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SFI 2026 Window 2 Closed: What Happens Next

SFI26 window 2 was open for less than six hours on 22 September 2026. This explainer sets out what happened, who is still affected, what Defra says about 2027 and what to do this week, using official pages as of 26 October 2026.

Blog 26 October 2026 9 min read

Quick answer

As of 26 October 2026, SFI26 (the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026) is closed. Window 2 opened on 22 September 2026 and shut at 3.48pm the same day, once Defra said it had enough applications to allocate the full budget of £253 million. If you missed out, first check whether the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has put you in an exception group: only reports of a valid technical fault made by 11:59pm on 29 September count. Otherwise, plan for SFI in 2027, which has no date yet.

What happened to SFI 2026 window 2 on 22 September?

SFI26 window 2 opened on the morning of 22 September 2026 and closed at 3.48pm the same day, less than six hours later, as Farmers Weekly reports. Defra says it closed the window once it had enough applications to allocate the full window 2 budget. The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) is the Defra scheme in England that pays for set land-management actions, usually under a three-year agreement. The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is the body that runs the applications and payments.

A farmer who started an application but did not submit it before 3.48pm cannot now submit it, unless they are in an exception group. By 15 October, Defra reported about 12,200 window 2 applications, about 2,500 agreement offers issued and about 36% of those live. Offers must be accepted within 30 calendar days or they are withdrawn.

Key dates, as of 26 October 2026:

28 August 2026: window 1, for small farms and farms without an existing agreement, closed.
22 September 2026: window 2 opens in the morning and closes at 3.48pm.
23 September 2026: ministers add £20 million, taking window 2 to £253 million.
29 September 2026, 11:59pm: last time to report a technical fault to qualify for the exception group.
15 and 16 October 2026: Defra widens the technical issue group, and Farmers Weekly reports it.
22 October 2026: Defra publishes its farming sector environmental objectives.

Who could apply for SFI26, and who is affected?

SFI26 window 2 was open to all eligible farmers and land managers in England, and the main test was land: the farm business's Single Business Identifier (SBI) had to be linked to at least 3 hectares of agricultural land. GOV.UK rules allow one SFI26 agreement per farm business across both windows, worth no more than £100,000 per agreement year. Common land could not be entered.

Tenants on a Farm Business Tenancy or an Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 tenancy could apply if the application did not breach the tenancy terms. Landlords who do not farm the land, and licensees with licence-only access, were generally not eligible. In a partnership or a sole trader business with one SBI, that meant one agreement for the whole business. The rules turn on land, tenure and the SBI, not on whether you keep cattle, sheep or both.

The hardest hit are farms with agreements ending soon. Defra says over 8,800 applicants have an Environmental Land Management (ELM) revenue agreement expiring on or before 28 February 2027, and over 1,100 have none. Those figures are rounded and indicative.

What does missing out mean for money and paperwork?

Missing out on SFI26 means no SFI26 payment, and for many farms that sits alongside a falling delinked payment, which is capped at £600 for 2026 and 2027 (see our BPS phase-out and where ELM stands update). A farm with an expiring agreement should ask its accountant now how the gap shows in the 2026-27 cash flow. Scheme money is generally taxed as income, and our guide on SFI payments and tax sets out how to record each scheme on its own income line.

For farms that did get an offer, the rules carry paperwork. The SFI26 scheme rules ask you to keep invoices and action records for at least seven years after the agreement ends, send an annual declaration in the last two months of each agreement year, and keep evidence of management control of the land. Our guide on how long to keep farm records covers the wider retention picture, and the hours add up, as our farm paperwork hours piece shows.

FarmHQ is in beta, so this is a modest point. A receipt photographed on your phone becomes a dated record that Ask Farmer Joe drafts as an expense line and you confirm, which suits the invoices an agreement asks you to keep. Read how Joe drafts and you confirm. FarmHQ does not apply for schemes or send anything to the RPA, and Making Tax Digital filing follows in 2027.

What is the SFI26 exception group, and who is in it?

An exception group is a set of farmers Defra lets carry on with a window 2 application after the window closed. On 22 September, Defra named two small groups: assisted digital farmers, who needed the RPA to complete the application for them, and technical issue farmers, who were stopped by a fault in the application service. Both had to contact the RPA before the window closed.

On 15 October, Defra widened the technical issue group. It now includes a small number of extra farmers who started but did not submit because of a valid fault, and farmers whose submitted applications were affected by a valid fault, who can amend them to add actions the system should have allowed. Farmers Weekly reported the change on 16 October. The cut-off for reporting was 11:59pm on 29 September 2026, and later reports do not qualify.

The RPA is still assessing reports, which Defra says may take a few more weeks, and it will write to farmers and agents to confirm who is in. Applications the system correctly blocked as ineligible action combinations do not count. Defra says the move "does not set a precedent" for future exception groups.

