SFI 2026 action

OFC2: Organic conversion – unimproved permanent grassland

Changed from SFI24: you enter the parcel's whole available area, measured as it stands when you apply, paid at £96 per hectare per year.
Changed from SFI24
Payment
£96 per hectare per year
Duration
1 years
Uptake in SFI23/24
58 agreements, £110k paid, 1,150 ha

What changed for SFI26

The following changes have been made to this action for SFI26 (compared with the SFI24 version):

  • you enter the parcel's whole available area, and that area is measured as it stands when you apply
  • minor updates to standard wording which appears in all area-based SFI actions

How many farms have this action in SFI23/24?

58 agreements
59th of 71
£110k paid
61st of 71
1,150 hectares
48th of 64 hectare-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 unimproved permanent grassland is converted from conventional management to organic management.

The purpose of this is to increase the overall area of land registered and managed as organic.

What you must do

You must:

  • follow the organic conversion plan for the land entered into this action and associated livestock, as approved and signed off by your organic control body
  • comply with organic standards on land entered into this action from the start of organic conversion period until this action’s end date
  • complete organic conversion and register the land entered into this action as ‘fully organic’ before this action’s end date

When to do it

You must do this action from its start date, throughout each year of this action’s duration until the land is registered as ‘fully organic’.

Where you can do it

You can do this action on agricultural land located below the moorland line that’s:

  • registered as ‘in conversion’ with a DEFRA-licensed organic control body
  • an eligible land type (as defined in section 5.1.1 ‘Eligible land types’ in the SFI26 scheme information)
  • registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
  • declared with a land use code which is compatible with the eligible land cover

Land is not eligible for this action if you’ve previously:

  • registered it with an organic control body
  • received organic conversion aid or funding for it

Rotational or static

This action is static. This means you must do it at the same location each year of this action’s duration.

Evidence to keep

You must keep:

  • a copy of the organic conversion plan approved and signed off by your organic control body
  • a valid organic certificate and schedule for all land entered into this action – this must cover at least the full period of this action’s duration
  • records to show the land is unimproved low input permanent grassland

You must supply this evidence if we ask for it.

Read the full guidance on GOV.UK

What you can do on the same land

Actions and options you can put on the same area of a land parcel, by scheme.
SFI 2026
CLIG3, GRH12, HEF6, PRF2, WBD7
SFI 2024
CIPM1, CLIG3, CNUM1, CSAM1, GRH6, HEF5, HEF6, PRF2, WBD7
SFI 2023
IPM1, LIG1, LIG2, NUM1, SAM1
CS Higher Tier, 2025+
CAGF1, CAGF2, CAGF3, CAGF4, CBE4, CBE5, CCT10, CCT3, CCT5, CGS18, CGS19, CGS20, CGS21, CGS22, CHS4, CHS5, CHS7, CLH1, CLH2, CPAC1, CSP13, CSP14, CSP15, CSP20, CSP21, CSP9, CSW15, CSW16, CSW18, CSW20, CSW21, CSW24, CSW25, CUP2, CWD20, CWD21, CWD22, CWS1, CWS3, CWT10, CWT13, CWT14
CS options
BE4, BE5, CT1, CT3, CT5, GS1, GS10, GS13, GS2, GS5, GS6, GS7, GS9, HS4, HS5, HS7, LH1, LH2, SW10, SW15, SW16, SW18, UP2, WD10, WD11, WD4, WD5, WT10, WT6, WT8
Environmental Stewardship
No revenue options
SFI Shepherd
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.

Get your SFI 2026 application planned today