SFI scheme information: re-opened offer for 2024

Q: 14. Contact the RPA

If you have a general question about SFI , contact RPA by: email: ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk - use ‘ SFI ’ in the subject header and include your SBI telephone: 03000 200 301 - Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5pm, except bank holidays post: PO Box 325, Worksop, S95 1DG If you need to raise a specific query about your application, follow the guidance on how to contact RPA about SFI .

Question 1

1.  About the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme

Accepted Answer

The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) pays farmers and land managers to take up or maintain sustainable farming and land management practices that:

protect and benefit the environment
support food production
improve productivity

These practices are referred to as ‘SFI actions’.

This SFI scheme information includes the scheme rules which apply to SFI agreements for the ‘re-opened’ SFI expanded offer for 2024 (the ‘re-opened SFI 2024 offer’).

You can only apply for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer if you’re in either:

one of the 3 exception groups previously announced by Defra (namely, SFI Pilot, system issues and ‘assisted digital’)
the eligible ‘started but not submitted’ (SNS) applicant group because you started an application on or after 12 January 2025, but you had not submitted it before applications closed on 11 March 2025

For all other farmers and land managers, SFI remains closed for applications. Read the Written Ministerial Statement for more information.

There are some new rules which apply to eligible applicants for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer. This includes that they will be given a 6-week window to make an application. This application window will open at 12 noon on 7 July 2025 and close at 11:59pm on 18 August 2025.

Read section 3 ‘Check if you’re eligible to apply for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer’ for more information on eligible applicants and the new rules.

If you have an agreement for the SFI 2024 offer which you applied for before SFI applications closed on 11 March 2025, you must follow the relevant version of the SFI scheme information for your agreement. You can find these versions on the ‘SFI expanded offer for 2024: agreement holder’s information’ webpage.

If you have an agreement for the SFI 2023 offer, you must follow the requirements in the SFI 2023 handbook.

1.1 Summary of SFI actions

The SFI actions in the re-opened SFI 2024 offer include:

the actions from the SFI 2023 offer – some of these have been updated since they were launched in 2023 to reflect feedback from the farming industry
new actions – such as no tillage farming, precision farming and spring-sown or summer-sown cover crops
actions previously offered under Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier – these have been updated for SFI to reduce prescription wherever possible

You can select any combination of SFI actions if your land (or landscape feature) is eligible for them. Each action sets out which other actions you can do on the same area of land.

There are 2 types of actions in the re-opened SFI 2024 offer:

SFI actions which you can apply for without specialist advice or prior endorsement – this is most of the actions
‘endorsed’ SFI actions for certain priority habitats or species and heritage features, which require prior endorsement from Natural England or Historic England – read section 1.2 ‘SFI actions which require endorsement’

See Annex B for a summary of the re-opened SFI 2024 offer.

Each SFI action is set out in the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool, so you can search and filter to view actions. Section 7.1 ‘Search for actions using the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool’ tells you how to do this. There is also a PDF containing all of the actions.

1.2 SFI actions which require endorsement

There is one ‘endorsed’ action in the re-opened SFI 2024 offer (GRH6: Manage priority habitat species-rich grassland).

You must get written approval (‘endorsement’) from Natural England before GRH6 can be included in your SFI 2024 agreement. This is to confirm your land is suitable for the action.

As each Single Business Identifier (SBI) can only be offered one agreement for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer, if you want to apply for GRH6, you need to be aware that:

you will have to apply for this endorsed SFI action together with other SFI actions which do not require endorsement in a single application
you will not be offered an SFI agreement until Natural England carries out the required endorsement – as this takes longer to do, this may mean there’s a delay in offering you an agreement
if Natural England do not think that your land is suitable for GRH6, this endorsed SFI action will be removed from your submitted SFI 2024 application
if you’re only eligible to apply for the ‘restricted’ SFI 2024 offer because you’re in the eligible SNS applicant group in the eligible SNS group, you will be subject to the new rule that limits the maximum annual agreement value to £9,300 (excluding the SFI management payment) – if GRH6 is not endorsed by Natural England, this will reduce your annual agreement value when you’re offered an SFI 2024 agreement
you will not be able to amend your submitted SFI 2024 application to select alternative SFI actions if GRH6 is not endorsed by Natural England

Endorsement is not the same as regulatory consents, permissions and licences, which you must get separately, where relevant. Read section 10 ‘Get all necessary regulatory consents, permissions and licences’ for more information.

