AHW9: Unharvested cereal headland (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
£1,072 per hectare (ha) per year
Action’s aim
This action’s aim is that there’s an open-structured, spring cereal crop which:
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is growing in strips or plots on the outer edges of the land parcel
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remains unharvested during the summer, autumn and winter months
The purpose of this is to:
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provide a summer food source for farmland birds and insects
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help establish a range of arable plants and other broad-leaved plants
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provide a habitat that’s present over the winter for insects and food for seed-eating farmland birds
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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a ‘headland’ (the outer edges of the land parcel which are usually used to turn farm equipment during field operations, such as planting)
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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 is compatible with the eligible land cover
Eligible land
| Eligible land type | Eligible land cover | Compatible land use code |
|---|---|---|
| Arable land used to grow spring cereal crops (not maize) | Arable land | Land use codes for arable crops or leguminous and nitrogen-fixing crops |
| Temporary grassland | Arable land | TG01 |
| Arable land lying fallow | Arable land | FA01 |
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 or static action – this means you can either:
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move its location for the second and third years of this action’s duration
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do it at the same location each year of this action’s duration
What to do
You 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.
You 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.
As long as this action’s aim can reasonably be expected to be achieved, you can:
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undersow a seed mix into the spring cereal crop
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use a blend or mix of cereals
Once 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.
You must not apply the following to the strips or plots:
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any fertilisers, manures or lime
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insecticides after around mid-March
You must not apply herbicides apart from those containing the following permitted active ingredients:
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amidosulfuron
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clodinafop-propargyl
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fenoxaprop-P-ethyl
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pinoxaden
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tri-allate
It 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.
You can use an existing spring cereal crop strip or plot to get paid for this action if it:
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meets this action’s requirements
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is not already being paid for under another environmental land management scheme action or option, such as CS option AB7 (whole crop cereals)
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 to establish the cereal crop, you must establish it within 12 months of this action’s start date.
In 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.
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 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 or 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, OFC3, OFM4, PRF2, PRF4, SOH1 |
| SFI 2024 actions | AGF1, AGF2, CIPM1, CNUM1, CSAM1, OFC3, OFM4, PRF2, PRF4, SOH1 |
| SFI 2023 actions | IPM1, NUM1, SAM1 |
| CSHT actions from 2025 | CAGF1, CAGF2, CAGF3, CAGF4, CHS3, CHS9, CSP13, CSP14, CSP15, CSP20, CSP21, CSP9, CWS1, CWS3 |
| CS options | HS3, HS9, OR3, OT3, SW5, SW6 |
| 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 can only be done on headlands and the strips or plots must be no more than around 24 metres wide – this only applies to SFI26 agreements, not existing SFI23 and SFI24 agreements • you can now enter total or part of the available area in a land parcel into this action – this only applies to SFI26 agreements, not existing SFI23 and SFI24 agreements • minor updates to standard wording which appears in all area-based SFI
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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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SOH4 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 manage the cereal crop strips or plots 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. Deleted ‘until the crop is harvested’ for the prohibition on insecticide application and replaced ‘sow’ with ‘establish’. Other actions or options you can do on the same area - added SOH1 to SFI 2024 actions. 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.