A £233m funding pot for farmers and land managers has opened as part of the government’s Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 2026, including an additional £50m aimed at helping businesses facing lower yields and rising costs.

The second SFI application window opened on 22 September and includes a further £3m that was not allocated during the first round.

The funding is designed to support farmers adopting more sustainable and drought-resilient practices while providing an income stream in return for environmental improvements.

The first application window attracted 7,000 applications, with 3,100 new agreements live by 1 September and payments already reaching farmers.

Farmers and land managers with at least three hectares of agricultural land are eligible to apply.

Around 21,000 farms whose existing environmental land management agreements expire by the end of February 2027 can also apply early for their next agreement.

“Growing our own food is a matter of national security and part of our long-term plan for English farming, the Farming Roadmap,” said farming minister Stephen Morgan.

“Farmers shouldn’t have to carry the risk of a changing climate alone, and this funding means more farmers can build the kind of resilient, sustainable businesses that can better withstand whatever the weather throws at them next.

“Our work and the Farming Roadmap are backed with real co-operation with our farmers, because more often than not the best answers for our countryside come from the people who work the land.”

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