFI26 agreement’
then click ‘Apply for a new agreement’ (on the ‘Applications and agreements’ screen)

To help you through the application process, we will publish:

a ‘how to apply online’ video
how to apply online guidance, to help you resolve common issues and enter lengths for linear SFI actions

If you have difficulty applying online, call the RPA for help on 03000 200 301 (Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm, except bank holidays).

You cannot amend your SFI26 application once you’ve submitted it.

Funding is not guaranteed even if an SFI26 application has been submitted and is eligible.

8.1 What the one SFI26 agreement per SBI limit means for your application

Each farm business, as identified by its SBI, can only have one SFI26 agreement. This applies across Windows 1 and 2.

This means that, once you’ve entered an SFI26 agreement, you cannot start another SFI26 application.

You can only start another SFI26 application (if applications are still open) if you:

withdraw your unsubmitted application, for example, to request updates to your digital maps
reject an SFI26 agreement offer

However, this is at your own risk, as SFI26 applications may close before you have submitted your new application.

8.2 What the maximum SFI26 agreement value limit means for your application

You can only apply for a maximum SFI26 agreement value of £100,000 per agreement year.

The SFI26 application service will prevent you from submitting an application which exceeds this £100,000 limit.

When the RPA processes your submitted SFI26 application, the annual agreement value may be reduced. For example, if you’ve applied for land or features, such as hedgerows, which are not eligible.

8.3 Applications which have been started but not submitted

You can save your SFI26 application and come back to it later. If you do not submit it, or SFI26 applications close, we reserve the right to delete it.

8.4 How and when RPA will offer you an SFI26 agreement

The RPA will offer SFI26 agreements in the Rural Payments service.

The RPA will tell you when your SFI26 agreement offer is ready for you to check. You can either accept or reject it.

We reserve the right to:

set a time limit for you to accept your agreement offer
withdraw your agreement offer if you do not accept it within that time limit

You will only be offered an SFI26 agreement if your application is eligible, and sufficient budget remains in the relevant application window to fund it.

8.4.1 Agreement offers for SSSI land

The RPA will not offer you an SFI26 agreement which includes SSSI land until you have given notice to Natural England to get SSSI consent.

If you accept your agreement offer, your SFI26 agreement can start before you receive SSSI consent from Natural England. However, you must not do your selected SFI actions on SSSI land until you receive SSSI consent. Read section 10.1 ‘SSSI consent’ for more information.

Question 9

9. About your SFI26 agreement

Accepted Answer

This section includes scheme rules which apply to SFI26 agreements.

An SFI26 agreement is a legally binding agreement between you and Defra. It consists of:

your SFI agreement document – which you can view in the Rural Payments service once you’ve accepted your SFI26 agreement offer
the SFI26 agreement terms and conditions – which are further explained in these scheme rules
the SFI actions you’ve selected – each SFI action on GOV.UK sets out the mandatory requirements you must follow (read section 4 ‘About SFI actions’ for more information)

9.1 What you’re agreeing to do

When you enter an SFI26 agreement, you’re agreeing to:

comply with the SFI26 agreement terms and conditions published on GOV.UK (see note)
complete the SFI actions you’ve selected, as referenced in your SFI agreement document and published on GOV.UK (see note)

Note: This will be the version published on GOV.UK when your SFI26 agreement started, unless the RPA offers you an updated SFI26 agreement. Read section 14.6 ‘When the RPA may change your SFI26 agreement’ for more information.

9.1.1 Obtain, maintain and comply with any regulatory consents

You’re also agreeing to obtain, maintain and comply with any regulatory consents which are required:

to comply with your SFI26 agreement’s obligations
for the protection of historic and archaeological features (including scheduled monuments), trees and SSSIs

Read section 10 ‘Get any regulatory consents before you do your SFI actions’ for more information.

9.1.2 Comply with all relevant law

You must comply with all relevant law that applies to you and your land when following your SFI26 agreement’s obligations. Read the guidance on ‘Rules for farmers and land managers’ for more information.

If any statutory legal requirements conflict with your SFI26 agreement’s obligations, you must comply with the law.

9.2 When your SFI26 agreement will start and end

You must comply with your SFI26 agreement from its start date until its end date (unless it’s ended early). This is called the ‘agreement period’.

The agreement period will be 3 years if all your SFI actions have a 3-year duration. If you only apply for organic conversion SFI actions, your agreement’s duration may be shorter (usually up to 2 years).

Usually, your SFI26 agreement will automatically start on the first day of the calendar month after you accept your agreement offer. You cannot select a different start date.

The start and end dates for your SFI26 agreement are shown in your agreement document (which you can view in the Rural Payments service).

Question 10

10. Get any regulatory consents before you do your SFI actions

Accepted Answer

This section includes scheme rules which apply to SFI26 agreements.

Before you do your selected SFI actions, you must get any relevant regulatory consents (including permits, permissions and licences) required by law. Your SFI26 agreement does not replace the need for regulatory consents.

It’s your responsibility to check if you need to get regulatory consents to lawfully carry out the activities to complete your SFI actions.

An SSSI is a statutory conservation designation made by Natural England to protect sites that support characteristic, rare and endangered species, habitats and natural features. You can check if your land is in an SSSI on the MAGIC website.

