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: 2 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. 

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: 

• give notice to Natural England to get SSSI consent before the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) can offer you an SFI26 agreement 

• 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 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:  

• apply fertilisers or manures 

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

• allow livestock to access the strip 

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 

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 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)   

Published 21 May 2024

Last updated 2 June 2026 — Show all updates

1. 2 June 2026

   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’

2. 2 August 2024

   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.

3. 21 May 2024

   First published.