What other schemes can farmers who missed out use?

Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) is the Defra scheme, run with Natural England, for more complex environmental work on specific habitats and features. Defra says at least £50 million is available for new CSHT agreements in 2026/27, with up to 1,200 single-focus agreements initially and Natural England support for around 300 agreements. Expressions of interest were still open on 15 October for woodland, agroforestry, species-rich grassland and scheduled monuments.

Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier agreements due to end in December 2025 were extended by one year to 31 December 2026, as the NFU reported in October 2025. That is last year's news, and I found no further extension announced. The SFI26 rules let some agreements ending by 28 February 2027 use a start-early option, and Defra's CSHT post says Mid Tier holders with priority habitat or scheduled monument actions ending in 2026 can register an expression of interest.

On 22 October 2026, Defra published its farming sector environmental objectives. The wildlife objective aims to double the share of English farm businesses providing year-round resources for wildlife, from 21% to 42% by 2030, with actions on at least 7% of the farm area. FarmingUK reports it creates no new legal duty on farmers and no guaranteed funding.

What is still unknown about SFI in 2027?

Defra says it plans to offer SFI in 2027, will open the offer as early as possible, is exploring alternatives to first come, first served, and will keep the main design stable for this Parliament, per its 22 September post. It has not published an opening date, a budget or a new way of ordering applications. Whether expiring agreements get priority is also unannounced.

Some points are disputed or unclear. FarmingUK reports that Defra's April and May modelling included a scenario of closing on opening day, that the projections were monthly, and that the modelling did not use the final budget of about £310 million. Defra refused to release ministerial briefings. Budget figures also differ in the press: £233 million was the window 2 budget at opening, and £253 million after the £20 million top-up. I trust Defra's £253 million, and £310 million across both windows.

What should a livestock farmer do this week?

Do these in order, as of 26 October 2026:

This week, 26 to 30 October: check your email and Rural Payments account for an RPA letter on exception groups. If you did not report a fault by 11:59pm on 29 September, the published rules say you do not qualify.
Within 30 calendar days of any offer date: accept your SFI26 offer, or it is withdrawn.
Before 31 December 2026: if you hold a Mid Tier agreement, check its end date and ask the RPA or your agent what route applies to you.
This week: if you have woodland, agroforestry, species-rich grassland or a scheduled monument, look at the CSHT expression of interest.
By the end of November: ask your accountant to put scheme income, including the falling delinked payment, into your 2026-27 cash flow.
Now, for next time: confirm your SBI is linked to your land, keep proof of management control such as the tenancy agreement, and file dated photos and invoices. If an agent or spouse does the forms, see who should access your farm paperwork.

Red Tractor records rely on the same habits (see our Red Tractor audit checklist), and MTD dates are in Making Tax Digital thresholds.

What do farmers actually ask?

When did SFI26 window 2 close?

SFI26 window 2 closed at 3.48pm on 22 September 2026, the same day it opened. Defra closed it because it had enough applications to allocate the full window 2 budget of £253 million. About 12,200 applications were received. Window 1, for small farms and farms without an existing agreement, closed earlier on 28 August 2026.

Can I still apply for SFI26 if I missed window 2?

No. SFI26 is closed for applications, and a started but unsubmitted application cannot be submitted unless you are in an exception group. Defra says farmers without an agreement can apply again when it offers SFI in 2027, but it has not yet published a date, a budget or how applications will be ordered, as of 26 October 2026.

What is the SFI26 exception group?

The SFI26 exception group is a small set of farmers allowed to continue a window 2 application after closure: assisted digital farmers and technical issue farmers who contacted the RPA, plus, from 15 October 2026, others who reported a valid technical fault by 11:59pm on 29 September 2026. The RPA is still assessing reports and will write to confirm.

Who could apply for SFI26 and how much could an agreement be worth?

Window 2 was open to all eligible farmers and land managers in England whose Single Business Identifier was linked to at least 3 hectares of agricultural land. Each farm business could have only one SFI26 agreement across both windows, worth no more than £100,000 per agreement year. Common land could not be entered.

Is any other money still open for livestock farms in England?

Yes, but for specific land. Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier has at least £50 million for new agreements in 2026/27, and expressions of interest were still open on 15 October 2026 for woodland, agroforestry, species-rich grassland and scheduled monuments. It is not a direct replacement for SFI26, so check what your land qualifies for on GOV.UK.

Are SFI payments taxable?

Annual payments for managing land under an agri-environment agreement are generally taxed as income, while contributions towards specific capital spending are treated differently, as our guide on farm scheme payments, accounting and tax explains. HMRC wording does not name SFI, so apply the purpose test and check the agreement with your accountant.