SFI26 for Agents: Managing Client Portfolios Under the New Rules

SFI26 is not a routine scheme update. It changes how agents manage portfolios.

You now have:

• 71 actions, with 31 removed
• A hard £100,000 annual cap per agreement
• Two application windows with different eligibility routes
• A strict one agreement per business rule
• The management payment removed
• Material rate changes across high-uptake actions

For agents managing multiple farms, this is a portfolio redesign exercise.

Key changes affecting your advice

71 actions, and 31 removed

The SFI26 offer has been consolidated into 71 actions.

Several high-uptake, low-friction actions are gone. That changes recurring income structures across your client base.

Advising from memory of SFI23 or CS Mid Tier will create errors. Compatibility, caps and stacking must be reviewed fresh.

£100,000 cap per agreement

Each business can hold only one SFI26 agreement, capped at £100,000 per year.

Implications:

• Larger arable clients cannot stack indefinitely.
• Estates cannot split land into parallel capped agreements.
• High-value habitat strategies require optimisation.

Every client projection needs recalculating.

Two windows, different urgency

Window 1, June 2026

Eligible:

• Small farms up to 50 hectares
• Farms of any size without an existing RPA-administered ELM revenue agreement

Window 2, September 2026

Eligible:

• Everyone else

Advisory sequencing now matters.

June-eligible clients require immediate prioritisation.

One agreement per business

This forces consolidation.

Clients previously layering CS and SFI structures must now design a single capped agreement.

Agreement design becomes strategic, not additive.

Client segmentation for Window 1 vs Window 2

You should audit your portfolio immediately.

Window 1, June

• Small farms ≤50 hectares
• New-to-ELM farms, any size

These clients have early access and a defined budget allocation.

Window 2, September

• Farms over 50 hectares already in SFI or Countryside Stewardship

They apply later, after part of the budget is already committed.

Immediate action for agents

Segment your portfolio:

• Who qualifies for June?
• Who must wait?
• Whose agreements expire near 2026?

Timing is now a commercial variable.

The budget risk, why June matters

Window 1 has a defined allocation and may close early if demand is high.

Previous SFI reopening points saw strong uptake.

By September:

• A portion of funding will already be allocated
• Competition increases
• Larger and estate-scale businesses enter

June-eligible clients have a structural advantage.

Failing to prioritise them is a missed opportunity.

Recalculating agreement values

Every projection needs updating.

Payment reductions

These reductions are material for many clients.

Payment increases

Upland increases apply to:

• UPL1
• UPL2
• UPL3
• UPL8
• UPL10

Upland clients may offset some reductions.

Management payment removed

The SFI management payment is gone.

Administrative workload remains. The dedicated payment does not.

For agents, that means more modelling work with tighter client margins.

High-uptake actions your clients are losing

Removed actions include:

• CHRW1
• CHRW3
• CSAM1
• CNUM1
• CIPM1

These were simple recurring income lines.

You need to show clients alternatives before they notice the gap.

Making up the shortfall, know the alternatives

Use structured replacements rather than reactive advice.

Your value is in solving income gaps, not simply reporting them.

Fringe actions to bring into the conversation

Many clients will not be actively considering these:

• AHW3 Beetle banks – £764/ha
• AHW4 Skylark plots – £11 per plot
• WBD3 In-field grass strips – £765/ha
• SCR1 Scrub mosaic – £588/ha
• SCR2 Scrub mosaic supplement – £350/ha
• PRF2 Sensor-guided spraying – £43/ha

These can help rebuild value within the cap.

Agents who surface these early demonstrate strategic competence.

Rotational action planning

Year 1 now sets the ceiling.

Rotational actions:

• Can move fields annually
• Cannot increase beyond Year 1 area or value

Clients must commit sufficient area upfront without overstretching.

This is a new layer of design complexity.

Protecting your margins as an agent

The £100,000 cap has fee implications.

If you charge a percentage of agreement value:

• Agreements are capped
• Fee upside is capped

Meanwhile:

• Advisory complexity increases
• More modelling is required
• More clients may generate smaller agreements

Efficiency becomes central to profitability.

What we still do not know

Key uncertainties remain.

• Can clients exit existing agreements early?
• Will final guidance adjust compatibility rules?
• What happens if Window 2 funding tightens?
• How will overlapping agreement transitions be handled?

Agents must plan around uncertainty.

How JustFarm protects agent margins

JustFarm is structured for multi-client advisory.

See what is available, fast

With the Planner you can:

• Filter all 71 actions by land type, payment rate and client situation
• Instantly identify compatible actions
• Avoid wasting time on removed or incompatible options

Know the shortfall, and how to fill it

• Input previous action stacks
• Compare against SFI26
• Identify payment gaps
• Test replacement combinations quickly

You present structured solutions.

Manage more clients efficiently

Pro accounts for agents include:

• Multi-client dashboard
• Portfolio-level compliance tracking
• Bulk action planning
• Clone successful action mixes across similar farms
• Bulk export functionality

White-label options are available for advisory businesses.

Client self-service, controlled

Invite clients to:

• Upload evidence directly
• View mapped agreements
• Access guidance

Reduce document chasing while retaining oversight.

Create a free account and structure your portfolio now:
https://justfarm.app

Explore SFI structure here:
https://justfarm.app/sfi

See Pro features and Planner add-on details here:
https://justfarm.app/pricing

Portfolio strategy replaces reactive advice

SFI26 compresses margins and increases structural complexity.

Agents who systemise cap modelling, action optimisation and transition planning will outperform.

June rewards organised portfolios.

Preparation is now a competitive advantage.