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CAHL1: Pollen and nectar flower mix (updated for SFI26)

What you must do to get paid for this SFI26 action and advice on how to do it.

From:
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Rural Payments Agency
Published
21 May 2024
Last updated
2 June 2026 — See all updates
Grant type:
Sustainable Farming Incentive
Land type:
Arable
Areas of interest:
Integrated pest management, Pollinators and Wildlife

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

£739 per hectare (ha) per year

Action’s aim

This action’s aim is that there’s an established pollen and nectar flower mix which:

  • is growing in blocks or strips

  • produces areas of flowering plants from late spring and during the summer months

The purpose of this is to:

  • provide food for beneficial pollinators, such as bumble bees, solitary bees, butterflies and hoverflies

  • encourage natural crop pest predators as part of an integrated pest management approach if located close to cropped areas

Where you can do this action

You can do this action on agricultural land located below the moorland line that’s:

Eligible land

Eligible land type Eligible land cover Compatible land use code
Arable land used to grow crops 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
Permanent crops – horticultural and non-horticultural Permanent crops TC01

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: 

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 action is rotational or static. This means you can either:

  • move its location for the second and third years of this action’s duration

  • do it at the same location each year of this action’s duration

What to do

You must establish a nectar flower mix as a block or strip on land entered into this action.

You must use a grass-free seed mix which includes at least 6 flower species, with no individual species being more than 50% of the total mix by weight.

The seed mix must include at least 2 of the following flower species:

  • common knapweed

  • musk mallow

  • oxeye daisy

  • wild carrot

  • yarrow

Once the pollen and nectar flower mix block or strip is established (usually from the second spring after sowing), you must maintain it. To do this, you must manage it in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim.

You must not do the following on the established pollen and nectar flower mix block or strip:

  • cut or graze it with livestock in a way that means this action’s aim cannot reasonably be expected to be achieved

  • use it for regular vehicular access, turning or storage (for example, storing bales or machinery)

  • apply any fertilisers and manures

  • apply pesticides, except for herbicides to weed wipe or spot treat to control injurious weeds, invasive non-native species, nettles or bracken

You can maintain an existing pollen and nectar flower mix block or strip to get paid for this action if it:

  • meets this action’s requirements

  • is not already being paid for under another environmental land management scheme option, such as CS option AB1 (nectar flower mix)

When to do it

You must:

  • establish the pollen and nectar flower mix block or strip between early spring and early autumn, within 12 months of this action’s start date

  • maintain the mix at the same location for a period of time that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim – this will usually be until the end of the second summer after sowing

  • after this period of time, re-establish the pollen and nectar flower mix block or strip between early spring and early autumn (either at the same location or a different location) and maintain it until this action’s end date

How to do it

It’s up to you how you do this action, as long as you:

  • follow this action’s requirements – these are identified by a ‘must’

  • 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:

  • field operations at a land parcel level and associated invoices, including details of the seed mix used

  • 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, OFC4, OFC5, OFM4, OFM5, OFM6, PRF2, SOH1
SFI 2024 actions AGF1, AGF2, CIPM1, CNUM1, CSAM1, OFC3, OFC4, OFC5, OFM4, OFM5, OFM6, PRF2, SOH1
SFI 2023 actions IPM1, NUM1, SAM1
CSHT actions from 2025 CAGF1, CAGF2, CAGF3, CAGF4, CSP13, CSP14, CSP15, CSP20, CSP21, CSP9, CWS1, CWS3
CS options OR3, OR4, OR5, OT3, OT4, OT5
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

Published 21 May 2024
Last updated 2 June 2026 show all updates

  1. The following changes have been made to this action for SFI26 (compared with the SFI24 version): • 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 actions – see ‘Eligibility of protected land’ and ‘Available area you can enter into this action’

  2. 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.

  3. 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. Rotational or static action - this action is rotational or static. Wording on new and existing pollen and nectar flower mix has been removed. What to do - storing bales or machinery added as an example of ‘storage’. When to do it - wording updated to reflect that this action is rotational or static for new and existing pollen and nectar flower mix. Published voluntary advice to help you do this action, but it's not part of this action’s requirements.

  4. First published.

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