If SSSI land is eligible for an SFI action, it sets out that you must:

If you already have SSSI consent, you do not need to get consent again if the existing SSSI consent applies to:

the relevant SSSI land
the activities you’ll do to complete the relevant SFI action on the SSSI land for its 3-year duration

Read Annex C: SSSI consent for SFI actions on moorland (UPL1 to UPL10) and low input grassland (CLIG3) to find out:

what to do before you apply for these actions on SSSI land
what information you need to provide in your SSSI notice form for these actions

A ‘scheduled monument’ is a monument which has been scheduled for its national historical or archaeological interest. This means it’s protected by law against:

If land with historic or archaeological features (including scheduled monuments) is eligible for an SFI action, the action sets out that you must request an SFI HEFER from Historic England before you do the action on this land. Read section 5.4 ‘Land with historic or archaeological features’ for more information.

Your SFI HEFER identifies any scheduled monuments on your land. Before you do your SFI actions on land that’s a scheduled monument, you must get:

For guidance on activities which may affect scheduled monuments, read Historic England’s ‘Scheduled monuments – a guide for owners and occupiers’.

10.3 Other regulatory consents you may need to get

You may also need to get other regulatory consents, depending on what activities you’ll do to complete your selected SFI actions.

If a regulatory consent is required, you must get it before you do the relevant SFI actions. The following table lists some examples.

Table 3: Other regulatory consents

Activities you’ll do to complete your SFI actions	Regulatory consent you may need	Who to contact
Activities which change how you use your land from farming to something else	You may need to get planning permission	Contact your local planning authority or national park authority
Activities on land or buildings designated as a conservation area	You may need to get planning permission	Contact your local planning authority or national park authority
Activities on a listed building	You may need to get planning permission and listed building consent	Contact your local planning authority or national park authority
Activities which may disturb or affect protected wildlife species or disturb their habitats (for example, cleaning out a pond)	You may need to get an ‘individual’ wildlife licence (if the activities are not covered by a ‘general’ or ‘class’ wildlife licence)	Contact Natural England
Work on specific trees, groups of trees or woodland protected by a tree preservation order (TPO)	You may need to get consent for works on trees protected by a TPO	Contact your local planning authority or national park authority
Work on trees in a conservation area	You may need to give notification of proposed works to trees in conservation areas	Contact your local planning authority or national park authority
Removal of trees or woodland	You may need to get a felling licence	Contact the Forestry Commission
Conversion of agricultural land to woodland	You may need a forestry EIA	Contact the Forestry Commission
Removal of woodland cover to convert land to agricultural use	You may need a forestry EIA	Contact the Forestry Commission
Work on or near a ‘main river’	You may need a flood risk activity permit	Contact the Environment Agency
Work on or near an ‘ordinary watercourse’ (such as small rivers, streams and ditches)	You may need ordinary watercourse consent	Contact your local council or internal drainage board
Increase agricultural productivity of 2ha or more ‘uncultivated land’ or ‘semi-natural areas’ (see note)	You may need a ‘screening decision’ under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) (Agriculture) Regulations	Contact Natural England
Add, remove, move or change the nature of a field boundary that’s 4km long	You may need a ‘screening decision’ under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) (Agriculture) Regulations	Contact Natural England

Question 11

11. When and how much you’ll get paid

Accepted Answer

This section includes scheme rules which apply to SFI26 agreements.

Your SFI agreement document (which you can view in the Rural Payments service) sets out:

the total annual payment value you’ll receive for each year of your SFI26 agreement
the payment value for the entire duration (usually 3 years) of your SFI26 agreement

11.1 When you’ll be paid

Your SFI26 agreement’s total annual payment is paid in quarterly instalments.

The first instalment will usually be paid to you in the fourth month after your SFI26 agreement’s start date.

Each year of your SFI26 agreement, you must submit an annual declaration before you’re paid the fourth instalment. Read section 12.1 ‘Confirm you’re complying with your agreement’ for more information.

You’ll be paid by an automated BACS transfer. You do not have to claim your SFI26 agreement’s payments.

11.2 How your payment is calculated

Your SFI26 agreement’s total annual payment is based on what you’ve entered into your selected SFI actions (in hectares, metres or the number of features (such as ponds), as relevant).

You will not be paid:

an SFI management payment for your SFI26 agreement
under SFI for activities you’re already required to do by law

Question 12

12. Complying with your SFI26 agreement

Accepted Answer

This section includes scheme rules which apply to SFI26 agreements.

12.1 Confirm you’re complying with your agreement

Each year of your SFI26 agreement, you must confirm that you’ve complied, or expect to have complied, with your SFI agreement’s obligations for the relevant year. This is called an ‘annual declaration’.

You must submit your annual declaration by the date specified by the RPA (the ‘due date’). This will be within the last 2 months of the relevant agreement year.

The RPA will tell you when your annual declaration is available for you to complete in the Rural Payments service. They will use your registered business details to do this, so check these details are up to date. Read section 7.3 ‘Check your registered contact details are up to date’ for more information.

