Business and Policy September 2026 – Greening 2027
From 1st January 2027 there are changes to the requirements for Ecological Focus Areas. The changes are intended to deliver additional environmental benefit.
There are two main changes for 2027 – An increase in the required EFA area and changes to establishment deadlines.
The area of EFA required is increasing from 5% up to 7% of the total arable area. If you have more than 15ha of arable (including temporary grass) you will need to have 7% of the area as EFA.
Example EFA calculation
Total area of holding = 125 ha
Total arable area = 100 ha
EFA is 7% of 100 ha = 7 ha
Multiple Options are Permitted
Your EFA can be made up of one or multiple options. In 2026, 48% of farmers undertook multiple options with 25 farmers with 6 or more options. Undertaking multiple options on your farm can broaden the biodiversity benefit on your farm. With different weighting available for each of the 11 available options it is critical to plan ahead now.
In 2026, there was an extended establishment period due to the scale of the changes. For 2027 there are new establishment dates being brought in for new establishment. There is a deadline of 1st May for fallow, margins and low-density tree planting and a new establishment deadline of 1st June for new herb and legume rich pastures.
Below is a table showing key dates for each option.
| EFA Option | |
|---|---|
| Fallow | 15th January – 15th July |
| New covers can be established up to 1st May | |
| Margin | 1st January – 31st December. |
| Can be grazed or cut after 15th July | |
| New covers can be established up to 1st May | |
| Catch Crop | Undersow and maintain catch crop until 31st December |
| Green Cover | Establish by 1st November, maintain until 31st December |
| Hedges | Cannot be trimmed before 1st December unless in a winter crop. |
| Agro-forestry small and farm woodlands | Planted since 2015 under Agroforestry or woodland creation ‘small or farm woodland’ scheme. |
| Low input Grassland | 1st January – 31st December |
| Herb and Legume rich Pastures | 1st January – 31st December |
| New covers can be established by 1st June. | |
| Unharvested crop | Maintain until 31st December |
| Agro-forestry low density planting | New trees must be planted before 1st May |
Tiffany Stephenson, tiffany.stephenson@sac.co.uk
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