Compare ELM schemes to choose the right environmental funding

The Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes are England's agri-environment payments, funded under the Agriculture Act 2020. Each pays for a different kind of work, so the choice is mostly about what your land is and how long you can commit.

What each scheme pays for

SFI26 offers 71 actions, such as soil, grassland, hedgerow and wildlife management, paid in quarterly instalments, and you need at least 3 hectares of agricultural land. Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier offers 99 base and 33 supplemental actions, plus capital items. Capital grants pay for items such as fencing and hedgerow planting that help you carry out SFI or Higher Tier actions, and Capital Grants 2026 is closed.

How to choose

• If your land is an SSSI, a common, a scheduled monument or a priority habitat, Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier is the scheme built for it. You cannot apply for SFI26 on common land.
• If your Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier agreement expires on 31 December 2026, or your Higher Level Stewardship agreement expires before 31 March 2027, Natural England prioritises you for pre-application advice and contacts you.
• For woodland or agroforestry you need an approved plan first.

Hold more than one agreement

You can enter land that is already in another scheme or grant into SFI26 if you and your land are eligible for both, the activities are compatible and you are not paid twice for the same or a similar activity on the same area at the same time. Land in a capital grants agreement can also go into SFI26, because the two pay for different things.

Each SFI26 action says which other actions you can do on the same area. If it cannot be stacked, you may be able to do it on a different area of the same parcel.

Limited area actions, across all SFI agreements and Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier agreements from 2025, must not cover more than 25% of your farm's agricultural area in total.

Next steps

1. Check the status of each scheme on the Rural Payments Agency's funding page before you plan around it.
2. If you hold an SFI or Countryside Stewardship agreement, read the rules for your own agreement before adding anything on the same land.
3. For Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier, read the applicant's guide to see whether you submit an expression of interest or wait for an invitation, and have any plans it requires approved first.