If you do not submit your annual declaration by the due date, the RPA may:

delay the fourth instalment of your payment for the relevant agreement year
consider it to be a breach of your SFI26 agreement

If you have not been able to comply with your SFI26 agreement’s obligations for the relevant agreement year, you cannot submit your annual declaration. Instead, you must tell the RPA what’s happened in writing as soon as possible. Read section 12.2 ‘What to do if you cannot comply with your agreement’.

12.2 What to do if you cannot comply with your agreement

Something may happen within or outside your control which might reasonably be expected to affect your ability to comply with your SFI26 agreement’s obligations. This is called a ‘change of circumstances’.

A change of circumstances includes something that may affect:

your eligibility to get paid
how much you’re paid
your ability to complete the SFI actions in your SFI26 agreement
your ability to comply with the SFI26 agreement terms and conditions

12.2.1 How to tell RPA about a change of circumstances

You must tell the RPA about a change of circumstances in writing as soon as possible. Preferably, this should be within 8 weeks of you being able to do so.

You can email or write to the RPA. Make sure you include the following information:

your SBI
your SFI agreement reference number (which you can find on your agreement document in the Rural Payments service)
as many details as possible about the change of circumstances, including specific details about any SFI actions you cannot complete (where relevant)

12.2.2 What action RPA may take

The RPA will look at each change of circumstances on a case-by-case basis. Depending on what’s happened, they may take one or more of the following actions:

temporarily or permanently amend, remove or replace a rule which you must usually meet to get paid under your SFI agreement
temporarily or permanently amend, remove or replace your SFI actions or timescales
temporarily or permanently reduce the payments for your SFI agreement
require you to repay some or all of the payments you’ve already received
end your SFI agreement early (before your agreement’s end date)

The RPA will write to you within a reasonable period to:

inform you of their decision to take any of the available actions
explain the reasons for their decision

12.2.3 If you do not agree with RPA’s decision

If you do not agree with the RPA’s decision, you can use the RPA’s complaints procedure to ask for it to be reconsidered. You must do this within 60 calendar days of the date the RPA notifies you of their decision.

The RPA will:

consider your request to reconsider their decision, including any information or evidence you have provided to them
write to tell you the outcome of their reconsideration, with reasons, within a reasonable period

If you do not agree with the outcome of the RPA’s reconsideration, you can appeal it within 60 days of the date the RPA notifies you of the outcome. You can only do this if you believe the outcome:

was based on an error of fact
was wrong in law
there has been a material procedural error

The RPA will write to you to confirm the outcome of your appeal within a reasonable period, explaining the reasons. This will be the RPA’s final determination.

12.3 How RPA may check you’re complying with your agreement

During your SFI26 agreement’s duration, the RPA may check that:

you’re complying with the SFI26 agreement terms and conditions
you’ve completed what’s required in each of your selected SFI actions in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve the action’s aim

If you are unable to comply with your SFI26 agreement, the RPA will support and advise you to help you resolve the issue, where possible.

The RPA may use a combination of the following approaches to check you’re complying with your SFI26 agreement.

12.3.1 Physical or virtual site visits

The RPA may select your farm or land for a site visit. If they do, you must:

allow the RPA field officer to carry out the site visit
provide any help reasonably requested by the field officer during the site visit
supply any information or evidence the field officer asks for to confirm you’re complying with your SFI agreement’s requirements

The RPA will try to agree a suitable date and time with you for the site visit.

If it’s not possible to agree a suitable date and time, the RPA will give you at least 48 hours’ notice before the site visit. They will do this in writing (by email or post) to:

explain the purpose of the site visit
tell you the date and time

The RPA may not give you any advance notice of a site visit if they reasonably suspect that you’ve committed:

a serious breach of your SFI agreement
fraud
any other related offence

12.3.2 Remote monitoring

The RPA uses aerial photography and satellite imagery to carry out remote monitoring of the land that’s in your SFI agreement. This can help to reduce the need for physical site visits.

Remote monitoring can be used to check land cover, vegetation and soil erosion risk, so the RPA can:

make sure you’re doing your SFI actions in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve their aims
identify potential issues and give you targeted support

12.3.3 Desk-based administrative checks

The RPA carries out desk-based administrative checks to make sure you’re meeting your SFI agreement’s obligations. For example, checking supporting evidence you’ve been asked to provide.

12.4 Keep supporting evidence to show you’re complying with your agreement

You must keep evidence to show you’ve complied with your SFI26 agreement’s obligations. This includes any evidence required by your selected SFI actions, such as field operations and associated invoices.

You must keep this evidence for at least 7 years from your SFI26 agreement’s end date, or its termination date if that’s earlier.

The RPA may ask you to provide this supporting evidence when they’re checking you’re complying with your SFI26 agreement’s obligations. For example, evidence that you have management control of the land in your SFI26 agreement.

You must provide this evidence if the RPA asks for it.

Question 13

13. What happens if you breach your SFI26 agreement

Accepted Answer

This section includes scheme rules which apply to SFI26 agreements.

When the RPA checks if you’re complying with your SFI26 agreement, they may reasonably suspect that you have breached your agreement.

The RPA will support and advise you to help you resolve the issue, where possible.

13.1 How you could breach your agreement

You could breach your SFI26 agreement if, for example, you have:

not notified the RPA of a change of circumstances
not provided the required evidence to the RPA when they asked for it
prevented an RPA field officer from carrying out a virtual or physical site visit of your agreement land, refused to assist them, or otherwise obstructed a virtual or physical site visit
failed to comply with the SFI26 agreement terms and conditions
given the RPA false or misleading information at any time

This includes certain breaches caused by your employees or agents acting on your behalf.

