This is a Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026 (SFI26) action. Read the SFI26 scheme information to understand what you’re required to do under an SFI26 agreement and how to apply.
\n\nSelect ‘See all updates’ at the start of this page to find out how this action has changed for SFI26 compared with SFI24.
\n\nFor SFI24 actions, read the SFI24 agreement holder’s information.
\n3 years
\n\n£1,072 per hectare (ha) per year
\n\nThis action’s aim is that there’s an open-structured, spring cereal crop which:
\n\nis growing in strips or plots on the headland of the land parcel
\nremains unharvested during the summer, autumn and winter months
\nThe purpose of this is to:
\n\nprovide a summer food source for farmland birds and insects
\nhelp establish a range of arable plants and other broad-leaved plants
\nprovide a habitat that’s present over the winter for insects and food for seed-eating farmland birds
\nYou can do this action on agricultural land located below the moorland line that’s:
\n\na ‘headland’ (the outer edges of the land parcel which are usually used to turn farm equipment during field operations, such as planting)
\nan eligible land type (as defined in section 5.1.1 ‘Eligible land types’ in the SFI26 scheme information)
\nregistered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
\ndeclared with a land use code which is compatible with the eligible land cover
\n| Eligible land type | \nEligible land cover | \nCompatible land use code | \n
|---|---|---|
| Arable land used to grow spring cereal crops (not maize) | \nArable land | \nLand use codes for arable crops or leguminous and nitrogen-fixing crops\n | \n
| Temporary grassland | \nArable land | \nTG01 | \n
| Arable land lying fallow | \nArable land | \nFA01 | \n
This is a ‘limited area’ action. The total eligible area you enter into any combination of one or more of the ‘limited area’ actions must not be more than 25% of the total agricultural area of your farm. Read section 4.5 ‘Limited area SFI actions’ in the SFI26 scheme information for more details (including a list of ‘limited area’ actions).
\n\nSites of special scientific interest (SSSIs): Eligible – you must:
\n\ngive notice to Natural England to get SSSI consent before the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) offer you an SFI26 agreement
\nhave received SSSI consent from Natural England before you do this action (read section 10.1 ‘SSSI consent’ in the SFI26 scheme information for more details)
\nHistoric and archaeological features: Eligible – you must get an SFI HEFER before you do this action (read section 5.3 ‘Land with historic or archaeological features’ in the SFI26 scheme information to find out how to do this).
\n\nTotal or part of the available area in a land parcel. It’s your responsibility to check that the area you enter is eligible for this action.
\n\nYou must do this action on the area entered into your SFI26 agreement. If something happens which means you cannot complete this action on some or all of the area, you must tell the RPA in writing as soon as possible. Read section 12.2 ‘What to do if you cannot comply with your agreement’ in the SFI26 scheme information to find out how to do this.
\n\nThis is a rotational or static action – this means you can either:
\n\nmove its location for the second and third years of this action’s duration
\ndo it at the same location each year of this action’s duration
\nYou must establish a spring cereal crop (not maize) in strips or plots on the headland. The strips or plots must not be more than around 24 metres wide.
\n\nYou must sow the cereal crop at a seed rate that’s reduced to a level that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim.
\n\nAs long as this action’s aim can reasonably be expected to be achieved, you can:
\n\nundersow a seed mix into the spring cereal crop
\nuse a blend or mix of cereals
\nOnce the cereal crop strips or plots are established, you must manage them in a way, and for a period of time, that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim. This will usually mean keeping them until around mid-February in the year after establishment.
\n\nYou must not apply the following to the strips or plots:
\n\nany fertilisers, manures or lime
\ninsecticides after around mid-March
\nYou must not apply herbicides apart from those containing the following permitted active ingredients:
\n\namidosulfuron
\nclodinafop-propargyl
\nfenoxaprop-P-ethyl
\npinoxaden
\ntri-allate
\nIt may not be possible for you to use these permitted active ingredients on all crops. It’s your responsibility to confirm whether herbicides are approved for use on the affected crop.
\n\nYou can use an existing spring cereal crop strip or plot to get paid for this action if it:
\n\nmeets this action’s requirements
\nis not already being paid for under another environmental land management scheme action or option, such as CS option AB7 (whole crop cereals)
\nYou must do this action each year of its 3-year duration.
\n\nIf this action’s start date means it’s too late to establish the cereal crop, you must establish it within 12 months of this action’s start date.
\n\nIn the final year of this action’s duration, you must do the action until the end of the winter months or this action’s end date whichever is earlier.
\n\nIt’s up to you how you do this action, as long as you:
\n\nfollow this action’s requirements – these are identified by a ‘must’
\ndo the action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim
\nYou may find it helpful to read the ‘advice to help you do this action’, but it’s not part of this action’s requirements.
\n\nYou must keep evidence to show what you’ve done to complete this action, such as:
\n\nfield operations at a land parcel level and associated invoices
\nphotographs or other documentation
\nIf it’s not clear that you’ve done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, we may ask for this evidence. You must supply the evidence if we ask for it.
\n\nYou can do the following actions or options on the same area in a land parcel as this action.
\n\n| Scheme | \nAction or option codes | \n
|---|---|
| \nSFI 2026 actions | \nAGF1, AGF2, OFC3, OFM4, PRF2, PRF4, SOH1 | \n
| \nSFI 2024 actions | \nAGF1, AGF2, CIPM1, CNUM1, CSAM1, OFC3, OFM4, PRF2, PRF4, SOH1 | \n
| \nSFI 2023 actions | \nIPM1, NUM1, SAM1 | \n
| \nCSHT actions from 2025 | \nCAGF1, CAGF2, CAGF3, CAGF4, CHS3, CHS9, CSP13, CSP14, CSP15, CSP20, CSP21, CSP9, CWS1, CWS3 | \n
| \nCS options | \nHS3, HS9, OR3, OT3, SW5, SW6 | \n
| \nES options | \nNo ES revenue options | \n
If an action or option cannot be located on the same area, you may be able to do it on a different area in the same land parcel. Read section 5.6 ‘Land that’s already in other funding schemes or grants’ in the SFI26 scheme information for more details.
\n\nYou can do the following actions or options on the eligible boundaries of a land parcel entered into this action:
\n\nThe following advice may help you to do this action, but it’s not part of this action’s requirements.
\n\nIt’s up to you which spring cereal crop (not maize) to use for this action.
\n\nIf you’re undersowing a seed mix into the spring cereal crop, you can sow it either:
\n\nUndersowing the spring cereal crop with a flowering companion crop mix can provide flower and insect-rich foraging habitat for farmland birds and pollinator species.
\n\nIf you’re using a blend or mix of cereals, it can include crops such as:
\n\nWhen you establish the spring cereal crop, by law you cannot cultivate or apply fertilisers or pesticides to land within 2 metres (m) of the centre of a hedgerow. Read the guidance on Hedgerow management rules; buffer strips to understand how these rules apply to you.
\n\nYou can do this action on most soil types, but it’s best to choose a location with low levels of thistles or problem weeds such as black-grass. This can help the beneficial arable plants in the soil seedbank to:
\n\nIt can also support the arable flora to:
\n\nTo help you achieve this action’s aim, you can sow your spring cereal crop strips or plots at a seed rate that’s either:
\n\nIt may also help if you sow your crop with wider spacing (for example, between 20cm and 25cm) between the rows.
\n\nTo minimise damage to plants and wildlife you can:
\n\n