AHW7: Enhanced overwinter stubble (updated for SFI26)
What you must do to get paid for this SFI26 action and advice on how to do it.
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.
Select ‘See all updates’ at the start of this page to find out how this action has changed for SFI26 compared with SFI24.
Duration
3 years
How much you’ll be paid
£589 per hectare (ha) per year
Action’s aim
This action’s aim is that there’s a post-harvest stubble remaining during the autumn, winter, spring and summer months.
The purpose of this is to provide:
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a winter food source for seed-eating farmland birds
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spring and summer foraging and nesting habitats for other farmland birds, and habitats for other farmland wildlife
Where you can do this action
You can do this action on agricultural land located below the moorland line that’s:
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identified by you as not being at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff – you must keep evidence of this
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an eligible land type (as defined in section 5.1.1 ‘Eligible land types’ in the SFI26 scheme information)
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registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
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declared with a land use code which compatible with the eligible land cover
Eligible land
| Eligible land type | Eligible land cover | Compatible land use code |
|---|---|---|
| Arable land used to grow cereals (not maize or sorghum), oilseed rape or linseed | Arable land | Land use codes for arable crops |
25% limited area action
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).
Eligibility of protected land
Sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs): Eligible – you must:
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give notice to Natural England to get SSSI consent before the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) offer you an SFI26 agreement
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have 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)
Historic 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).
Available area you can enter into this action
Total 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.
You 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.
Rotational or static action
This is a rotational action – this means you must move its location within your crop rotation for the second and third years of this action’s duration.
What to do
After harvest, you must leave the stubble from a cereal crop, oilseed rape or linseed until around mid-summer in the following year.
You must not apply pre-harvest desiccants to the cereal crop, oilseed rape or linseed.
You must not do the following on the stubble area:
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top or graze it
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apply any pesticides, except herbicides to control grass weeds by spraying the affected area from around mid-May
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apply any fertilisers, manures or lime
When to do it
You must do this action each year of its 3-year duration.
If this action’s start date means it’s too late for you to do this action, you must start doing it within 12 months of the action’s start date.
In the final year of this action’s duration, you must do the action until around mid-summer or this action’s end date, whichever is earlier.
How to do it
It’s up to you how you do this action, as long as you:
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follow this action’s requirements – these are identified by a ‘must’
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do the action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim
We’ll publish advice to help you do this action, but it’s not part of this action’s requirements.
Evidence to keep
You must keep written evidence that land entered into this action is not at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff. You can use the soil management plan you’ve already produced for SFI24 action CSAM1 or SFI23 action SAM1 to identify this.
You must also keep evidence to show what you’ve done to complete this action, such as:
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field operations at a land parcel level and associated invoices
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photographs and other documentation
If 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.
Other actions or options you can do on the same area as this action
You can do the following actions or options on the same area in a land parcel as this action.
| Scheme | Action or option codes |
|---|---|
| SFI 2026 actions | AGF1, AGF2, AHW5, CIPM4, OFC3, OFM4, PRF1, PRF2, PRF4, SOH1 |
| SFI 2024 actions | AGF1, AGF2, AHW5, CIPM1, CIPM4, CNUM1, CSAM1, OFC3, OFM4, PRF1, PRF2, PRF3, PRF4, SOH1 |
| SFI 2023 actions | IPM1, NUM1, SAM1 |
| CSHT actions from 2025 | CAB5, CAGF1, CAGF2, CAGF3, CAGF4, CSP13, CSP14, CSP15, CSP20, CSP21, CSP9, CWS1, CWS3 |
| CS options | AB11, AB14, AB15, AB5, HS3, OR3, OT3 |
| ES options | No ES revenue options |
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.
You can do the following actions or options on the eligible boundaries of a land parcel entered into this action:
- SFI 2026 actions: CHRW2, BND1, BND2 and WBD2
- SFI 2024 actions: CHRW1, CHRW2, CHRW3, BND1, BND2 and WBD2
- SFI 2023 actions: HRW1, HRW2, HRW3
- CSHT actions: CHRW4
- CS options: BE3 (management of hedgerows)
Updates to this page
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The following changes have been made to this action for SFI26 (compared with the SFI24 version): • this action is now a 25% ‘limited area’ action – this only applies to this action in SFI26 agreements, but the 25% limit applies across all your SFI agreements • minor updates to standard wording which appears in all area-based SFI actions – see ‘Eligibility of protected land’ and ‘Available area you can enter into this action’
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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.
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AHW10 and AHW11 removed from SFI 2024 actions.
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Where you can do this action - an eligible land type is defined in section 5.1 ‘Eligible land types for SFI’ in the SFI scheme information. Eligibility of protected land - updated link to section 10.3 ‘SSSI consent’ in the SFI scheme information. What to do - you must not apply pre-harvest dessicants to the cereal crop, oilseed rape or linseed. The other prohibited activities apply to the stubble area. Published voluntary advice to help you do this action, but it's not part of this action’s requirements.
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First published.