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£13 per 100 metres (m) for one side of an eligible hedgerow per year
\n\nThis action’s aim is that there are managed hedgerows with a range of different heights and widths.
\n\nThe purpose of this is to provide:
\n\nhabitat for wildlife
\npollen, nectar and berries for mammals, birds and insects
\nAn eligible hedgerow for this action must be:
\n\na boundary line of shrubs, or both shrubs and trees
\nover 20m long
\nless than 10m wide
\nThe hedgerow can be:
\n\nnewly planted, laid or coppiced
\nwoody growth on top of an earth or stone-faced bank, for example, Cornish or Devon hedges
\nThere can be gaps in the hedgerow if they’re not more than:
\n\n20m long
\n10% of the total length of the relevant hedgerow when you add all the gaps in it together
\nIf the gaps add up to more than 10%, you can only do the action on the total length of the hedgerow if you’ll plant up the gaps during this action’s 3-year duration.
\n\nYou must have management control of the eligible hedgerows you enter into this action for its 3-year duration.
\n\nIf you have management control of:
\n\none side of an eligible hedgerow, you must only enter one side into this action
\nboth sides, you can usually choose whether to enter one side or both sides – however, you must enter both sides if you want to manage the hedgerow in a coppicing or laying rotation
\nYou will have management control of both sides of a hedgerow that’s next to a road, or borders a neighbour’s land if you meet both of the following:
\n\nyou have a legal right or obligation to maintain the hedgerow
\nyou can meet this action’s requirements
\nIt’s your responsibility to check that the length (in metres) you enter in your SFI application:
\n\nis eligible for this action
\ncorresponds with what’s on the ground for the relevant land parcel – make sure you measure your hedgerows and enter an accurate length
\nWe do not use the hedgerow lengths shown on your digital maps in your SFI application.
\n\nIf you enter a length which is ineligible or exceeds what’s on the ground, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will have to remove it from your SFI26 agreement. You may also have to repay monies already received.
\n\nWe’ll publish guidance explaining how to enter both sides of a hedgerow in your SFI application.
\n\nSites of special scientific interest (SSSIs): Eligible – you must:
\n\ngive notice to Natural England to get SSSI consent before the RPA can 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\nThis action is static. This means you must do it at the same location each year of this action’s duration.
\n\nYou must manage hedgerows entered into this action. What you must do to manage them depends on whether they’re:
\n\nfully established, which will usually be the case around 5 years after they’re planted
\nnewly planted, or not fully established
\nIf the hedgerows are fully established, you must use one of the following management approaches (you can use different approaches on different fully established hedgerows):
\n\ncut each hedgerow incrementally
\non a rotation, cut each hedgerow no more than once every 3 years, cutting no more than one third of hedges each year
\non a rotation, cut each hedgerow no more than once every 2 years, cutting no more than half the hedges each year
\nmanaging them in a coppicing or laying rotation, which may mean they’re left uncut for the duration of your 3-year SFI agreement
\nIf the hedgerows are newly planted, or not fully established, you must lightly trim them incrementally. You must do this until they’re fully established.
\n\nFor fully established hedgerows, if you’re cutting them:
\n\nincrementally, you must do this during the autumn and winter months (usually September to late February), each year of this action’s 3-year duration
\non a rotation no more than once every 3 years, you must do this during the autumn and winter months
\non a rotation no more than once every 2 years, you must do this in late winter (usually from early January to late February)
\nFor newly planted hedgerows, or hedgerows which are not fully established, you must lightly trim them incrementally:
\n\nduring the autumn and winter months
\neach year of this action’s 3-year duration
\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 in land parcels with eligible boundaries entered into this action.
\n\n| Scheme | \nAction or option codes | \n
|---|---|
| \nSFI 2026 actions | \nAll SFI 2026 actions except BND1 | \n
| \nSFI 2024 actions | \nAll SFI 2024 actions except BND1 and CHRW2 | \n
| \nSFI 2023 actions | \nAll SFI 2023 actions except HRW2 | \n
| \nCSHT actions from 2025 | \nAll CSHT actions except CHRW4 | \n
| \nCS options | \nAll CS management options except BE3 (management of hedgerows) | \n
| \nES options | \nAll ES revenue options except boundary options | \n
The following advice may help you to do this action, but it’s not part of this action’s requirements.
\n\nThis action explains what you’re required to do to manage hedgerows entered into this action (under ‘What to do’).
\n\nBefore you start managing the hedgerows, check whether there are any regulatory restrictions which may affect what you’re intending to do. For example:
\n\nRead section 10 ‘Get any regulatory consents before you do your SFI actions’ in the SFI26 scheme rules and guidance for more details.
\n\nYou may find it helpful to read:
\n\nHow you cut your hedgerows will affect how much wildlife benefit they will have. For example, if you cut the hedgerow:
\n\nIf you choose to cut your fully established hedgerows incrementally, you can do this by increasing the height and width of each cut by about 10 centimetres (cm) compared with the previous cut.
\n\nIf your hedgerow is newly planted or not fully established, this action requires you to lightly trim it incrementally until it’s fully established. Doing this will encourage dense, bushy growth.
\n\nYou can find more information about cutting hedgerows in:
\n\nIf you manage fully established hedgerows in a copping or laying rotation, this can restore them by stimulating new growth from the base.
\n\nYou can manage regrowth by cutting it incrementally higher and wider to form a bushy hedgerow.
\n\n","change_history":[{"note":"Added 'Advice to help you do this action' section.","public_timestamp":"2026-06-17T11:08:19Z"},{"note":"No substantive changes have been made to this action for SFI26 (compared with the SFI24 version).\r\nThere have only been minor updates to standard wording which appears in all linear SFI actions. See ‘Check you have management control of your hedgerows’ and ‘Check the length you enter into this action’.\r\n","public_timestamp":"2026-06-02T13:08:13Z"},{"note":"Added detail to explain how Hedgerow Regulations may affect how a farmer does an action, and signpost to detailed guidance on the Management of Hedgerows Regulations.","public_timestamp":"2025-03-20T15:47:27Z"},{"note":"Eligibility of protected land - updated link to section 10.3 ‘SSSI consent’ in the SFI scheme information. \r\nPublished voluntary advice to help you do this action, but it's not part of this action’s requirements. 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