13.2 If RPA suspects there may have been a breach

If the RPA reasonably suspects that you’ve breached your SFI26 agreement, they will:

carry out a proportionate investigation – they will not usually withhold your payments whilst they complete their investigation
discuss their investigation with you, where possible, so you understand what they found
consider any ‘good reasons’ for the suspected breach (read section 13.6 ‘Good reasons for a breach’ for more information)

The RPA may also ask you to provide more information or evidence.

Once the RPA has completed their investigation, they’ll write to you within a reasonable period to tell you:

the outcome of their investigation
how you can respond to the outcome if you do not agree with it – including the deadline for submitting your response in writing

The RPA will consider your response before making a formal decision (known as a ‘determination’) about whether you have breached your SFI agreement.

13.3 If RPA confirms there’s been a breach

If the RPA’s determination is that you’ve breached your SFI26 agreement, they will:

write to inform you of this within a reasonable period
explain the reasons for their determination
decide what action needs to be taken, if any – read section 13.5 ‘Action RPA may take if there’s been a breach’ for more information

13.4 If you do not agree with RPA’s decision

If you do not agree with the RPA’s determination that there’s been a breach, you can use the RPA’s complaints procedure to ask for it to be reconsidered. You must do this within 60 calendar days of the date the RPA notifies you of their determination.

The RPA will:

consider your request to reconsider their determination, including any information or evidence you have provided to them
write to tell you the outcome of their reconsideration, with reasons, within a reasonable period

If you do not agree with the outcome of the RPA’s reconsideration, you can appeal it within 60 days of the date the RPA notifies you of the outcome. You can only do this if you consider the outcome of the reconsideration:

was based on an error of fact
was wrong in law
is because there has been a material procedural error

The RPA will write to you to confirm the outcome of your appeal within a reasonable period, explaining the reasons. This will be the RPA’s final determination.

13.5 Action RPA may take if there’s a breach

There are no set actions that the RPA will take for particular breaches of your SFI26 agreement.

To decide what action to take, the RPA will assess the individual circumstances of your case, including factors such as:

how serious the breach was
if you had a ‘good reason’ for the breach – read section 13.6 ‘Good reasons for a breach’
why the breach happened and any consequences it may have
what impact the breach has on achieving the aims of the SFI actions in your agreement, and whether that impact will be short or longer term
if you can take action to make sure you are complying with your agreement’s requirements
any past conduct and whether a similar breach has happened before
if you intentionally breached your agreement
whether the breach constitutes an offence and has caused widespread or irreparable damage
if you have not co-operated with the RPA when they were checking whether you’re complying with your agreement
if you notified the RPA about a ‘change of circumstances’ (if applicable) – read section 12.2 ‘What to do if you cannot comply with your agreement’ for more information

The RPA may decide that no action is needed because:

of the nature of the breach
you’ve provided evidence to them of a ‘good reason’ for the breach

If the RPA decides action is needed, they may:

allow you to rectify the breach
issue you with a warning letter
temporarily or permanently amend, remove or replace a condition subject to which your agreement’s payments are made to you
temporarily or permanently amend, remove or replace your SFI actions or timescales
delay, reduce, recover or withhold payments or require you to repay some or all the payments you’ve already received

The RPA may decide that there’s been a serious breach because it:

was intentional
was due to negligence or recklessness
has happened more than once without ‘good reason’

If there’s been a serious breach, the RPA may:

end your SFI agreement before its end date
prohibit you from receiving payments under any financial assistance schemes for up to 2 years

Where there is evidence of fraud or illegality, the RPA will follow the relevant legal process.

13.6 Good reasons for a breach

There may be circumstances (a ‘good reason’) where you breach your SFI agreement because of events outside of your control.

Good reasons for a breach include, but are not limited to:

natural events, such as prolonged adverse weather conditions, flooding, or animal or plant disease
if you are seriously ill
the death of the agreement holder
unforeseen loss of management control of your agreement land – for example, when a tenancy is terminated, or because of the compulsory purchase of land by a third party
financial circumstances, such as bankruptcy
evidenced supply chain problems, such as a lack of laboratory soil testing capacity
criminal damage by a third party, such as arson or vandalism

The RPA will also take ‘good reasons’ into account when they investigate a suspected breach of your agreement. Read section 13.2 ‘If the RPA suspects there may have been a breach’ for more information.

If you knew about the issue when you entered your SFI26 agreement, it’s unlikely the RPA will consider it to be a ‘good reason’ for a breach.

13.6.1 How to tell RPA about good reasons for a breach

If there’s a ‘good reason’ for the breach of your SFI26 agreement, you (or someone authorised to act on your behalf) must email or write to the RPA to explain this.