1.3 SFI actions with a limited area

There are some SFI actions that:

take land out of production
are intended to be done on a small proportion (up to 25%) of the farm, as part of a sustainable system – these actions are unlikely to deliver their intended aims if they’re done on more than 25% of the farm

There are 10 actions which you must only do on a proportion of your farm. These actions are referred to as ‘limited area’ actions and include:

CIPM2: Flower-rich grass margins, blocks, or in-field strips (IPM2 in the SFI 2023 offer)
CAHL1: Pollen and nectar flower mix (AHL1 in the SFI 2023 offer)
CAHL2: Winter bird food on arable and horticultural land (AHL2 in the SFI 2023 offer)
CAHL3: Grassy field corners or blocks (AHL3 in the SFI 2023 offer)
CIGL1: Take improved grassland field corners or blocks out of management (IGL1 in the SFI 2023 offer)
CIGL2: Winter bird food on improved grassland (IGL2 in the SFI 2023 offer)
WBD3: In-field grass strips
AHW1: Bumblebird mix
AHW9: Unharvested cereal headland
AHW11: Cultivated areas for arable plants

Each action sets out if it’s a ‘limited area’ SFI action.

You can select as many ‘limited area’ actions as you wish, but the total eligible area you enter into them must not be more than 25% of the total agricultural area of your farm. This 25% limit applies across all SFI agreements applied for on or after 26 March 2024.

If you have an existing SFI 2023 agreement which you applied for before 26 March 2024, the 25% limit is not applied retrospectively to that SFI agreement. However, if you apply for an agreement for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer, the 25% limit will be applied across all your SFI agreements. This means you will not be able to enter more land into ‘limited area’ actions if you’ve already exceeded the 25% limit.

For example, if the total agricultural area of your farm is 100 hectares, you must only enter up to a total of 25 hectares of eligible land into any combination of one or more of these ‘limited area’ actions.

For the purpose of these ‘limited area’ actions:

‘farm’ means all the land parcels linked to your SBI at the point you apply for an SFI agreement – these parcels are shown on your digital maps
‘agricultural area’ means the area in each land parcel that’s registered with an arable, permanent grassland or permanent crops land cover

Defra will keep this 25% limited area action rule under review, including whether it should apply to the following actions in future:

AHW3: Beetle banks
AHW5: Nesting plots for lapwing
AHW12: Manage woodland edges on arable land
SCR1: Create scrub and open habitat mosaics

You can use the SFI limited area actions calculator to help calculate your eligible area limit for your next application.

1.4 Rotational SFI actions

Some SFI actions are ‘rotational’. This means that, after the first year of the action’s duration, you can choose to:

move the action’s location around your land – usually for each subsequent year of the action’s duration
do the action at the same location for each year of the action’s duration

Each SFI action in the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool sets out if it’s rotational.

If you select a rotational SFI action, you’ll tell the RPA its area and location for the first year of its duration in your application. This can be either:

where it’s located at the point you apply
where you will locate it, if it’s an action you can start doing within 12 months of the action’s start date

After the first year of the rotational SFI action’s duration, you can change the area entered into rotational SFI actions. However, the rules which apply to you will depend on whether you’re eligible to apply for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer because you are in:

one of the 3 exception groups (SFI Pilot, system issues or assisted digital)
the eligible SNS applicant group, which can only apply for the ‘restricted’ SFI 2024 offer

Read section 3.1 ‘New rules which apply to eligible applicants’ for more information on these groups and the new rules.

