The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) is the broad, entry-level Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme in England, paying farmers and land managers to deliver sustainable land management alongside food production. The latest version of the scheme, SFI 2026 (SFI26), has been deliberately simplified and brings forward 71 actions (down from 102), structured around themes including soils, hedgerows, integrated pest management, nutrient management, buffer strips and moorland.

Agreements run for three years, with payments made quarterly and a new £100,000 annual cap per farm business (per Single Business Identifier), available to farms with at least three hectares of agricultural land. Applications are phased across two windows: Window 1 opened on 30 June 2026 and is reserved for small farms (those with up to 50 hectares of agricultural land registered with the Rural Payments Agency on 1 January 2026) and for farms without an existing ELM revenue agreement. Window 2 opens in September 2026 and will be open to all eligible farmers and land managers.

SFI sits alongside Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier for more complex or targeted environmental delivery, and standalone Capital Grants for one-off investment works, together forming Defra’s main offer for farming and the environment in England.

Countryside Stewardship rewards farmers and land managers in England for delivering environmental outcomes alongside sustainable food production, from habitat creation and hedgerow management to water quality improvements and measures that support biodiversity, carbon storage and landscape resilience. Following the expansion of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), which now provides the broader, simpler agri-environment offer, Countryside Stewardship is focused on Higher Tier (CSHT), targeted at land requiring more complex or ambitious environmental management, including priority habitats, designated sites, woodlands and historic features.

CSHT opened for applications on 18 September 2025 through a controlled, invitation-led rollout that continues into 2026: eligible farmers, foresters and land managers receive pre-application advice from Natural England and the Forestry Commission before the Rural Payments Agency invites them to apply through the Rural Payments service. The offer comprises 132 actions and supplements alongside 142 capital items, with agreement lengths of 5, 10, 15 or 20 years, rolling applications, monthly agreement start dates and quarterly payments to help cash flow.

On 2 July 2026, the government announced that the invitation-only requirement would be removed, opening CSHT to direct applications for the first time, with at least £50 million available for new agreements this year. From 21 July 2026, farmers and land managers began the process themselves by submitting an expression of interest (EOI) through GOV.UK for four topics: agroforestry, woodland improvement, species-rich grassland and scheduled monument management. The latter two are delivered through new single focus agreements – a simpler, faster route for a single priority action rather than a full whole farm agreement – with an initial cohort of up to 1,200 available. Applicants are contacted with the outcome within 10 weeks, though submitting an EOI does not guarantee an agreement offer.

Mid-Tier agreements ending on 31 December 2025 have been offered a one-off, one-year extension to maintain continuity during the transition to SFI 2026 and CSHT. Countryside Stewardship continues to sit at the heart of England’s Environmental Land Management (ELM) framework, with ELM funding due to increase to around £2 billion a year by 2029. For further information on scheme availability, eligibility or support with applications, please contact a member of our team.

Landscape Recovery is the most ambitious of the Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes, supporting long-term, large-scale projects that restore nature, improve biodiversity and deliver environmental benefits across whole landscapes in England. The scheme is designed for groups of farmers, landowners, land managers, tenants and other organisations working together, with projects required to cover at least 500 connected hectares in England.

Two application rounds have been completed: Round 1 selected 22 projects focused on recovering threatened native species and restoring rivers and streams, while Round 2 selected a further 34 projects centred on net zero, protected sites and wildlife-rich habitats. Together, the Round 2 projects involve more than 700 farmers and landowners across over 200,000 hectares, aiming to restore more than 35,000 hectares of peatland, sustainably manage over 20,000 hectares of woodland, create more than 7,000 hectares of new woodland and benefit over 160 protected sites. Projects start with a two-year Project Development Phase in which participants design detailed proposals, carry out technical work, engage stakeholders and put delivery and blended finance arrangements in place, before passing further checks to move into long-term implementation lasting 20 years or more.

The first agreements are now in delivery: in August 2025 Defra confirmed that the Boothby Wildland and Upper Duddon projects had completed their checks and signed long-term agreements, and in February 2026 the Evenlode Landscape Recovery Project became the first farmer-cluster-led project to begin work on the ground. The scheme is currently closed to new applications. Defra has committed £500 million for Landscape Recovery over at least a 20-year period as part of the December 2025 Environmental Improvement Plan, although it is not yet clear whether this funding will support a future application round or the lifetime costs of existing first- and second-round projects. The timing, eligibility and priorities of any further round have not yet been announced.

Read more about the scheme here.

The Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) no longer operates in England, having been replaced by delinked payments in 2024. BPS was previously an area-based system of direct payments under the EU Common Agricultural Policy, providing income support to farmers based on eligible land and entitlements.

Delinked payments are based on a farmer’s historic reference amount, calculated using the average BPS payments received between 2020 and 2022. These payments are no longer linked to land occupation, production, or entitlements and are paid automatically to eligible recipients. Recipients of the Lump Sum Exit Scheme are not eligible for delinked payments.