You must email or write to the RPA immediately if your ‘good reason’ is for a breach which has happened because you:

prevented an RPA field officer from carrying out a virtual or physical site visit of your agreement land
refused a reasonably request to assist the RPA field officer during the virtual or physical site visit
otherwise obstructed a virtual or physical site visit

In all other cases, you must email or write to the RPA within 8 weeks from the date that either:

you’re able to
the RPA notifies you of their determination that you’ve breached your SFI26 agreement

Make sure you include the following information when you email or write to the RPA:

your SBI
your SFI agreement reference number (which you can find on your agreement document in the Rural Payments service)
as many details as possible about the ‘good reason’ for the breach

The RPA will consider your individual circumstances to decide:

whether there’s a good reason for the breach of your SFI26 agreement – they may ask you to provide further evidence
what action, if any, they will take – they will write to tell you about their decision

Question 14

14. Changes to your SFI26 agreement

Accepted Answer

This section includes scheme rules which apply to SFI26 agreements.

Once you’ve entered your SFI26 agreement, there are only certain changes that you or the RPA can make to it during the ‘agreement period’ (usually 3 years).

14.1 Add SFI actions or land to your agreement

You cannot usually add SFI actions or land to your SFI26 agreement.

The only exception to this is if your SFI26 agreement includes rotational SFI actions. Read section 4.3 ‘Rotational SFI actions’ for more information.

14.2 Remove SFI actions from your agreement

The RPA will not usually allow you to remove SFI actions from your SFI26 agreement, unless they agree there’s been a ‘change of circumstances’.

Read section 12.2 ‘What to do if you cannot comply with your agreement’ for more information.

14.3 Remove land from your agreement

The RPA will not usually allow you to remove land from your SFI26 agreement, unless either:

they agree there’s been a ‘change of circumstances’ (read section 12.2 ‘What to do if you cannot comply with your agreement’)
you want to reduce the area entered into rotational SFI actions for the relevant agreement year (read section 4.3 ‘Rotational SFI actions’)

14.4 End your agreement early

The RPA will not usually allow you to end your SFI26 agreement early, unless either:

they agree there’s been a ‘change of circumstances’ (read section 12.2 ‘What to do if you cannot comply with your agreement’)
they need to change your agreement due to ‘exceptional circumstances’ (such as, changes in law or disease outbreaks) and this change is unacceptable to you

14.5 Transfer land in your agreement to someone else

If you sell, lease or otherwise transfer all or part of your agreement land to someone else during the agreement period:

you will no longer have management control of that land – you must tell the RPA about this in writing as soon as possible (read section 12.2 ‘What to do if you cannot comply with your agreement’)
the RPA will not usually allow you to transfer your SFI26 agreement to the new occupier – for example, the purchaser or new tenant
the RPA will remove the affected land from your SFI26 agreement

14.6 When RPA may change your agreement

The RPA will not usually change your SFI26 agreement during its agreement period.

However, they can change your agreement if:

you’ve notified them of a ‘change of circumstances’ – read section 12.2 ‘What to do if you cannot comply with your agreement’
there’s been a breach of your agreement – read section 13.1 ‘How you could breach your agreement’

They can also:

offer you an updated agreement
change your agreement if there are ‘exceptional circumstances’
make a temporary adjustment to the SFI actions in your agreement
end your agreement early

The following information explains each of these changes.

14.7 When RPA may offer you an updated agreement

The RPA may offer you an updated SFI26 agreement if they make changes to, for example:

the SFI26 agreement terms and conditions
the SFI actions in your agreement

If the RPA offer you an updated agreement with a change which they consider is beneficial to you (such as an increased payment rate):

they will publish details of the change on GOV.UK
they will notify you in writing setting out details of the change, including the date your updated agreement will apply from
your updated agreement will apply from the date the RPA tells you, unless you reject it – to do this, you must write to the RPA within 8 weeks of their notification

If the RPA offer you an updated agreement with a change which is not beneficial to you:

they will notify you in writing setting out details of the change
you can either accept the updated agreement or continue with your existing agreement
if you do not accept the updated agreement, your existing agreement will continue

14.8 Changes because of exceptional circumstances

The RPA may have to change your SFI26 agreement in response to ‘exceptional circumstances’, such as:

changes in the law which must be reflected in your agreement
the need to respond to wider government emergency measures or vital national interest measures – for example, disease outbreaks or food security emergencies

If this happens:

the RPA will notify you in writing, giving as much notice as possible
the change to your SFI agreement will apply from the date specified by the RPA in their notice, provided you do what’s required in their notification

In this case, your agreement can be ended early by:

you, if the change is unacceptable to you – to do this, you must write to the RPA by the deadline they specify in their notification
the RPA, if you do not accept the change in the manner set out in their notification

In both these cases, you’ll be able to keep the SFI payments already paid to you, provided you are not in breach of the agreement.

14.9 Temporary adjustment to SFI actions

The RPA may identify factors (such as adverse weather conditions) which may temporarily:

affect your ability to complete the SFI actions in your agreement
mean you are unable to comply with your SFI26 agreement’s obligations

If this happens, the RPA may make a temporary adjustment to the SFI actions in your SFI26 agreement. You can choose whether to comply with the temporary adjustment.

