02 Jun 2026 SFI opens on 30 June for small farms and those without an ELMS agreement

Defra expect to open the first application window for SFI 2026 on 30 June 2026 for 2 groups: 

• small farms   
• farms without an existing Environmental Land Management (ELM) revenue agreement 

They will invite a small number of farmers who are eligible for Window 1 to apply from around 18 June. This is to test and refine the application service in a controlled way. A second application window for all farms will open in September.

The SFI26 offer is an iterated version of the 2024 scheme and near-final information is now available. Most features remain the same, so it should look and feel familiar if you’ve applied before. Some improvements have been made to simplify and streamline the offer. Read more on this Defra blog post.