SFI payment rates 2026: what pays, what has gone, and the 25 per cent rule
Every action in the SFI 2026 offer with the rate GOV.UK publishes for it, read every morning. The best paying by the hectare, the best by land type, the actions that have left since SFI 2024, and how the 25 per cent limit is counted.
What is on offer
There are 71 actions in the SFI 2026 offer with a guide on this site, and 83 in the section altogether once the twelve that have left the offer are counted. The rate beside each is the one GOV.UK publishes, read again every morning; the rates here were last checked on 19/09/2026. Each action's name links to a plain English guide with the rate, the rules, a worked example and an honest word on whether it is worth having.
What pays most, by the hectare
These are the highest rates among the actions paid a flat sum per hectare per year. An action paid by the tonne or by the plot, or one whose payment carries a condition the figure alone does not show, is left out of this ranking rather than compared as if a tonne were a hectare; its own guide carries the full wording. A high rate is not the same as a good deal: the guide for each says what it asks of the ground and what the crop it replaces might have made.
| Action | Pays | Agreement |
|---|---|---|
| OFM6Organic land management – top fruit | £1,920 | 3 years |
| AHW9Unharvested cereal headland | £1,072 | 3 years |
| CIPM2Flower-rich grass margins, blocks or in-field strips | £798 | 3 years |
| AHW5Nesting plots for lapwing | £765 | 3 years |
| WBD3In-field grass strips | £765 | 3 years |
| AHW3Beetle banks | £764 | 3 years |
| BFS66m to 12m habitat strip next to watercourses | £742 | 3 years |
| CAHL1Pollen and nectar flower mix | £739 | 3 years |
| BFS112m to 24m watercourse buffer strip on cultivated land | £707 | 3 years |
| OFM5Organic land management – horticultural land | £707 | 3 years |
The best paying by land type
The same ranking, cut by the kind of land a guide says the action suits. An action can suit more than one, so a code can appear under two headings.
Arable land
| Action | Pays | Agreement |
|---|---|---|
| AHW9Unharvested cereal headland | £1,072 | 3 years |
| CIPM2Flower-rich grass margins, blocks or in-field strips | £798 | 3 years |
| AHW5Nesting plots for lapwing | £765 | 3 years |
| WBD3In-field grass strips | £765 | 3 years |
| AHW3Beetle banks | £764 | 3 years |
Temporary grassland
| Action | Pays | Agreement |
|---|---|---|
| AHW9Unharvested cereal headland | £1,072 | 3 years |
| CIPM2Flower-rich grass margins, blocks or in-field strips | £798 | 3 years |
| AHW5Nesting plots for lapwing | £765 | 3 years |
| WBD3In-field grass strips | £765 | 3 years |
| AHW3Beetle banks | £764 | 3 years |
Fallow
| Action | Pays | Agreement |
|---|---|---|
| AHW9Unharvested cereal headland | £1,072 | 3 years |
| CIPM2Flower-rich grass margins, blocks or in-field strips | £798 | 3 years |
| AHW5Nesting plots for lapwing | £765 | 3 years |
| WBD3In-field grass strips | £765 | 3 years |
| AHW3Beetle banks | £764 | 3 years |
Permanent grassland
| Action | Pays | Agreement |
|---|---|---|
| BFS66m to 12m habitat strip next to watercourses | £742 | 3 years |
| SCR1Create scrub and open habitat mosaics | £588 | 3 years |
| CIGL2Winter bird food on improved grassland | £515 | 3 years |
| AGF2Maintain low density in-field agroforestry on less sensitive land | £385 | 3 years |
| CIGL1Take grassland field corners or blocks out of management | £333 | 3 years |
Permanent crops
| Action | Pays | Agreement |
|---|---|---|
| CIPM2Flower-rich grass margins, blocks or in-field strips | £798 | 3 years |
| CAHL1Pollen and nectar flower mix | £739 | 3 years |
| OFM5Organic land management – horticultural land | £707 | 3 years |
| CAHL2Winter bird food on arable and horticultural land | £648 | 3 years |
| CAHL3Grassy field corners or blocks | £590 | 3 years |
Horticultural land
| Action | Pays | Agreement |
|---|---|---|
| CAHL2Winter bird food on arable and horticultural land | £648 | 3 years |
| CAHL44m to 12m grass buffer strip on arable and horticultural land | £515 | 3 years |
| CSAM2Multi-species winter cover crop | £129 | 3 years |
What has gone since SFI 2024
Not every action in the SFI 2024 expanded offer carried over into SFI 2026. If you hold one that did not, your agreement carries on and you are paid at the rate you signed at. The twelve that left and have a full guide on this site are listed here, each marked as closed, so the terms are there to check.
- AHW1, Bumblebird mix (no longer published)
- AHW12, Manage woodland edges on arable land (no longer published)
- CHRW1, Assess and record hedgerow condition (no longer published)
- CHRW3, Maintain or establish hedgerow trees (no longer published)
- CIPM1, Assess integrated pest management and produce a plan (no longer published)
- CNUM1, Assess nutrient management and produce a review report (no longer published)
- CSAM1, Assess soil, produce a soil management plan and test soil organic matter (no longer published)
- OFA1, Overwinter stubble (organic land) (no longer published)
- OFA6, Undersown cereal crop (organic land) (no longer published)
- PRF3, Non-mechanical robotic weeding (no longer published)
- SOH2, Multi-species spring-sown cover crop (no longer published)
- WBD5, Manage intensive grassland adjacent to a watercourse (no longer published)
The rest of what left, and what replaced each where anything did, is on the page about the actions that left the offer.
The 25 per cent rule
Some actions can only go on a quarter of your farm, and the limit counts what you already hold in other agreements as well as what you are applying for. The rule is explained on the 25 per cent limit page, and the calculator works out your allowance and how much of it your plan uses. Nothing you type into it leaves your browser.
The full list
Every action, sortable by what it pays, is on the guides index. Each guide names its sources and the day its rate was last checked.
Sources
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scheme rules are set by Defra and the Rural Payments Agency and can change. This page is Tilth's plain English summary and is not official guidance, nor is it endorsed by Defra or the RPA. Check the scheme rules and your own agreement before acting.