Agricultural Support in Scotland: August 2026

Agricultural support in Scotland continues to evolve. The Scottish Government has recently confirmed that another round of the Future Farm Investment Scheme will open in winter 2026, while changes to the minimum Ecological Focus Area requirements are due to come into effect in 2027.

Future Farm Investment Scheme (FFIS)

2025 FFIS Round

Claims under the 2025 FFIS round have been extended to 30^th September.

Successful claimants in 2025 must submit Geotagged photos, financial evidence and written justifications for the funds received last December by this date.  Items must be completed and fully installed before claims can be submitted.  It is worth noting that any BPS payments due will be withheld until a claimants outstanding FFIS claims have been processed.

2026 FFIS Round

A second round of the Future Farm Investment Scheme has been announced, to open in Winter 2026. Successful applicants could be awarded up to £20,000 but various caps will be in place, funding 50% of eligible costs for most up to the cap, 80% for new entrants and 100% for items delivering environmental & nature benefits.  It has been announced also that those that were successful in the 2025 round will be eligible to apply again.  More details will be released in due course.

Basic Payment Scheme – Changes for 2027

Whole Farm Plan

To be compliant to receive BPS in 2027, the number of audits a claimant must have undertaken under the Whole Farm Plan will remain at two from the following:

• Carbon Audit of the business (5-year lifespan)
• Soil Analysis on ALL R1 land in receipt of Nitrogen by 2028 (5-year lifespan)
• Biodiversity Audit of the holding (5-year lifespan)
• Integrated Pest Management Plan (renew annually)
• Animal Health Plan (renew annually)

By BPS 2028 however, all audits that apply to your business must have been undertaken.  We therefore suggest those that haven’t undertaken a Biodiversity Audit to date look to complete this while the minimum requirements for the plan are relatively simple.  It is expected that this will become much more complex and may include habitat scoring in the future, however an audit completed under the current rules will remain compliant for 5 years regardless.

Furthermore, we would also recommend looking at the expiry date of your audits.  Soil analysis, Carbon Audits and Biodiversity Audits have a 5-year lifespan, however those that completed these in 2022 or earlier, will be expiring and should be renewed.

Ecological Focus area (EFA) for 2027

The minimum Ecological Focus Area (EFA) requirement increases to 7% from 2027, and establishment dates of EFA options are being brought forward.  We therefore advise claimants to plan ahead this autumn:

• EFA Fallow – the ground cover from 15^th January to 15^th July can no longer be bare ground, and instead must either be a diverse mix Temporary Grassland, Wild Flower Mix, Wild Bird Seed mix or a Soil Conditioning crop.  Ground covers must be established during the Fallow period up to 1st of May 2027 if it is not created this autumn.
• EFA Margins – if changing the ground cover of a margin to establish a wildflower mix, wild bird seed mix or a diverse grass sward containing pollen bearing plants, this must be completed by the 1st of May 2027.
• EFA Herb & Legume Rich Grassland must be established by 1st of June 2027.

If you have any queries about the latest updates to agricultural support in Scotland, please get in touch with FBR Seed director, Jenni Douglas – jenni.douglas@fbrseed.com