British agriculture employs hundreds of thousands of people, sustains rural communities, shapes the countryside, and contributes billions to our economy.
Today, I wish to update the House on a package of measures to support a productive, resilient and sustainable farming sector, which I am announcing today at the National Farmers’ Union conference in Birmingham.
Since my last update in January, the Government have focused on delivery—moving from promise to practice, and providing the clarity and stability that farmers need to plan, invest and grow.
This is a Government who listen; a Government who act; a Government who believe in British farming. The challenges are real, but so is our commitment.
It is vital that our schemes and policies are grounded in the realities that farmers face. Today’s announcements set out clearer, more predictable schemes and funding that farmers can plan around—with the sustainable farming incentive, grants and capital support shaped directly by farmer feedback.
The new sustainable farming incentive offer
As I confirmed at the Oxford farming conference in January 2026, we will open two SFI application windows this year: an initial window from June for small farmers up to 50 hectares as well as all farms without existing environmental land management revenue agreements, and a further window from September.
Ahead of applications opening in June for those eligible in the first window, we are publishing more information for the new SFI offer in 2026. This includes a streamlined list of actions and information on eligibility for the first window. The new offer has been shaped directly by industry feedback and is designed to support productive, profitable farm businesses while delivering environmental outcomes.
We want as many farmers as possible delivering positive environmental actions, and have an environment improvement plan target to double the number of farms delivering for nature by 2030, so we are introducing a £l00,000 annual agreement cap, with one agreement per farm, to spread funding more fairly across the sector. We are also ending the SFI management payment, so that the budget goes further and is more focused on delivery actions on the ground.
One key feature we are announcing today is that applicants must have a minimum area of 3 hectares to be eligible for the new SFI offer, bringing the scheme in line with recommendations from Baroness Batters’ independent farming profitability review.
£120 million in innovation and equipment grants
Farmers will benefit from £120 million of investment in farm innovation in the financial year 2026-27, including: