What changed for SFI26
No substantive changes have been made to this action for SFI26 (compared with the SFI24 version). There have only been minor updates to standard wording which appears in all linear SFI actions.
SFI 2026 action
BND1: Maintain dry stone walls
Requirements are unchanged from SFI24, with £3.0m paid across 2,110 agreements in 2025.
Unchanged from SFI24
Payment
£27 per 100 metres for both sides
Duration
3 years
Uptake in SFI23/24
2,110 agreements, £3.0m paid
How many farms have this action in SFI23/24?
2,110 agreements
19th of 71
£3.0m paid
25th of 71
11,300 km
3rd of 4 length-based
Estimated payments in the 2025 calendar year, from Defra's CS and SFI release. These are agreements, not farms: one business can hold several, and Defra advises they cannot be summed across actions. Ranks compare the 71 actions that remain in SFI26, and area ranks only against actions measured in the same unit.
What the action involves
This action’s aim is that there are dry stone walls maintained in good condition.
The purpose of this is to:
- help manage livestock
- provide habitats for lichens, mosses, ferns and wildlife
- maintain landscape and historic features
What you must do
You must maintain dry stone walls entered into this action in good condition. To do this, you must:
- visually check their condition and identify any sections that need to be repaired
- carry out any necessary repairs
- keep a record (written or photographic) of any need for repairs you identify, and the repair work you do – including the date you identify the need and when the work was done
When you carry out any necessary repairs, you must:
- use materials in keeping with the local style and characteristic
- retain any existing features such as top stones, sheep creeps, stiles and stone gate posts
When to do it
You must:
- check the condition of the walls at least once during each year of this action’s 3-year duration
- carry out any necessary repairs within 12 months of identifying the need, or by this action’s end date if you identify the need for repairs during the final year of this action’s duration
Evidence to keep
You must keep the required written or photographic record and supply this evidence if we ask for it.
Eligibility, land types and admin detail
Where you can do it
An eligible dry stone wall for this action must be:
- a vertical structure that’s built of natural stone
- of traditional dry stone wall construction, which can include mortar if it’s part of the traditional stone walling method
- at least 20m long, measured between 2 end points – read the ‘advice to help you do this action’ to find out how to measure this
- in good condition
To be in good condition, the dry stone wall must be both:
- continuous – which means there are no gaps along its entire length, apart from structural wall features such as stiles, stone gate posts and sheep creeps
- complete – which means the wall is at a height in keeping with local style, with top stones in place if they’re part of the local style
Rotational or static
This action is static. This means you must do it at the same location each year of this action’s duration.
What you can do on the same land
Actions and options you can put on the same area of a land parcel, by scheme.
CS Higher Tier, 2025+
All CSHT actions except CHRW4
CS options
All CS management options except BE3 (management of hedgerows)
Environmental Stewardship
All ES revenue options except boundary options
Planning an SFI26 application
Build the plan field by field, and see the clashes before you apply
SFI Shepherd adds actions to your fields from your RPA maps, flags conflicts with SFI and Countryside Stewardship agreements you already hold, tracks the 25% limited-area total across the whole holding, and exports a summary ready for the RPA portal. Draft as many versions as you like and compare them side by side.