National Farmers’ Union Conference: Sustainable Farming

Emma Reynolds Excerpts

Tuesday 24th February 2026 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Reynolds)]

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:

£70 million for the farming innovation programme to support practical research and development, including £30 million for the Government’s ADOPT programme; and

£50 million for the farming equipment and technology fund—FETF— to help farmers adopt new technology, cut emissions and boost productivity.

The £70 million in innovation grants announced today form part of the Government’s commitment to invest at least £200 million in agricultural innovation by 2030.

The FETF grant will open on 17 March, and guidance will be published today to ensure farmers and businesses have enough time to prepare an application. We will publish more details on the innovation funding shortly.

Environmental land management capital grants

The latest round of the ELM capital grant offer will open in July 2026, backed by £225 million in funding—50% more funding than was available in 2025. Farmers will be able to apply for funding to plant hedgerows, improve water quality and invest in new livestock infrastructure through the latest round. The offer will help farm businesses invest in infrastructure that supports environmental targets and long-term resilience.

We are announcing this now to enable farmers to be ready to apply and get all the necessary paperwork in place to support an application. Guidance will be available on gov.uk in advance of applications opening. As with last year, we will also be providing regular updates on how much funding has been allocated when the window opens.

Farming and food partnership board

I am establishing a farming and food partnership board, representing a fundamental reset of the relationship between the Government and the farming and food sectors. The first meeting will take place in March. The NFU is confirmed as a member, and we will confirm further members shortly.

The board will oversee the development of sector growth plans, beginning with horticulture and poultry, with further sectors to follow. These plans will identify barriers to growth and profit, including regulatory frictions, examine how costs can be better distributed across the food chain, and forecast and grow market demand through exports, retail, and public sector buying.

Farming road map and responding to the farming profitability review

Over the past few months, we have held workshops, meetings and listening sessions across the country to help us develop the farming road map and ensure it reflects what farmers need on the ground to plan for the future. This engagement activity will continue, and the farming road map will be published later this year.

A clear vision is now forming, built around the themes farmers told us matter most: profitability, productivity, stronger supply chains and environmental sustainability.

Alongside the farming road map, and further to our initial response to Baroness Batters’ independent farming profitability review, we will issue a detailed response.

Animal health and welfare review consultation and poultry biosecurity review

We have funded over 11,000 vet-led reviews to cattle, sheep and pig keepers as part of the animal health and welfare pathway.

We have received a great deal of positive feedback during the roll-out and today I am pleased to launch a consultation on making these vet visits mandatory for cattle, sheep, and pig farmers in England. This is alongside measures to control bovine viral diarrhoea in cattle and porcine reproductive respiratory syndrome in pigs.

In addition, we are expanding the improving farm animal health and welfare service to offer biosecurity advisory reviews for poultry keepers, funded with £390,000 from the Cabinet Office integrated security fund, launching this summer.

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