Delinked payments have been significantly reduced since their introduction. The payment is made in August, and the maximum payment in 2026 and 2027 is £600. To calculate a farm’s specific payment, a 98% reduction is applied to the first £30,000 of its reference amount and a 100% reduction on amounts above £30,000.

2027 will be the final year of delinked payments, after which direct payments will cease entirely. As a result, the role of direct income support in England is now minimal, with funding increasingly redirected towards schemes that support environmental outcomes, productivity and sustainable land management.

For further information on eligibility, payment calculations or how these changes may affect your business, please contact a member of our team.

The Basic Payment Scheme is Scotland’s principal direct support payment and continues as the main scheme delivering Tier 1 base support under the Rural Support Plan 2026–2031, the Scottish Government’s statutory framework for agricultural support during the transition to a reformed system. It is paid to active farmers and crofters with eligible land and entitlements, with rates set across three payment regions reflecting land type and quality:

• Payment region 1 - arable land, temporary grass and permanent grass.
• Payment region 2 - rough grazing in non-Less Favoured Areas, or LFA grazing categories B, C and D.
• Payment region 3 - rough grazing in LFA grazing category A.

Alongside BPS, Enhanced Greening rewards management practices that benefit climate and the environment. It is delivered primarily through Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs) on holdings with more than 15 hectares of arable land (including temporary grass). From the 2026 scheme year, the previous “75% exemptions” have been removed, bringing around 2,300 additional, mostly grass-based livestock farms into the EFA system and taking the total to around 6,000 holdings. Eligible farms must manage at least 5% of their arable land through EFA options, rising to 7% from the 2027 scheme year.

The menu of EFA options has been expanded to eleven, with four new options for 2026, low-input grassland, herb and legume-rich pasture, unharvested crops and low-density tree planting, available alongside fallow land, field margins, catch crops, green cover, nitrogen-fixing crops, hedges and agroforestry. Options can be used singly or in combination. The minimum field margin width has increased from one metre to three metres (up to a maximum of 20 metres), the sowing date for green cover is now 1 November, the previous restriction on harvesting catch crops or green cover before 31 December has been removed, and the species lists for green cover and nitrogen-fixing crops have been expanded to provide greater flexibility for mixed and livestock systems.

Single Application Form (SAF) submissions for the 2026 scheme year closed on 15 May 2026, with loan payments expected from September 2026 and balance payments from December 2026.

Whole Farm Plans are a core part of Scotland’s reformed approach to agricultural support, sitting within the Tier 1 Essential Standards of the Rural Support Plan 2026–2031. They are designed to help farmers and crofters take a holistic view of their business, looking at efficiency, sustainability, carbon emissions, biodiversity and animal health and to provide a baseline for improvement during the transition to Scotland’s new four-tier framework. From the 2026 scheme year, farmers and crofters claiming the Basic Payment Scheme must have at least two of the five Whole Farm Plan components in place by 15 May, with all applicable plans completed by 15 May 2028. Businesses confirm what they hold on their Single Application Form, with copies of plans available for inspection if requested. The five components are:

• Carbon Audit - a baseline of greenhouse gas emissions and removals to identify opportunities to reduce emissions and improve efficiency.
• Biodiversity Audit - a structured assessment of the habitats and species on the farm, supported by a habitat map, to inform land management decisions.
• Soil Analysis - testing of soil nutrients, pH and carbon across productive land to support more targeted nutrient and lime use.
• Animal Health and Welfare Plan - a written plan covering disease prevention, health monitoring and welfare priorities for livestock enterprises.
• Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Plan - a structured approach to managing pests, weeds and diseases that prioritises prevention, monitoring and non-chemical controls before pesticide use.

For full technical requirements, validity periods, eligibility thresholds and detailed guidance on each component, please refer to the Savills Rural Research Briefing Note: Whole Farm Plans Scotland.

Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme provides direct support to specialist beef producers in Scotland, helping to maintain the commercial beef sector and rural sustainability across the mainland and the islands. It is one of the familiar legacy schemes delivering Tier 1 base support under the Rural Support Plan 2026–2031, alongside the Basic Payment Scheme. The scheme year runs from 1 January to 31 December, with around £40 million a year available, split between mainland and island claims.

To qualify, calves must be at least 75% beef-bred, born on a Scottish holding and kept on a Scottish holding for at least 30 days. The calving-interval condition is assessed at the individual-animal level: each eligible calf must be born within 410 days of its mother’s previous calf, or be the cow’s first registered calf. From the 2026 scheme year, herds of 10 calves or fewer are exempt from the calving-interval condition, ensuring smaller producers, particularly in the islands and more remote areas, continue to be supported.

Following changes introduced by the Rural Support Regulations 2025, claims can now be made from 1 January to 14 January following the end of the relevant calendar year, extending the previous deadline of 31 December and giving producers additional time to submit claims.

This scheme provides additional support to sheep producers who farm in Scotland’s rough grazing areas. To qualify, the business must rely on rough grazing, with 80% or more of the land in Payment Region three, and less than 200 hectares of land in Payment Region one.