The RPA will publish details of any temporary adjustment to the SFI actions on GOV.UK, giving you as much notice as possible. These details will include:

what the temporary adjustment is and which SFI actions it applies to
the start and end dates for the temporary adjustment – after its end date, you must complete your SFI actions as if the temporary adjustment no longer applies
the evidence you must keep if you choose to comply with the temporary adjustment – you must provide this evidence if the RPA asks for it

14.10 When RPA may end your agreement early

The RPA may end your SFI26 agreement immediately if:

you were not eligible to enter the agreement or receive SFI payments
there’s been a change of circumstances which means you are no longer eligible to receive your SFI payments
they’ve made a ‘determination’ that there’s been a breach of your agreement
you have not repaid SFI payments you’ve already received which they’ve asked you to repay because there’s been a breach of your agreement

In addition, the RPA may end your agreement early (before its end date) at any time by giving you at least 6 months’ written notice.

If the RPA ends your agreement:

immediately, they may require you to repay some or all of the SFI payments already paid to you
with at least 6 months’ notice, you’ll be able to keep the SFI payments already paid to you, provided you are not in breach of your agreement

Question 15

15. Contact the RPA

Accepted Answer

If you have a general question about SFI, contact RPA by:

If you need to raise a specific query about your application, follow the guidance on how to contact RPA about SFI.

Question 16

Annex A: Summary of the SFI26 actions

Accepted Answer

The following information includes a summary of the SFI actions which are currently available.

Most SFI26 actions have a 3-year duration, apart from some organic conversion actions which have a shorter duration. This is identified in ‘SFI actions for organic land’.

SFI actions for agroforestry

Code	Action	Annual payment
AGF1	Maintain very low density in-field agroforestry on less sensitive land	£248 per hectare
AGF2	Maintain low density in-field agroforestry on less sensitive land	£385 per hectare

SFI actions for boundary features

Code	Action	Annual payment
CHRW2	Manage hedgerows	£13 per 100m for one side
BND1	Maintain dry stone walls	£27 per 100m for both sides
BND2	Maintain earth banks or stone-faced hedgebanks	£11 per 100m for one side

SFI actions for buffer strips

Code	Action	Annual payment
CAHL4	4m to 12m grass buffer strip on arable and horticultural land	£515 per hectare
CIGL3	4m to 12m grass buffer strip on improved grassland	£235 per hectare
BFS1	12m to 24m watercourse buffer strip on cultivated land	£707 per hectare
BFS6	6m to 12m habitat strip next to watercourses	£742 per hectare

SFI actions for farmland wildlife on arable and horticultural land

Code	Action	Annual payment
CAHL1	Pollen and nectar flower mix	£739 per hectare
CAHL2	Winter bird food on arable and horticultural land	£648 per hectare
CAHL3	Grassy field corners or blocks	£590 per hectare
AHW2	Supplementary winter bird food	£732 per tonne (maximum 1 tonne for every 2 hectares of CAHL2)
AHW3	Beetle banks	£764 per hectare
AHW4	Skylark plots	£11 per plot (minimum 2 plots)
AHW5	Nesting plots for lapwing	£765 per hectare
AHW6	Basic overwinter stubble	£58 per hectare
AHW7	Enhanced overwinter stubble	£589 per hectare
AHW8	Whole crop spring cereals and overwinter stubble	£596 per hectare
AHW9	Unharvested cereal headland	£1,072 per hectare
AHW10	Low input harvested cereal crop	£354 per hectare
AHW11	Cultivated areas for arable plants	£660 per hectare

SFI actions for farmland wildlife and habitats on grassland

Code	Action	Annual payment
CIGL1	Take grassland field corners or blocks out of management	£333 per hectare
CIGL2	Winter bird food on improved grassland	£515 per hectare
CLIG3	Manage grassland with very low nutrient inputs	£151 per hectare
GRH7	Supplement: Haymaking	£157 per hectare
GRH8	Supplement: Haymaking (late cut)	£187 per hectare
GRH10	Supplement: Lenient grazing	£28 per hectare
GRH12	Manage rough grassland for upland breeding waders (instead of GRH1: Manage rough grazing for birds which was available in the SFI24 offer)	£203 per hectare
SCR1	Create scrub and open habitat mosaics	£588 per hectare
SCR2	Manage scrub and open habitat mosaics	£350 per hectare

SFI actions for heritage

Code	Action	Annual payment
HEF1	Maintain weatherproof traditional farm or forestry buildings	£5 per square metre
HEF6	Manage historic and archaeological features on grassland	£55 per hectare

SFI actions for integrated pest management

Code	Action	Annual payment
CIPM2	Flower-rich grass margins, blocks or in-field strips	£798 per hectare
CIPM3	Companion crop on arable and horticultural land	£55 per hectare
CIPM4	No use of insecticide on arable crops and permanent crops	£45 per hectare

SFI actions for moorland

Code	Action	Annual payment
UPL1	Moderate livestock grazing on moorland	£35 per hectare
UPL2	Low livestock grazing on moorland	£89 per hectare
UPL3	Limited livestock grazing on moorland	£111 per hectare
UPL5	Supplement: Keep cattle and ponies on moorland (minimum 70% GLU)	£18 per hectare
UPL6	Supplement: Keep cattle and ponies on moorland (100% GLU)	£23 per hectare
UPL8	Shepherding livestock on moorland (remove stock for at least 4 months)	£74 per hectare
UPL10	Shepherding livestock on moorland (remove stock for at least 8 months)	£102 per hectare

