SFI26 Window 2 Is Open: A Last-Minute Application Checklist

SFI26 Window 2 is open, and if you haven’t applied yet, the clock is running. For East Yorkshire arable farmers — whether you’re farming chalk on the Wolds north of Driffield or heavier ground down through Holderness — the actions available this window could put thousands of pounds back into your farm. But missing a step in the application means delays, rejections or action non-compliance further down the line.

This SFI26 window 2 checklist covers exactly what you need to have ready, in the order you need it, before you click submit.

Step 1: Your Rural Payments Account and Business Details

Before anything else, log in to your Rural Payments account and check your business details are current. Address, business structure, land holdings — all of it needs to match what is in the system. A mismatch here is one of the most common causes of application delays and it is entirely avoidable.

If you farm in partnership or through a company, make sure the correct legal entity is shown as the applicant. SFI payments go to the business, not the individual, and HMRC cross-references this. If your business structure has changed since your last BPS claim, get it updated now — not after you have started the application.

Single Business Identifier (SBI)

Your SBI needs to be active and linked to all the land parcels you intend to enter. If you have taken on new tenancies or bought additional land since your last application, add those parcels to your holding before opening the SFI application. You cannot add land mid-application.

Step 2: Land Mapping — Get Your Parcels Right First

This is where East Yorkshire farms need to be particularly careful. The Wolds landscape fragments into some unusual parcel shapes — strip lynchets, odd-shaped chalk tops, narrow grass margins alongside Holderness drains. The Rural Payments land mapper does not always have these accurate.

Check every parcel you intend to enter against the current land cover map. If the eligible area shown is smaller than your actual field area, submit an RLE1 correction before your SFI application. Corrections made after submission are slow and will delay your agreement start date.

Land Use Codes

Each parcel needs the correct land use code for the actions you intend to enter. Arable land (code 110), temporary grass (code 120) and permanent grass (code 130) all open up different action menus. If you have reseeded a field since your last claim, the code may need updating.

Parcel eligibility: chalk and clay soils

North of Driffield on the chalk Wolds, your soils may qualify for actions focused on low-input management and reduced cultivation — thin soils over chalk with naturally lower yield potential. Down into Holderness clay country around Beverley and Hornsea, the higher organic matter ground opens up different options around soil health actions. Do not assume every parcel qualifies for the same actions — check individually. An independent agronomy assessment of your parcel-by-parcel eligibility is one of the most useful pre-application investments you can make.

Step 3: The Documents You Need Ready

SFI26 requires evidence upfront for some actions and on demand for others. Get these in a folder before you start:

If you do not have current soil test data, you cannot claim the full nutrient management action suite — and that is typically where the best £/ha returns sit. Bluestone carries out soil testing across your parcels and produces an NMP that meets the SFI requirement. On East Yorkshire farms we have sampled, correcting pH alone has delivered 0.3–0.5 t/ha yield gains that far outweigh the cost of the analysis.

Step 4: Choose Your Actions Carefully — the Maths Matters

The SFI26 action menu is broader than previous years. The temptation is to enter everything you are eligible for. The reality is that some actions demand significant management changes, compliance monitoring and record-keeping that eat into the payment value.

On a typical 300 ha Wolds arable farm, a well-chosen SFI package might combine:

• Arable soil health actions covering most of the combinable area — worth around £30–£45/ha/year
• Nutrient management plan action — £60–£120/ha depending on specification
• 2 m grass margins or in-field options on suitable parcels — £590/ha on eligible strips
• Integrated pest management action — £15–£30/ha on entered area

Total package values of £18,000–£30,000 per year are achievable on farms of that scale — but only if the actions are matched accurately to your land and management system. Entering actions your current system cannot comply with creates clawback risk at inspection. See our guide to SFI26 planning for East Yorkshire farms for more on building a package that holds up.

Actions that often do not suit Wolds chalk soils

Some actions designed for lowland grassland or heavier clay situations do not deliver compliance-safe outcomes on thin chalk soils north of Driffield. Cover crop actions that specify minimum soil coverage during periods when chalk ground bakes hard in late summer can be difficult to satisfy reliably. An independent agronomist’s view on what is actually achievable on your specific parcels is worth having before you commit.

Step 5: Submit and Record — the Application Is Not the End

Once you have submitted, the work does not stop. SFI agreements require ongoing record-keeping from day one of your agreement. Set up a simple farm diary now — digital or paper — that logs:

• Dates of any operations on entered parcels (drilling, spraying, cultivations)
• Any departures from agreed action requirements and the reasons why
• Soil test and analysis dates
• Third-party advice received (agronomist visits, BASIS or FACTS-qualified advice)

Inspections under SFI26 are risk-based and can arrive at short notice. Farmers with clean, contemporaneous records consistently come through inspections without penalty. Those relying on memory to reconstruct a season’s activity rarely do.

Linking your NMP to your agreement

If you have entered a nutrient management action, your written NMP needs to be updated to reflect the current season’s plan before the agreement start date. A FACTS-qualified agronomist must sign off an NMP to meet the SFI standard — a generic template downloaded from the internet will not satisfy an inspection. Bluestone produces NMPs that meet the SFI requirement and integrate with your actual cropping programme across the East Yorkshire and Yorkshire Wolds area we cover.

What to Do If You Have Missed a Step

If you are reading this close to the Window 2 deadline and you are missing soil test data or an NMP, contact Bluestone immediately. We can prioritise urgent pre-submission visits for farms across the Driffield, Beverley, Pocklington and Malton areas. If you have already submitted but realise you have entered a parcel incorrectly, contact the Rural Payments Agency as soon as possible. Amendments are possible before the agreement start date but become harder to process as the window closes. Crop nutrition planning that feeds directly into your NMP is another area where a FACTS-qualified agronomist can add measurable value ahead of an inspection.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add more actions after submitting my SFI26 application?

You can make changes to your application before the agreement start date in some circumstances, but this is not guaranteed. The Rural Payments Agency allows limited amendments during the application window. The safest approach is to get your action selection right before you submit — which is why a pre-submission review with a BASIS-qualified agronomist is worth doing. Once your agreement starts, changes typically require a formal variation request and are not always approved.

Do I need professional soil tests or will my own records do?

For SFI actions that require soil test evidence, the RPA expects results from a laboratory-analysed soil sample taken within the last five years. Accredited labs all produce acceptable reports; simple field pH meters or DIY kits will not meet the standard. If your last professional soil test is more than five years old, you need fresh samples before you can enter the nutrient management actions that pay the best £/ha rates.

What is the difference between the nutrient management plan action and just having a soil test?

A soil test tells you what is in your soil. A nutrient management plan tells you what to do about it — when to apply, how much of what, on which parcels, taking account of crop offtake, previous organic matter applications and field history. The NMP action under SFI26 requires a written, FACTS-qualified plan, not just test results. On most East Yorkshire farms, a properly structured NMP saves more in fertiliser cost than it costs to produce — making it a net gain even without the SFI payment attached to it.

Is it worth applying for Window 2 if I missed Window 1?

Yes — a later agreement start date simply means a later payment start date. You do not lose access to any actions by applying in Window 2 rather than Window 1. The actions available are the same; the payment rates are unchanged. If your farm has the right land types and you can meet the management requirements, applying in Window 2 is always better than waiting for Window 1 next year and leaving 12 months of SFI payments on the table.