Payments are made on homebred ewe hoggs that are kept on the holding from 1 December in the year claimed to 31 March the following year.

Eligible ewe hoggs must be less than 12 months old at the start of the retention period, with payments limited to a maximum of one ewe hogg per four hectares.

The Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) is Scotland’s principal competitive scheme for targeted, outcome-based environmental land management, sitting within the Rural Support Plan 2026–2031 four-tier framework as one of the main routes for voluntary, payment-by-outcome support alongside the Basic Payment Scheme. AECS pays farmers, crofters and land managers to deliver land management practices that protect and enhance Scotland’s natural heritage, improve water quality, manage flood risk, mitigate and adapt to climate change, support organic farming and preserve the historic environment.

The 2026 application window is now closed; however, the scheme will continue until at least 2030, providing support during the transition to Scotland’s new support framework.

Full scheme guidance and a list of options can be found here.

The Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (LFASS) provides annual income support to active livestock farmers and crofters in Scotland’s remote and constrained rural areas, helping them to operate viable businesses, avoid land abandonment and maintain continued agricultural land use. It is one of the familiar legacy schemes delivering Tier 1 base support under the Rural Support Plan 2026–2031. Around 86% of Scotland’s agricultural area is designated as Less Favoured Area, meaning LFASS reaches a large proportion of Scottish farming businesses.

To qualify, claimants must be active farmers or crofters and declare at least three hectares of eligible LFA land on their Single Application Form (SAF). The land must be Severely Disadvantaged or Disadvantaged within the designated LFA, hold a grazing category value, and be available and accessible for maintaining livestock or producing a forage crop for at least 183 days in the claim year (including 15 May). LFASS supports livestock farming connected with grazing or feeding farmed livestock; pigs and poultry are not eligible. Claimants must also meet cross-compliance requirements on all land declared.

Payment rates are calculated using fragility and grazing categories, which reflect the varying degrees of natural handicap and the relative remoteness of different parts of the Scottish LFA. The per hectare rate is applied to a business’s payable area, and where the resulting total falls below £385, a flat rate minimum payment of £385 per business applies. Around £65.5 million is paid each year to approximately 10,000 recipients, with the SAF window running from 15 March to 15 May and payments typically made in December of the same year. The Scottish Government has confirmed that LFASS will continue throughout the Rural Support Plan period, as part of its commitment to providing direct support to 2030 and beyond.

The four grazing categories and the hectare multiplier for each can be found here.

The Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund (KTIF) is part of the Scottish Rural Development Programme and has two aims: to support knowledge transfer projects, and to support innovation projects. The Scottish Government announced that up to £200,000 a year is available, and multi-year funding agreements will now be considered - awarded in principle only, and subject to budgetary confirmation each financial year.

The five objectives for the KTIF are:

1. Enhancing competitiveness and enhancing viability in agriculture.
2. Restoring, preserving and enhancing biodiversity and ecosystems dependent on agriculture.
3. Improving water and/or soil management.
4. Pollution prevention and control.
5. Promoting resource efficiency and supporting a shift towards a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy in agriculture.

Funding can be provided to organisations to deliver vocational training, coaching, workshops, courses and farm visits designed to develop skills and transfer knowledge. This is the Knowledge Transfer strand, funded at 75% of eligible costs. Knowledge transfer projects must be delivered by suitably-qualified personnel and involve at least 10 eligible participants (aged 16 or over, and farmers, crofters or land managers, or their employees or immediate family actively involved in the business).

The Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) is Wales’s new framework for agricultural support, designed to reward farmers for producing food sustainably while delivering positive outcomes for climate, nature, water and rural communities. SFS launched on 1 January 2026 and operates alongside the Basic Payment Scheme during a transition period to 2029, with farmers free to choose whether to enter SFS or remain in BPS during the transition. BPS payments are being tapered with reductions of 40% in 2026, 20% in 2027 and 20% in 2028, with the final BPS payment made in 2028.

SFS is structured around four elements: a regulatory baseline of legal requirements; a Universal Layer of 12 mandatory Universal Actions covering farm management, soil, habitat and animal health and welfare; an Optional Layer of additional, more targeted actions; and a Collaborative Layer for landscape-scale and partnership delivery. Farmers entering the Universal Layer receive a whole-farm payment of up to £70 per hectare, habitat maintenance payments at £69 per hectare and woodland maintenance payments at £62 per hectare, alongside a Social Value Payment of £107 per hectare in recognition of the wider public benefits of sustainable farming. Capping starts with a 5% reduction on the portion of the universal payment between £25,000 and £50,000, with further reductions above £50,000. Eligible smaller farms (up to 100 hectares) joining SFS in 2026 also receive a one-off £1,000 Stability Payment.

Most Optional Layer actions will open from summer 2026 onwards, on a category-by-category basis, with the payments expected to start in 2027. Access to the Optional and Collaborative Layers is prioritised for Universal Layer participants and is subject to competitive allocation where budgets are limited.

More information can be found here.