How an SFI standards agreement works

This information explains what you’re agreeing to when you enter into a Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) standards agreement, when it will start and what changes you can request once your agreement starts.

Entering into an agreement

When you submit your SFI application, we will process it. You’ll be notified when your SFI standards agreement offer is available in the Rural Payments service to check.

To enter into the agreement, you must accept it and sign it digitally. Your SFI standards agreement cannot start until you do this.

Your SFI standards agreement comprises of the:

• agreement document
• scheme terms and conditions
• standards

By accepting your SFI standards agreement, you are agreeing to follow the scheme terms and conditions. You should read them carefully before you accept it.

When your agreement will start

SFI standards agreements will not all start on a single date. The start date for your agreement will depend on when you submit your SFI application, how long it takes to process and how quickly you accept your agreement offer.

Your SFI standards agreement cannot start until you accept it.

Your SFI standards agreement will last for 3 years from its start date, as shown on your agreement document.

We’ll publish more information on GOV.UK about accepting an agreement offer and agreement start dates before applications open.

Submit an annual declaration to confirm progress of your agreement

You must submit an annual declaration for each year of your SFI standards agreement. This is to confirm you have complied with the obligations under your agreement for the relevant agreement year, which allows us to make your final quarterly payment for that year.

You’ll complete and submit your annual declaration online. It will be a straightforward process. You’ll need to submit it during the last 2 months of the relevant agreement year. We’ll remind you when it’s due and provide more information to help you complete it.

If you do not submit your annual declaration when it’s due, we may be unable to make your final quarterly payment for the relevant agreement year. We may also withhold your other payments or recover payments, and your agreement may be ended.

If you’ve been unable to comply with the obligations in your agreement, you cannot use the annual declaration to tell us this. Instead, you must notify us (in writing, as soon as reasonably practicable) if there is a change of circumstances.

Read more about checking progress of your SFI standards agreement.

Requesting changes to your agreement

You’ll be able to request certain changes to your SFI standards agreement.

Upgrading your agreement

You can upgrade your SFI standards agreement every 12 months from its start date. This will allow you to:

• add more standards
• increase levels within standards already in your SFI standards agreement
• add more land, including land coming out of a Countryside Stewardship agreement when it ends

You’ll be able to submit an upgrade request towards the end of the first and second years of your 3-year agreement.

The upgrade requests can include all of the upgrades you would like to request for the next agreement year. It will need to be submitted by a deadline.

We’ll publish more information on GOV.UK about when and how to submit your upgrade request. We will not accept your annual upgrade request if it’s received after that date.

If we approve your upgrade request, you’ll need to confirm that you accept your updated SFI standards agreement by the date we’ll tell you. If you do this, your updated agreement will usually apply from the start of the following agreement year.

Your agreement will still last for 3 years from its original start date.

If you do not accept your updated SFI standards agreement by the date we’ll tell you, your original agreement will continue without the upgrades.

If we reject your upgrade request, we’ll tell you why we have rejected it.

More information about how to submit an annual upgrade request will be published on GOV.UK.

Removing standards, reducing the levels in the standards or land area in your SFI standards agreement or ending it early

You’re usually expected to deliver your SFI standards agreement for its 3-year duration without:

• removing standards
• reducing the level that you’ve selected for a standard
• removing land from the agreement
• ending the agreement early

In certain situations, it may be possible for you to do this before its 3-year duration is completed. For example, we may agree to do this if you have a change of circumstances that makes it impossible for you to deliver all or part of the agreement.

If we agree to remove standards, reduce levels of the standards or remove land, or end your agreement early, you may have to repay some, or all, of the money already paid to you.

Your SFI standards agreement payments are based on you completing the actions in the standards for a full agreement year, including submitting your annual declaration. If you have done this, you will not have to repay the money already paid to you. If you have not, you may need to make a repayment for the affected agreement year.

Transferring an SFI standards agreement to another person

It will not usually be possible for you to transfer an SFI standards agreement to another person.

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