Sustainable Farming Investment Scheme

Further details on the scheme and how to apply will follow when the scheme opens on 21 July 2026. 

Scheme Eligibility – who can apply?

Primary food producers, across livestock, arable and horticulture sectors with a Category 1 Farm Business ID will be eligible for the scheme. 

Further information on Farm Business IDs is available at: New Farm Business | Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs

Eligible Items and Investment Amounts

The scheme is based on a pre-selected list of eligible items. The list includes options for the management of fruit, vegetables, crops, grassland and livestock. The scheme will also offer support for Low Emission Slurry Spreading Equipment (LESSE).

Grant aid of up to £25,000 will be available per farm business across the scheme. The scheme will open in a number of rounds over the next 3 or 4 years.

Investments ranging from £3,000 to £62,500 will be eligible for support under the scheme, with a grant rate of 40%. Grant will be offered based on a reference price for each item on the Eligible Item List. This means that you will not have to provide quotes as part of your application.

Each item on the eligible list has an individual score (based on the benefits it can bring). An application score will be calculated from the average score of the items you select.

For LESSE items only, the item score will be combined with the cattle or pig numbers for your farm (based on data from NIFAIS for cattle and provided in the application for pigs).

The Eligible List of Items can be viewed at: Sustainable Farming Investment Scheme Item List

Application Process Summary

An application must be made via an easy-to-use online system (called the scheme portal). The link for the scheme portal will be available when the application window opens. You will login via a Government Gateway or nidirect account. 

You will be asked a few questions about the main decision maker in the business, your priorities, and some very simple farm information (depending on the items you select). 

For example, if you apply for an automatic slurry scraper, you will be asked how often you currently scrape. The question will give multiple choice options.

Please note that the answers to these questions do not affect your application score (apart from pig numbers in a LESSE application). Your answers will help DAERA develop further support schemes, so it is important that all information provided is accurate and relates to your individual farm business. 

You will be able to select items for which you wish to apply for grant from a drop-down list. Detail on minimum or maximum quantity and any requirements is given below each item. The system will calculate the amount of grant you have applied for.

Once you are content with the item(s) selected, you can review your application, and then submit it.

Further information on the application process and scheme portal will be available when the scheme opens.

Eligibility for Low Emission Slurry Spreading Equipment

Please note that the following information is only about eligibility for Low Emission Slurry Spreading Equipment (LESSE). If you are not eligible to apply for LESSE for any of the reasons below, you will still be able to apply for other items.

If you have previously received funding for LESSE under the Farm Business Improvement Scheme Capital, the system will state you are not eligible and will not allow you to apply for LESSE. This helps to provide support for LESSE to more farm businesses.

The existing Nutrients Action Programme 2019 - 2022 requires farm businesses with 200 or more cattle livestock units (LU) and/or a total annual livestock manure nitrogen production of 20,000 kg or more from pigs to use LESSE.

If you have cattle, we will have assessed your eligibility for LESSE before the scheme opens based on NIFAIS data from the 2025 calendar year. If you have 200 or more cattle livestock units, the system will state you are not eligible and will not allow you to apply for LESSE.

If you are a pig breeder or finisher, and you select a LESSE item, you will be asked to provide details of your pig numbers for the previous 12 months. This information will be used to determine your eligibility for LESSE. Please note following scheme closure, if your nitrogen production from pigs is determined to be 20,000kg or more, your LESSE application will be rejected.

You can calculate your cattle livestock units by using the 2025 stock count numbers, available on NIFAIS (Nitrogen Average). Please note you may have to wait 24 hours for the data after you request it. These figures can then be inserted into the CAFRE Livestock Units calculator to calculate your total livestock units for your business.

You can calculate the nitrogen produced by your pigs using your stock numbers for the previous 12 months. The N Loading Calculator can be used to calculate the nitrogen produced by pigs, available at: DAERA Online Services | Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.

Do not include pigs (or any other livestock) in the cattle livestock unit calculation, or nitrogen produced by cattle (or any other livestock) in the pig nitrogen produced calculation.

What do I need to do now?

As the scheme application and notifications will be online, you will need a Government Gateway or NI Direct Account (NIDA) to access the system. Most farm businesses will already have these set up. But if you do not already have either type of account, further information is available at: Registering for Government Gateway (GG) and NIDA Accounts | Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs

Please ensure that the email address you have registered with DAERA (under your Category 1 Farm Business ID) for your business is up to date.

Nomination of an Online Agent

You do not need an agent to complete an application or claim. The application system will be very easy to use, much like an online grocery or shopping “basket”. 

However, if you wish, you can nominate an online agent to make an application on your behalf, or to make a claim if you are successful. This can be done at any stage (during the application window for an application, or before the final deadline for a claim if successful) via the DAERA Customer Portal.

For an agent to act on behalf of your business the following steps need to be taken:

1. The agent must register for this service (to be an online agent for the scheme) via the DAERA Customer Portal
2. Contact your chosen agent for their reference number and telephone number 
3. Select and nominate the online agent via the DAERA Customer Portal
4. The agent accepts the nomination

Further information regarding online agent nomination can be found here: Online Agent Nomination | Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs

If you have any difficulties nominating an agent, then please contact DAERA Direct.

If you nominate an Online Agent for the Scheme, then the Online Agent will have access to all the information relating to your farm business held on the scheme portal, including payment information and will also receive notifications via secure messaging.

It is important that all information provided via an agent is accurate and relates to your individual farm business.

Further Information

Further information will be available when the scheme opens on 21 July 2026.

Contact Us

• E-mail: SFIS@daera-ni.gov.uk
• Telephone: 0300 200 7848