Exception group rules for rotational SFI actions after Year 1

If you’re in one of the 3 exception groups, after the first year of the rotational SFI action’s duration, you can:

increase the area entered into the action – with no limit on the additional area you can enter
decrease the area, as long as it’s no less than 50% of the area entered for the first year of the action’s duration

Restricted SFI 2024 offer rules for rotational SFI actions after Year 1

If you’re in the eligible SNS applicant group (and you are not also in an exception group), you can only apply for the restricted SFI 2024 offer. This means that, for rotational SFI actions, you:

cannot increase the area entered into the action above the area you enter in your SFI 2024 application for the first year of the action’s duration
can decrease the area, as long as it’s no less than 50% of the area entered for the first year of the action’s duration

If you decrease the area for the second year of the action’s duration, you can increase it for the third year, as long as it’s no more than the area entered for the first year of the action’s duration.

For example, if you enter 10ha for the first year, you could decrease it to 5ha for the second year and increase it back up to 10ha for the third year.

This new rule for rotational SFI actions does not apply to:

the 3 exception groups, even if you started an SFI 2024 application on or after 12 January 2025
existing SFI agreements entered into before applications closed on 11 March 2025 or applications submitted by that date

Rotational actions declaration

If your SFI 2024 agreement includes rotational SFI actions, you will need to complete a ‘rotational actions declaration’. This is to tell the RPA the area and location of rotational SFI actions. You will need to submit your rotational actions declaration towards the end of each year of the action’s duration, except the final year.

The RPA will issue further guidance on how to do this.

1.5 Static SFI actions

Some SFI actions are ‘static’. This means you must do them at the same location each year of the action’s duration. This is set out in each action.

1.6 Supplemental SFI actions

There are some ‘supplemental’ SFI actions which you can only do in combination with a ‘base’ action.

Each action sets out:

if it’s a base or supplemental action
which base and supplemental actions can be done together

You can usually only apply for one supplemental action with a base action, unless indicated otherwise in the action.

If you have not already entered land into a base action in another SFI agreement, you’ll need to apply for the relevant supplemental action at the same time as the base action. This is because each SBI can only be offered one agreement for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer, so the base and supplemental actions need to be in the same agreement.

If you’ve already entered land into a base action in an existing SFI agreement, you can apply for the relevant supplemental action in your application for the re-opened SFI 2024. This is because you can apply for the supplemental action after the base action, so it’s in a different SFI agreement. The supplemental action will last for its duration (which may be different to the base action).

If you have an existing agreement for the SFI 2023 offer which contains a base action (AHL2, LIG1 or LIG2), you can apply for eligible supplemental actions in a separate agreement for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer.

Read Annex C for a summary of what supplemental actions you can do with each base action.

1.7 Agreement level SFI actions

There are 2 ‘agreement level’ SFI actions, which you apply to include in your SFI agreement, instead of entering specific areas of land. These actions are:

CIPM1: Assess integrated pest management and produce a plan
CNUM1: Assess nutrient management and produce a review report

You can only apply for agreement level actions if there’s at least one land parcel linked to your SBI and in one SFI agreement. Once you’ve applied for the action in an SFI agreement, you cannot apply for it again until after its 3-year duration in that agreement ends.

Question 2

2.  When and how much you’ll get paid

Accepted Answer

Your agreement document will set out:

a summary of your payments – this includes the total annual payment value for your selected SFI actions, additional payments (where relevant) and the indicative SFI management payment (section 2.2 explains how your payment is calculated)
your annual payment schedule – this sets out a summary of the total payments you’ll receive for each year of your agreement and for the entire agreement period

Under an SFI agreement, your annual payment value is paid in quarterly instalments. You’ll usually receive your first payment in the fourth month after your agreement’s start date.

Unlike previous agri-environment schemes, such as Countryside Stewardship, you do not have to submit an annual revenue claim to get paid. Instead, you’ll receive the first 3 instalments by an automated BACS transfer.

You must submit an annual declaration (a simple tick box form) before you’re paid the fourth instalment. Read section 12.1 ‘Submit your annual declaration’ to find out what you must submit each year to get paid your fourth instalment.

