February 27, 2026 | Source: Landworker’s Alliance

The newest version of the SFI scheme for 2026 has just been announced by Defra. Following the early and abrupt closure of the SFI scheme in March 2025, the new scheme has been adjusted to ensure that it doesn’t run out of money and won’t find itself in the same situation as it did last year; an announcement which left many farmers, our members included, in the lurch.

With a shrinking farming budget, big changes had to be made with the new SFI offer. One key change is that Defra are now trying to prioritise small farms, and are therefore opening a priority application window for small farms under 50ha in July 2026, before the window for larger farms opens in September. They have also introduced a cap on payments of £100,000 to ensure that large farms do not take more than their fair share of payments. This is something that we have been calling for for many years, and we therefore welcome this change.

Despite these moves to give smaller farms a fair chance, we are seriously disappointed that a minimum 3ha area-based eligibility threshold has been reintroduced for this next round. 

In July 2024 we celebrated Defra’s decision to remove the longstanding 5ha eligibility threshold leftover from EU agricultural policy, and while the new eligibility threshold has been reintroduced as 3ha and over, it is still a huge step back in the wrong direction and undoes years of work and campaigning from the LWA and allied organisations.