GRH10: Lenient grazing supplement (updated for SFI26)
What you must do to get paid for this SFI26 supplemental 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
£28 per hectare (ha) per year
Action’s aim
This supplemental action’s aim is that there’s a sward with a range of shorter and taller grasses.
The purpose of this is to:
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create habitats for spiders and other insects (including grasshoppers and beetles)
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provide spring and summer invertebrate food for birds (such as yellowhammers, reed buntings and skylarks)
Where you can do this action
You can do this supplemental action on eligible land you enter into the base action CLIG3: Manage grassland with very low nutrient inputs. You can only apply for this supplemental action in the same SFI26 application as the base action.
The land parcel must meet one of the following conditions:
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have at least one boundary that’s a hedgerow
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there’s scrub cover close to the parcel (usually around 200 metres away)
Eligibility of protected land
Sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs): Same as the base action.
Historic and archaeological features: Same as the base action.
Available area you can enter into this action
Same as the base action.
Rotational or static action
Same as the base action.
What to do
During the growing season, you must manage the sward in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim. This includes lightly grazing it with cattle, or a combination of cattle and sheep.
You must not cut the area for hay or silage.
When to do it
You must do this action each year of its 3-year duration.
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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stocking records to show grazing activity at a land parcel level
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field operations at a land parcel level and associated invoices
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photographs or other documentation to show management undertaken
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 | Same as the SFI26 base action |
| SFI 2024 actions | Same as the SFI26 base action |
| SFI 2023 actions | Same as the SFI26 base action |
| CSHT actions from 2025 | Same as the SFI26 base action |
| CS options | Same as the SFI26 base action |
| ES options | Same as the SFI26 base action |
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.
Other supplemental actions you can apply for with this supplemental action
You can apply for supplemental action SPM3: ‘Keep native breeds on grazed habitats supplement (more than 80%)’ on the same area as this supplemental action. You can only do this in the same SFI26 application.
Updates to this page
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Changes made to this action for SFI26 (compared with the SFI24 version): You can only apply for this supplemental action in the same SFI26 application as base action CLIG3: Manage grassland with very low nutrient inputs.
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Duration - 3 years instead of ‘same as base action’. Where you can do this action - added LIG1, LIG2 as base actions. You cannot do this supplemental action on land in GS2 and GS5. Eligibility of protected land - added ‘your selected’ in relation to the base action. Available area - same as or less than your selected base action. Rotational or static action - added ‘your selected’ in relation to the base action. Other actions or options you can do on the same area - added ‘your selected’ in relation to the base action. 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.