Turn your drilling system into an extra income stream with SFI26
If you’re already drilling with a Claydon — or considering one — SFI26 actions can reward practices that align naturally with low soil disturbance and flexible seed placement.
- SOH1 No-till farming: £73/ha/year
- Cover crop actions can add further rotational payments (see below)
- Rotations on the Claydon farm earn £349/ha average annual SFI income (click here to download CLD836 SFI Grant leaflet 2026)
Defra’s Sustainable Farming Incentive offer for 2026
This brings together a set of paid actions that support soil health, integrated pest management and other outcomes. Defra has set out eligibility, definitions and what to expect guidelines (including application windows).
Why Claydon owners are asking about it?
Many of the core actions focus on reducing soil disturbance and establishing companion/cover crops effectively — areas where Claydon drilling fits well within practical farm operations.
For those farmers who were accepted for the SFI scheme 2025, there are various payments for which Claydon drilling is eligible. Spencer Claydon, a 4th generation farmer for E T Claydon and Sons, takes us through the various options available to farmers carrying out no-till crop establishment.
SFI actions that align with Claydon drilling
1) Soil disturbance / establishment
SOH1 – No-till farming ( £73/ha/year )
Designed to minimise soil disturbance by using no-tillage techniques.
Where Claydon fits: a direct drilling low disturbance establishment approach with controlled multi-zone placement can help farms implement a consistent system.
2) Cover crops (rotational)
SOH3 – Multi-species summer-sown cover crop (£163/ha/year)
CSAM2 – Multi-species winter cover crop (129/ha/year)
3) Integrated Pest Management options (can stack with rotations where rules allow)
CIPM3 – Companion crop on arable/horticultural land (£55/ha/year)
CIPM4 – No use of insecticide on arable & permanent crops (£45/ha/year)
What could it be worth?
From the Claydon farm example rotation, combining a no-till approach with rotational cover/companion options produces an outcome of £349/ha average annual SFI income (example shown across a 3-year cropping plan). NB SFI annual payments are capped at £100k per annum.
Want a quick estimate for your hectares and rotation? Call 01440 820327 or send us your crop plan and we’ll talk it through.
Why Claydon drilling helps you implement SFI actions
Flexible seeding set-up: “what you want, where you want it”
Claydon drilling is designed around flexible placement, which can support practical establishment of:
- No-till systems
- Companion crops
- Catch/summer cover crops
- Winter cover crops
The key benefit is keeping establishment practical — especially when you’re trying to hit drilling windows and manage residue, soil condition and multiple seed types.
How to get started (simple steps)
- Identify actions that match your rotation (no-till, cover crops etc)
- Check eligibility for your land and timings using Defra guidance.
- Plan establishment and record-keeping (seed mixes, drilling evidence).
- Apply to SFI26 in the relevant window and build your agreement around what you can deliver confidently.
- Use Claydon support: we can discuss practical set-ups for cover/companion establishment and no-till approaches.
Eligibility
To be eligible for SFI26 (for both Windows 1 and 2) farmers should have at least 3 hectares (ha) of agricultural land.
Window 1
Window 1 opens in June 2026 and will remain open for approximately 2 months (it may close sooner if demand is high and the Window 1 budget is fully allocated).
It will be open to 2 groups:
- small farms (a farm with up to 50 hectares (ha) of agricultural land)
- farms without an existing environmental land management (ELM) revenue agreement
Window 2
Window 2 will open in September 2026 for all farms.
Defra has not set a fixed end-date at this point, because this will depend on how many farmers apply.
FAQs
Claydon drilling is a strong practical fit for actions such as SOH1 no-till and cover/companion crop establishment, subject to meeting the SFI action requirements.
Often you can combine actions, but it depends on the specific action rules, land parcel eligibility and timing/overlap rules in your agreement. Always check the latest action guidance and SFI26 rules.
Commonly used actions include SOH1 (£73/ha), SOH3 (£163/ha), CSAM2 (£129/ha), CIPM3 (£55/ha) and CIPM4 (£45/ha) (subject to SFI26 terms and your agreement).
The SFI has an annual payment cap of £100,000 per annum.
Yes — if you share your hectares, rotation, and drilling windows, we can talk through which actions may be practical with your Claydon system and what information you’ll need to evidence delivery.
Make SFI26 work with your drilling system
Already own a Claydon? Let’s map SFI actions onto your rotation. Call 01440 820327
Thinking of buying? Understand how SFI26 payments can support the business case.
Call: 01440 820327
Or:
Complete our form and we’ll get back to you
Information on this page is for general guidance only. SFI actions are subject to scheme rules, eligibility and agreement terms. Always refer to Defra/Gov.uk action guidance when applying.