2.1 Your payment statement

The RPA will usually email your payment statement to you a few days before you get paid. The payment statement tells you:

how much you’ll be paid
the payment date
how your payment has been calculated

2.2 How your payment is calculated

Your SFI agreement’s total annual payment value is based on:

what you’ve entered into your selected SFI actions – in hectares, metres, square metres (for traditional buildings) or the number of features (such as ponds), as relevant
the additional payment per agreement if you’ve entered land into actions CSAM1 (assess soil, produce a soil management plan and test soil organic matter) or CMOR1 (assess moorland and produce a written record)
‘agreement level’ SFI actions – CIPM1 and CNUM1 - read section 1.7 ‘Agreement level SFI actions’ for more information
the SFI management payment relevant to the year of your agreement

You will not be paid under SFI for activities you’re already required to do by law.

SFI management payment

The SFI management payment is paid to you for entering and managing your SFI agreement.

For up to the first 50 hectares you enter into an SFI actions, you’ll be paid:

£40 per hectare for the first year of your agreement
£20 per hectare for the following 2 years of your agreement

The RPA will calculate the area for the SFI management payment based on the following SFI actions in your agreement:

actions which are done on a hectarage (or square metres for traditional farm building actions HEF1 and HEF2)
actions for boundary features, such as hedgerows, drystone walls, banks or ditches – the RPA will calculate a notional hectarage based on the length (in metres) you enter into these actions

The SFI management payment will not include:

agreement-level actions CIPM1 and CNUM1
feature-based actions, such as action WBD1: Manage ponds

The SFI management payment will only be paid for one SFI agreement for each farm business (SBI). If you enter more than one agreement, it will be paid for up to 50 hectares entered into the live agreement which started first.

Defra will keep the SFI management payment under review.

2.3 Limit on annual agreement value for restricted offer applicants  

If you’re in the eligible SNS applicant group, you will only be eligible to apply for the ‘restricted’ SFI 2024 offer. This means you can only apply for a maximum agreement value of £9,300 per year. This excludes the SFI management payment, which will not count towards the value limit.

When you apply for an SFI 2024 agreement, it’s your responsibility to check the indicative annual agreement value before you submit your application. You need to do this on the ‘Check your answers before submitting your application’ screen in the Rural Payments service.

This is because the application service will not prevent you from submitting an application which exceeds the £9,300 limit.

If you submit an SFI 2024 application which exceeds the £9,300 maximum annual agreement value, the RPA will notify you that this is the case. You will then be allowed to start and submit one further application during the 6-week application window.

If you exceed the £9,300 maximum annual agreement value again, your application will be rejected, and you will not be given a further opportunity to apply for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer.

When the RPA processes your submitted SFI 2024 application, the annual agreement value may be reduced, for example, because you have applied for:

SFI actions which are not compatible
SFI actions on land or features, such as hedgerows, which are not eligible
SFI actions on land which is already in another scheme agreement that’s incompatible or would lead to ‘double funding’
the endorsed SFI action (GRH6: Manage priority habitat species-rich grassland), but Natural England does not endorse your land as being suitable for this action

It’s your responsibility to check that the land (including landscape features) is eligible for your selected SFI actions.

You will not be able to amend your submitted SFI 2024 application to select alternative SFI actions or eligible land.

This new restriction on annual agreement value does not apply to:

the 3 exception groups, even if you started an SFI 2024 application on or after 12 January 2025
existing SFI agreements entered into before applications closed on 11 March 2025 or applications submitted by that date

Read section 3.1 ‘New rules which apply to eligible applicants’ for more information.

2.4 Other relevant funding available

SFI does not include capital funding, but you can apply separately for capital items as one-off payments to help you do SFI actions. For example, to buy fencing to exclude livestock if that’s required for the action.

