Sustainable Farming Incentive & Capital Grants 2026 – everything you need to know to apply
Date Published: 17th June 2026
The Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026 will reopen on 30th June. We know from our annual survey this year that ⅓ of our CSA farm members receive SFI payments so we hope that sharing this information will be useful to those of you that are interested in applying.
There are 2 application windows this year
There will be 2 application windows this year. Application window 1 opens 30th June 2026. Application window 2 will open in September. If you plan to apply this year we recommend applying early. The June window will close either when they allocate the June window budget or two calendar months after the window opens.
Application window 1 opening 30th June is for small farms, which is defined as any farm business between 3-50 hectares. And for farms without existing ELMs agreements. However the farm business must have been registered with the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) so had an SBI (single business identifier) with some agricultural land linked to it by 1 January 2026.
From what we understand if you fit the eligibility above but do not yet have an SBI with the RPA, you can sign up now and apply for window 2 in September instead.
Application window 2 opening some point in September, your farm business needs to be registered with the RPA (so it has an SBI) at the point you want to start an application.
A note on the minimum 3-hectare limit: If you rent land from a larger site, it may be worth exploring SFI options with your landlord as part of a larger farm application. We continue to request this limit is dropped in our ongoing conversations with Defra.
Steps to take now to be ready to submit an application:
Resources to understand more and to make your application:
Capital Grants
Capital Grants payments are separate and will open in July. Again we recommend you apply as soon as possible as funding is on a limited, first-come first-serve basis.
Relevant to most CSAs within this is the VED1: Educational access visits payment. They are paid at £363 per visit to a maximum of £9,075 per year.
Although there is no minimum 3 hectare land size limit like with SFI, frustratingly you need to have a separate agri-environment or woodland agreement. Have an SBI (Single Business Identifier), have access to the Rural Payments Service.
We are campaigning Defra to reward all CSAs and market gardens for hosting educational and community visits.
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