There is now a latest possible date: DEFRA's update on 5 August says Window 1 will close no later than 11:59pm on 28 August 2026. Read that carefully — it is a backstop, not a promise: the original rule still stands, and if the £60 million is fully allocated before the 28th, the window closes sooner. So 28 August is the date you must not plan beyond, not a date you can safely plan for.
Where the £60m has got to
DEFRA reports 1,188 agreements offered so far, of which 922 had been accepted by 31 July, letting those farms start on 1 August. Roughly two-thirds of farmers accept their offer within two days of getting it — which tells you the offers are landing on people who already knew what they wanted.
If you are eligible now, do not wait for Window 2
Window 1 holds £60 million. Window 2 opens in September 2026 with £180 million plus whatever Window 1 does not spend, and is open to all farmers and land managers — but the exact opening date will only be confirmed after Window 1 closes. If you qualify for Window 1 (small farms and businesses without a live RPA-administered ELM revenue agreement — the detail is in our Window 1 explainer), applying now means a decision this month rather than an unknown date and a much larger pool of competitors.
New: an early start if your current agreement is ending
Worth knowing for Window 2 — farmers whose ELM revenue agreements expire by 28 February 2027 will be able to begin an SFI26 application early, covering land that is still inside the existing agreement before it expires. That removes the awkward gap between one agreement ending and the next starting.
Two things that quietly block an offer
SSSI land: if any of your land is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, you must submit the required SSSI notice and get Natural England's consent — the RPA cannot offer you an agreement until that is done. DEFRA's advice is to do it as soon as possible, and with at most three weeks left that is not a formality to leave until the end.
Your maps: check every land parcel appears in the Rural Payments service with the right area and land cover before you start. Mapping corrections are the classic reason an application stalls past a deadline.
Before you pick your actions
Several SFI26 actions sit on nutrient management and water protection. If any of your land is in a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone, run it through our NVZ compliance tool first — there is no point being paid for something the baseline regulations already require of you.
Apply
Apply for SFI26 in the Rural Payments service — no later than 11:59pm on 28 August 2026, and sooner if the budget is fully allocated first.
Sources
- DEFRA Farming Blog — SFI26: an update (5 August 2026)
- GOV.UK — Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026 (SFI26): scheme information
This is a summary, not advice. Confirm your eligibility and the current position in the official SFI26 scheme documents before applying.