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WBD3: In-field grass strips (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
17 June 2026 — See all updates
Grant type:
Sustainable Farming Incentive
Land type:
Arable, Grassland and Waterbodies
Areas of interest:
Integrated pest management and Water quality

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. 

For SFI24 actions, read the SFI24 agreement holder’s information.

Duration 

3 years  

How much you’ll be paid 

£765 per hectare (ha) per year   

Action’s aim 

This action’s aim is that there’s an in-field grass strip:   

  • on land at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff 

  • with an intact grass sward throughout the year 

The purpose of this is to:  

  • reduce the quantity of sediment, nutrients and pesticides transported through surface runoff water 

  • improve water quality 

  • provide habitats for wildlife 

  • support 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:  

  • identified by you as being at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff – you must keep evidence of this 

  • an eligible land type (as defined in section 5.1.1 ‘Eligible land types’ in the SFI26 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
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  

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 the ‘limited area’ actions). 

Eligibility of protected land 

Sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs): Eligible – you must: 

Historic environment 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 

You must establish and maintain an in-field grass strip which has:   

  • an intact grass sward 

  • no evidence of damage from vehicle or stock access routes 

During late summer after the bird breeding season, you must cut the entire strip to encourage a dense sward with a variety of grasses to grow.   

You must not:  

You can maintain an existing in-field grass 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 SW3 (in-field grass strips) 

When to do it 

You must:  

  • establish the in-field grass strip within 12 months of this action’s start date 
  • maintain the in-field grass strip throughout each subsequent year of this action’s 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 

You may find it helpful to read the ‘advice to help you do this action’, but it’s not part of this action’s requirements.

Evidence to keep 

You must keep written evidence that land entered into this action is at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff. You can use a soil management plan you’ve already produced for SFI24 action CSAM1 or SFI23 action SAM1 to identify this. 

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 

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, OFM4, OFM5, PRF2  
SFI 2024 actions AGF1, AGF2, CIPM1, CNUM1, CSAM1, OFC3, OFC4, OFM4, OFM5, PRF2  
SFI 2023 actions IPM1, NUM1, SAM1  
CSHT actions from 2025 CAGF1, CAGF2, CAGF3, CAGF4, CPAC1, CSP13, CSP14, CSP15, CSP20, CSP21, CSP9, CSW17, CSW19, CWS1, CWS3  
CS options 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 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)   

Advice to help you do this action

The following advice may help you to do this action, but it’s not part of this action’s requirements.

How and where to establish the in-field grass buffer strip

You can establish the in-field grass buffer strip by either:

  • sowing a seed mix
  • using natural regeneration

If you’re sowing a seed mix, to help the grass buffer strip to establish you can:

  • remove any subsoil compaction to prepare a seedbed (except on land with historic or archaeological features
  • cut regularly in the first 12 to 24 months to encourage the grasses to tiller – try to avoid cutting when the soil is wet as that may cause compaction

To help you achieve this action’s aim, you can establish the in-field grass strip on:

  • natural drainage pathways (for example, the bottom of a valley) to prevent runoff water from creating rills and gullies
  • long, sloping fields with the strip placed parallel to the slope and alternated with wide, cultivated strips to slow runoff water and trap sediment and organic material

Try to avoid establishing the in-field grass trip on a public right of way. This is because the ground is likely to be compacted which means the strip may not establish as well.

Maintaining the established grass strip

Once the grass strip is established, this action requires you to cut the entire strip during late summer. Before you cut the sward, check it for signs of nesting birds. Birds, nests and eggs are protected by law, so if you see signs of nesting birds, delay cutting until the birds have fledged.

If possible, remove the cut vegetation. If it’s impractical to do this, you can leave finely chopped cuttings, spread as thinly as possible.

If you want to do this type of action on more than around one-third of the area of a field you can consider applying for SFI26 action WBD4 (arable reversion to grassland with low fertiliser input) instead to cover a larger area.

Updates to this page

Published 21 May 2024
Last updated 17 June 2026 Show all updates

  1. Added 'Advice to help you do this action' section.

  2. 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 • 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’

  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. 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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