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GRH12: Manage rough grassland for upland breeding waders

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
2 June 2026
Grant type:
Sustainable Farming Incentive
Land type:
Grassland
Areas of interest:
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. 

This action replaces GRH1: Manage rough grazing for birds which was available in the SFI24 offer.

Duration

3 years

How much you’ll be paid 

£203 per hectare (ha) per year

Action’s aim 

This action’s aim is that there’s rough grassland for upland breeding waders (such as lapwing, snipe, redshank and curlew) with:

  • minimal disturbance by livestock grazing during the upland wader breeding season to avoid breeding birds being disturbed or nests damaged 

  • varied sward heights and structure, including areas of short grass, for the upland breeding wader bird species on your land (or likely to use your land) to nest and feed during their breeding season 

  • areas of damp ground and wet features during spring and early summer

  • minimal scrub, bracken and   dense rush

The purpose is to provide suitable habitats and conditions to allow upland breeding waders to nest and chicks to fledge successfully.

Where you can do this action

You can do this action on agricultural land located within a less favoured area (LFA) below the moorland line that’s:

  • a land parcel of at least 2ha

  • an eligible land type (as defined in section 5.1.1 ‘Eligible land types’ in the SFI scheme information)

  • registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps

  • 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
Permanent grassland Permanent grassland PG01
Some non-agricultural features and areas within a mainly eligible agricultural land parcel (see additional note) Relevant land cover, as shown in annex D of the SFI26 scheme information Relevant land use code, as shown in annex D of the SFI26 scheme information

Note: non-agricultural features and areas may be included on land that’s mainly agricultural if it’s possible to achieve this action’s aim on them, for example:

  • rivers and streams

  • ponds

  • fen marsh and swamp

  • heathland and bracken

  • bog

  • drains, ditches or dykes

  • scattered areas of rock, bracken, scrub or water

  • tracks with a natural surface

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 static. This means you must do it at the same location each year of this action’s duration.

What to do

For the purpose of this action, the upland wader breeding season is during spring and early summer (usually between mid-March and late July).

Livestock grazing activities

You must graze the land entered into this action with livestock in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim. To do this, you must:

  • make sure the livestock density across the land entered into this action is not more than 0.6 grazing livestock units (GLU) per ha during the upland wader breeding season

  • graze the land after the upland wader breeding season at a livestock density that will remove the year’s grass growth to achieve suitable sward conditions for upland waders to nest and feed by the following spring

To convert livestock numbers into GLU, you must use the following values:

  • Cattle over 2 years old at the start of an agreement year – 1.0 GLU

  • Cattle over 6 months to 2 years old at the start of an agreement year – 0.6 GLU

  • Lowland ewe and lamb, or ram – 0.12 GLU

  • Store lamb, hill ewe and lamb or hogg or teg – 0.08 GLU

  • Goat – 0.12 GLU

  • Pony or donkey – 0.8 GLU

  • Horse – 1.0 GLU

Lambs at foot do not have a separate GLU allocation. They are included in the figures shown for ‘ewe and lamb’.

We’ll publish advice to help you do this action. It will explain how to calculate the livestock density.

Produce a written stocking record

Each year,  you must produce a written stocking record for each land parcel entered into this action. It must include:

  • each land parcel reference number and hectarage

  • monthly numbers of livestock which grazed the land parcel including their type and age bracket

If you manage several adjacent land parcels as one grazing unit, you can keep one stocking record for that grazing unit. You must include all the land parcel reference numbers which comprise that grazing unit. This can be a paper-based or electronic record.

Other land management activities

You must also do the following activities on land entered into this action:

  • manage dense rushes, so any stands of hard or soft rushes are distributed in patches across each land parcel, and they do not cover more than around 20% of each land parcel

  • manage scrub and bracken, so their cover across each land parcel is minimal

You must not:

  • cut the grassland, unless you’re cutting to manage dense rushes, scrub or bracken (which you must not do during the upland wader breeding season)

  • use machinery during the upland wader breeding season, unless you’re using vehicles to check on livestock – in this case, you must only drive around the edge of the land parcel or use an established track to minimise disturbance to ground nesting birds

  • apply digestate or any other industrial by-product, including paper waste

  • apply any fertilisers and manures

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

  • allow areas of scrub to develop on land containing historic or archaeological features

  • carry out drainage works or change existing drainage if it will drain water away from the parcel – you can block existing drains if this will retain the wetness of the land to achieve the action’s aim – you must obtain any necessary consents from the Environment Agency, Local Lead Local Flood Authority or Internal Drainage Board before you do this

  • carry out supplementary feeding of livestock except for non-energy based mineral licks

Supplementary feeding in extreme weather conditions

You can carry out supplementary feeding of livestock in extreme weather conditions (defined as 2 or more consecutive days of deep snow or hard frost). In this case, you can feed hay or haylage, but only for the purpose of animal welfare. If you do this, you must: 

  • move the feeding sites around the land entered into this action to minimise damage to the soil and vegetation

  • avoid transferring undesirable species which are in the hay or haylage, such as docks or rosebay willowherb

You must not:

  • feed livestock on or next to historic and archaeological features, steep slopes or footpaths

  • use troughs or feeders

You may need to reduce or remove livestock from the area to avoid damage to the soil and vegetation if you need to feed regularly during extreme weather.

You can maintain an existing area of rough grazing 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

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:

  • 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 the required written stocking record. It can be recorded on paper or electronically. 

You must also keep evidence to show what you’ve done to complete this action, such as:

  • field operations at a land parcel level and associated invoices

  • photographs and 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 OFC2, OFM2
SFI 2024 actions CIPM1, CNUM1, CSAM1, OFC2, OFM2
SFI 2023 actions IPM1, NUM1, SAM1
CSHT actions from 2025 CSP13, CSP14, CSP15, CSP20, CSP21, CSP9, CWS1, CWS3
CS options OR2, OT2, OT6
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 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) 

Supplemental actions you can apply for with this base action

You can apply for supplemental action SPM5: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (more than 80%) on land you enter into this action in the same SFI26 application. 

If you apply for SPM5, you can also apply for supplemental action UPL5: Keep cattle and ponies on moorland supplement (minimum 70% GLU) or UPL6: Keep cattle and ponies on moorland supplement (100% GLU).

Updates to this page

Published 2 June 2026
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