CSAM2: Multi-species winter cover crop
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
£129 per hectare (ha) per year
Action’s aim
This action’s aim is that there’s a multi-species cover crop that’s:
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well-established over the winter months
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present between harvesting a cash crop and establishing the next cash crop
The purpose of this is to:
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protect the soil surface
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provide root growth that benefits soil structure
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supports soil biology and minimises nutrient leaching, soil erosion and runoff
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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an eligible land type (as defined in section 5.1.1 ‘Eligible land types’ in the SFI 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 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 | Permanent crops | TC01 |
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) can 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 SFI 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:
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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 multi-species cover crop on land entered into this action which will not be harvested as a ‘cash crop’.
A ‘cash crop’ means a crop grown to be harvested for commercial use.
You must establish the multi-species cover crop early enough so it can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim.
You must use a seed mix that contains at least 2 species from 2 or more of the following plant families:
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brassicas
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legumes
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cereals or grasses
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herbs
You must avoid growing deep rooted species on any area within a land parcel with historic or archaeological features identified in your SFI HEFER. Read section 5.3 ‘Land with historic or archaeological features’ in the SFI SFI26 scheme information for more details.
You must maintain the multi-species cover crop over the winter months in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim. You can graze the cover crop with livestock, but it must still be well-established over the winter months.
For the purposes of this action’s aim, the cover crop will be well-established if there’s:
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leafy vegetation that’s sufficiently well grown so the cover crop protects the soil surface for the duration of the winter months (usually from early December until late February)
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minimal bare soil
If something happens which means you cannot complete this action you must tell the RPA in writing as soon as possible. For example, if there’s prolonged adverse weather which means the cover crop is not well-established. Read section 12.2 ‘What to do if you cannot comply with your agreement’ in the SFI SFI26 scheme information to find out how to do this.
You must not do the following on the well-established cover crop:
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mechanically apply any fertilisers or manures
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destroy it before the end of the winter months, unless you’re establishing an early-sown spring crop
If you’re establishing an early-sown spring crop, you may destroy the multi-species cover crop before the end of the winter months. You must not do this more than 6 weeks before you establish the early-sown spring crop.
When you destroy the multi-species cover crop, you should try to minimise risks such as compaction, poaching, soil runoff or erosion.
You can maintain an existing multi-species cover crop 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 option – you can use a cover crop paid for under SOH3 (multi-species summer-sown cover crop) to meet this action, but only if you overseed it
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 this 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, including details of the seed mix used
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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, AHW10, AHW11, AHW5, CIPM3, CIPM4, OFC3, OFC4, OFM4, OFM5, PRF1, PRF2, PRF4, SOH1, SOH3 | |
| SFI 2024 actions | AGF1, AGF2, AHW10, AHW11, AHW5, CIPM1, CIPM3, CIPM4, CNUM1, CSAM1, OFA6, OFC3, OFC4, OFM4, OFM5, PRF1, PRF2, PRF3, PRF4, SOH1, SOH2, SOH3 | |
| SFI 2023 actions | IPM1, IPM3, IPM4, NUM1, SAM1 | |
| CSHT actions from 2025 | CAB11, CAB14, CAB5, CAGF1, CAGF2, CAGF3, CAGF4, CHS3, CHS9, CSP13, CSP14, CSP15, CSP20, CSP21, CSP9, CSW17, CSW19, CWS1, CWS3 | |
| CS options | AB11, AB14, AB5, HS3, HS9, OP5, OR3, OR4, OT3, OT4 | |
| 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 SFI 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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No substantive changes have been made to this action for SFI26 (compared with the SFI24 version). There have only been 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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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 avoid growing deep-rooted species on land with historic or archaeological features. Link added to section 13.2 ‘What you must do if you cannot comply with your agreement’ in the SFI scheme information. You can use a cover crop paid for under SOH3 to meet this action, but only if you overseed it. 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.