SFI actions for nutrient management

Code	Action	Annual payment
CNUM2	Legumes on improved grassland	£102 per hectare
CNUM3	Legume fallow	£532 per hectare

SFI actions for organic farming

Code	Action	Annual payment	Action’s duration
OFC1	Organic conversion – improved permanent grassland	£187 per hectare	1 year (maximum of 2 consecutive years)
OFC2	Organic conversion – unimproved permanent grassland	£96 per hectare	1 year (maximum of 2 consecutive years)
OFC3	Organic conversion – rotational land	£298 per hectare	1 year (maximum of 2 consecutive years)
OFC4	Organic conversion – horticultural land	£874 per hectare	1 year (maximum of 2 consecutive years)
OFC5	Organic conversion – top fruit	£1,920 per hectare	1 year (maximum of 3 consecutive years)
OFM1	Organic land management – improved permanent grassland	£20 per hectare	3 years
OFM2	Organic land management – unimproved permanent grassland	£41 per hectare	3 years
OFM3	Organic land management – enclosed rough grazing	£97 per hectare	3 years
OFM4	Organic land management – rotational land	£132 per hectare	3 years
OFM5	Organic land management – horticultural land	£707 per hectare	3 years
OFM6	Organic land management – top fruit	£1,920 per hectare	3 years

SFI actions for precision farming

Code	Action	Annual payment
PRF1	Variable rate application of nutrients	£27 per hectare
PRF2	Camera or remote sensor guided herbicide spraying	£43 per hectare
PRF4	Mechanical robotic weeding	£150 per hectare

SFI actions for soil health

Code	Action	Annual payment
CSAM2	Multi-species winter cover crop	£129 per hectare
CSAM3	Herbal leys	£224 per hectare
SOH1	No-till farming	£73 per hectare
SOH3	Multi-species summer-sown cover crop	£163 per hectare

SFI actions for species recovery and management

Code	Action	Annual payment
SPM3	Supplement: Keep native breeds on grazed habitats (more than 80%)	£146 per hectare
SPM5	Supplement: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats (more than 80%)	£11 per hectare

SFI actions for waterbodies

Code	Action	Annual payment
WBD1	Manage ponds	£257 per pond (maximum of 3 ponds per hectare)
WBD2	Manage ditches	£4 per 100m for both sides
WBD3	In-field grass strips	£765 per hectare
WBD4	Arable reversion to grassland with low fertiliser input	£489 per hectare
WBD6	Remove livestock from intensive grassland during the autumn and winter (outside SDAs)	£115 per hectare
WBD7	Remove livestock from grassland during the autumn and winter (SDAs)	£115 per hectare

Question 17

Annex B: Registered land covers and compatible land use codes

Accepted Answer

Tables B1 and B2 explain the:

agricultural and non-agricultural land covers registered by the RPA on your digital maps – there may be more than one land cover in each land parcel
land use codes which are compatible with each registered land cover

Read section 5.1.2 ‘Eligible land covers and compatible land uses’ for more information.

Table B1: Agricultural land covers

Registered agricultural land covers	Compatible land use codes
Arable land	Land use codes for arable crops
Arable land	Land use codes for leguminous and nitrogen-fixing crops
Arable land	TG01 (temporary grassland)
Arable land	FA01 (fallow)
Permanent grassland	PG01
Permanent crops	Land use codes for permanent crops

Table B2: Non-agricultural land covers

Registered non-agricultural land covers	Compatible land use codes
Airstrip or airports	MT05
Bog	IW07
Cliffs	CF01
Drain, ditch, dyke	WF01
Drain, ditch, dyke on a boundary	IW11
Farm building	AB01
Farmyards	AB09
Fen marsh and swamp	IW06
Gallop	NT01
General utility	UT06
Glasshouse	AB06
Golf course	RL04
Hard standing	HS01
Heath land and bracken – ungrazeable	HE02
Heap	HE03
Intertidal habitats	MW04
Metalled track	MT01
Mineral extraction site	MS04
Non-agricultural area	NA02
Non-utilised Bank	PL01
Notional – rock	NF01
Notional - bracken	NF02
Notional - scrub	NF03
Notional - trees	NF04
Notional - water	NF05
Notional – natural	NF06
Notional - manmade	NF07
Notional - mixed	NF08
Peat production	CM01
Pond	WF03
Railway	MT04
Real estate services	ES01
Reed beds	MW03
Residential gardens	WO17
Residential dwelling, house	NR01
River/Stream on a boundary	IW01
Rivers and Streams type 2	IW02
Rivers and Streams type 3	IW03
Roads	MT03
Salt marsh – ungrazeable	MW01
Sand dunes	CF03
Saline habitats	MW05
Scree	RO02
Scrub – ungrazeable	WO25
Shelter on bare soil	AB03
Shingle	IW05
Solar panels	UT01
Sports and recreation	RL03
Storage area	SA02
Structure	ST05
Tidal areas	MW02
Track – natural surface	NT03
Turf production	CM02
Uncropped	PL02
Vegetated shingle	CF02
Water treatment works	UT07
Woodland	WO12

Question 18

Annex C: SSSI consent for SFI actions for moorland (UPL1 to UPL10) and low input grassland (CLIG3)

