Newer article: Window 1 is closed and the offers are landing — you get 30 days to accept yours
Tomorrow night is the line. DEFRA has confirmed that Window 1 of the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026 "will close no later than 11:59pm on 28 August 2026". We flagged the date a fortnight ago, along with the reason it could have come sooner: the window was capped at £60 million, and it closes when the money goes, whichever comes first.
If you missed it, you have not missed much
That is not a consolation line, it is the arithmetic. Window 2 opens in September with £180 million — three times the size of Window 1 — plus any of the £60 million that Window 1 does not allocate. DEFRA has not fixed the opening date yet; it says the date will be confirmed once Window 1 has closed. So the useful thing to do this week is not to panic-apply, it is to have your details straight for September.
For a sense of how the first window actually moved: the Rural Payments Agency had offered 1,188 agreements, of which 922 had been accepted by 31 July, letting those agreements start on 1 August.
The new bit: early applications for expiring agreements
This one is easy to miss and it matters to a lot of people. If you hold an ELM revenue agreement that expires on or before 28 February 2027, you will be able to apply early in Window 2 for the land currently in that agreement. That option was not there before. In plain terms: the awkward gap between one agreement ending and the next one starting is what DEFRA is trying to close, and you no longer have to sit out a window to do it tidily.
What to have ready for September
Nothing exotic — the same groundwork that made Window 1 applications quick. Your land parcels and areas straight in the Rural Payments service, a clear head about which actions genuinely fit the way you farm, and the numbers behind the ones that touch nutrients or grassland. If you want to see what a nutrient action would mean on a given field before committing to it for three years, our Fertiliser & Nutrient Calculator gives you the RB209 baseline free, and the NVZ Compliance Calculator covers the stocking and storage side. Our walkthrough of how an SFI26 application works is still current.
Sources
- DEFRA Farming Blog — SFI26: an update (5 August 2026)
- DEFRA Farming Blog — SFI26: Window 1 now open (30 June 2026)
- GOV.UK — Funding for farmers, growers and land managers
This is a summary, not advice. Scheme rules, eligibility and payment rates are set out in the official SFI26 guidance — read it in full before applying.