Countryside Stewardship Scheme and Sustainable Farming Incentive
(asked on 10th June 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to allow farmers with expiring agreements the choice of applying for (1) the Sustainable Farming Incentive, or (2) the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier, by September.
Answered by
Baroness Hayman of Ullock
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra intends to help farmers with soon-to-expire Environmental Land Management revenue agreements to access the full SFI26 offer sooner. Additionally, for farmers in Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) agreements that expire in 2026, Natural England will discuss options for entering into new CSHT agreements before their agreements expire.
Defra is developing functionality on the SFI26 application service to allow farmers to apply for land covered by these agreements before they expire. Defra expects this to be in place from the start of the second SFI26 application window from September 2026.
Defra expects to be able to confirm whether this will be possible towards the end of June.