Accepted Answer

Before you apply for certain SFI actions for moorland (UPL1 to UPL10) or CLIG3 (Manage grassland with very low nutrient inputs) on SSSI land, it’s advisable that you either:

speak to Natural England about the activities you’re proposing to do to complete the SFI action
get other expert advice on your proposed management of the SSSI land to complete the SFI action

This will allow you to:

make sure the activities (including grazing and shepherding, where relevant) are appropriate for the relevant type of SSSI habitat and its condition
get an indication of the activities Natural England are likely to give you SSSI consent for

When you give notice to Natural England to get SSSI consent you need to provide detailed information on:

the activities you intend to do on the SSSI land to complete the SFI actions for moorland or CLIG3 for their 3-year duration
how and when you intend to carry out those activities

For the SFI actions for moorland, the information you provide in your SSSI consent notice form needs to include:

detailed stocking information – this can be a completed stocking calendar (including stock types and minimum and maximum stock numbers) or detailed stocking levels
the location of any mineral licks
how you’ll complete shepherding activities (where relevant)

For CLIG3, the information you provide in your SSSI consent notice form needs to include (where relevant):

any nutrients you’re intending to apply (as Natural England will not usually give SSSI consent for this)
stock types and numbers, including the timing of grazing activities
timing of cutting management
scrub management or control activities
supplementary feeding methods and locations
weed control methods

What to do if you want to change your stocking levels or management activities

If you want to change your stocking levels or management activities during the relevant SFI action’s 3-year duration, you need to check if you’re required to get additional SSSI consent.

If additional SSSI consent is:

required, you must get it from Natural England before you make any changes to your stocking levels or management activities
not required, you need to tell Natural England about the changes ‘for information only’ by emailing protectedsites@naturalengland.org.uk

Cookies on GOV.UK

Applies to England

1. Overview of the Sustainable Farming Incentive

1.1 Read the rules which apply to SFI26 agreements

Rules for existing SFI23 and SFI24 agreements

1.2 Main changes for SFI26

2. When you can apply

2.1 Window closure

2.2 SFI26 agreement limits

3. Check if you’re eligible to apply

3.1 Eligibility requirements which apply to all SFI26 applicants

3.2 Additional applicant eligibility requirements for Window 1

3.2.1 Definition of small farms

3.2.2 Definition of farms without an existing ELM revenue agreement

3.3 Additional applicant eligibility requirement for Window 2

3.4 Definition of agricultural land for SFI26 applicant eligibility

3.5 If you’ve received a Lump Sum Exit Scheme payment

3.6 If you receive delinked payments

3.7 Eligibility of public bodies

4. About SFI actions

4.1 Where you can find the SFI26 actions

4.2 What’s explained in each SFI26 action

4.3 Rotational SFI actions

4.3.1 Maximum area limit for SFI26 agreements

4.3.2 Rotational actions declaration

4.4 Static SFI actions

4.5 Limited area SFI actions

4.6 Supplemental SFI actions

4.7 Organic-specific SFI actions

4.8 Agreement level SFI actions

5. Check your land is eligible for SFI actions

5.1 Eligible land for area-based SFI actions

5.1.1 Eligible land types

Table 1: Definitions of land types for SFI

5.1.2 Eligible land covers and compatible land uses

Table 2: Differences between land covers and land uses

5.1.3 Available area you can enter into area-based SFI actions

5.2 Eligible landscape features for feature-based SFI actions

5.3 Land with historic or archaeological features

5.3.1 How to request an SFI HEFER

5.3.2 Completing SFI actions on land with historic or archaeological features

5.4 Land that’s a site of special scientific interest (SSSI)

5.5 Land that’s conditionally exempt from Inheritance Tax

5.6 Land that’s already in other funding schemes or grants

5.6.1 ‘Stacking’ other actions or options on the same area

5.6.2 ‘Co-locating’ other actions or options in the same land parcel

5.6.3 Eligibility of land in private sector schemes

6. Check you’ll have management control of the land

6.1 Who has management control

6.2 Who does not have management control

6.3 Land you occupy under a tenancy agreement

6.4 Land you access under a licence

6.5 If you lose management control

7. Get ready to apply

7.1 Register your business with the RPA (Window 2 only)

7.2 Check your digital maps show the correct land details

7.3 Check your registered contact details are up to date

7.4 Check you have the correct permission to apply for SFI26

8. How to apply

8.1 What the one SFI26 agreement per SBI limit means for your application

8.2 What the maximum SFI26 agreement value limit means for your application

8.3 Applications which have been started but not submitted

8.4 How and when RPA will offer you an SFI26 agreement

8.4.1 Agreement offers for SSSI land

9. About your SFI26 agreement

9.1 What you’re agreeing to do

9.1.1 Obtain, maintain and comply with any regulatory consents

9.1.2 Comply with all relevant law

9.2 When your SFI26 agreement will start and end

10. Get any regulatory consents before you do your SFI actions

10.1 SSSI consent

10.2 Scheduled monument consent

10.3 Other regulatory consents you may need to get

Table 3: Other regulatory consents

11. When and how much you’ll get paid

11.1 When you’ll be paid

11.2 How your payment is calculated

12. Complying with your SFI26 agreement

12.1 Confirm you’re complying with your agreement

12.2 What to do if you cannot comply with your agreement