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Defra sets out 2026 Sustainable Farming Incentive reforms, with June window prioritising smaller farms

Standfirst:
Defra Secretary of State Emma Reynolds is using the Oxford Farming Conference (8 January 2026) to outline a reform package for England’s Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), including two application windows in 2026, new collaboration funding, and an extended offer for farming in protected landscapes.

What’s been announced

The government says it will simplify and stabilise delivery of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), positioning the reforms as a reset in its relationship with the agricultural sector and a move toward more predictable policy.

A central change is the introduction of two application windows in 2026:

• June 2026:access prioritised for smaller farms and those without an existing agreement

• September 2026:a broader second round for wider applications
  
  

Defra says full scheme details will be published ahead of the June window.

Reynolds is expected to frame the reforms around cutting friction in the system, arguing that farmers have “too often… been held back by bureaucracy”, while reiterating that “farmers are at the heart of our national life”.

Funding for collaboration and local delivery

Alongside the SFI timetable changes, Defra is also announcing a £30m Farmer Collaboration Fund, delivered over three years, intended to support farmer groups to build partnerships, share best practice and explore new opportunities to grow their businesses.

For operators and suppliers across the farm-to-fork economy, collaboration funding is often where practical productivity gains can be unlocked — shared equipment, joint procurement, cooperative marketing, and improved local route-to-market models.

Uplands pilots and protected landscapes

Beyond mainstream schemes, Defra says it will explore new approaches for England’s uplands, with work planned over the next two years to test new models and cluster-based approaches — beginning with Dartmoor and then Cumbria.

The government is also extending the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme for three years, with £30m funding next year, supporting projects that contribute to nature recovery, climate action and cultural heritage. Defra says the programme has supported more than 11,000 farmers across 44 protected landscapes since launch.

Early reaction from the sector

Industry voices have broadly welcomed the return of clarity on timings, while stressing that access and delivery will determine the policy’s real-world impact.

CLA president Gavin Lane said: “It is essential that all farmers can access the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme as soon as possible.”

Nature Friendly Farming Network chief executive Martin Lines said: “It’s good to finally have some clarity, even if June still feels a long way off,” adding that prioritising smaller farms could help address a historic imbalance in how agri-environment schemes have worked in practice.

UK Food Council view: why this matters for the food supply chain

For the food system, these reforms land at the point where farm viability, climate resilience, and supply chain certainty are increasingly intertwined. The key questions for 2026 are now operational:

• Access: will the scheme genuinely work for smaller and time-poor businesses without expensive consultancy support?

• Confidence: will Defra restore trust through clear rules, stable windows, and predictable payments?

• Competitiveness: how will policy address the pressure on farm margins from rising costs and competition from imports produced to lower standards?

• Supply chain outcomes: will collaboration funding translate into measurable improvements in productivity, local processing, distribution resilience, and environmental performance?
  
  

Defra says the reforms will feed into a forthcoming 25-year Farming Roadmap, expected later in 2026, intended to set out a longer-term direction for food production, environmental ambition, land use, and farm profitability.

UK Food Council members with farming, sourcing, or sustainability exposure should now track the publication of the detailed SFI offer ahead of June — and consider where collaboration models (producer groups, shared services, local procurement frameworks) could be accelerated in parallel.

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