Apply for capital grants

Apply for grants under the Farming Investment Fund

Question 3

3.  Check if you’re eligible to apply for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer

Accepted Answer

You can only apply for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer if you’re a farmer or land manager who is within either:  

one of the 3 ‘exception’ groups Defra previously announced would be able to apply for an SFI 2024 agreement despite the closure of SFI applications – namely, the SFI Pilot exception group, the ‘system issues’ exception group, and the ‘assisted digital’ exception group (for applicants who need help from the RPA to apply online for SFI)
the eligible SNS applicant group, because you started an SFI 2024 application on or after 12 January 2025 (but had not submitted it before SFI applications closed on 11 March 2025) – this group can only apply for the ‘restricted’ SFI 2024 offer

The RPA has written to farmers and land managers who will be eligible to apply for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer to tell them this is the case.

For all other farmers and land managers, SFI remains closed for applications. Read the Written Ministerial Statement for more information.

If you believe you may be eligible to apply for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer, but the RPA has not written to you to confirm you’re eligible to apply, please use the RPA’s complaints procedure.

3.1 New rules which apply to eligible applicants 

There are some new rules which will apply to farmers and land managers who are eligible to apply for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer.

Read Annex A to find out which rules apply to each group that’s eligible to apply for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer.

New rules which apply to all eligible applicants

You will only be able to apply for one SFI 2024 agreement per farm business, as identified by your SBI.

You will have a 6-week window in which to make your application for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer. This application window will:

open at 12 noon on Monday [7 July 2025]
close at 11.59pm on Monday [18 August 2025] – you must submit your application by this deadline

If you’re in the assisted digital exception group, you may be given longer than 6 weeks to apply. This is because you’ll need support from the RPA to complete and submit your online SFI application. The RPA will tell you if this is the case.

Additional rule for the SFI Pilot exception group

If you’re in the SFI Pilot exception group, you can only apply for an SFI 2024 agreement on land which was in your Pilot agreement.

This is because you could not access the full SFI 2024 offer on this land whilst it was in your Pilot agreement.

This rule will apply even if you are also in one of the other groups which are eligible to apply for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer.

If you’re in the eligible SNS applicant group (and you are not also in an exception group), you can only apply for the ‘restricted’ SFI 2024 offer.

This means that you:

can only apply for a maximum agreement value of £9,300 per year (excluding the SFI management payment, which will not count towards the value limit) – read section 2.3 ‘New limit on annual agreement payment value’
will not be able to increase the area of land entered into any ‘rotational’ SFI actions above the area you enter for the first year of your agreement for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer – read section 1.4 ‘Rotational SFI actions’

These new restrictions on annual agreement value and rotational SFI actions do not apply to:

the 3 exception groups, even if you started an SFI 2024 application on or after 12 January 2025
existing SFI agreements entered into before applications closed on 11 March 2025 or applications submitted by that date

3.2 If you’ve received a Lump Sum Exit Scheme payment

If you’ve received a payment under the Lump Sum Exit Scheme to leave or retire from farming:

as an individual – you’re not eligible to apply for an SFI agreement, unless you repay the lump sum
as a partnership or limited company - if only some partners or shareholders left the business, the remaining partners or shareholders can apply for an SFI agreement without repaying the lump sum if they’re eligible to apply for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer

3.3 If you receive delinked payments

If you receive delinked payments (which replaced BPS payments from 2024), you can apply for an SFI agreement if you’re eligible to apply for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer. This is because you will not be paid twice for a similar activity on the same area of land at the same time (known as ‘double funding’).

  3.4 Eligibility of public bodies

A public body is a formally established organisation that is publicly funded to provide a public or government service.

Public bodies can apply for an SFI agreement if they’re eligible for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer. But this is only possible if they will not be paid under SFI to complete activities that are already:

required by statutory duty, which means they’re part of the public body’s obligations
paid for by other funding sources, as this would be double funding

Public bodies include:

Crown bodies (including all government departments, executive agencies and trading funds)
non-departmental public bodies
local authorities
national park authorities
park corporations

See a list of all departments, agencies and public bodies.

Parish councils and former college farms are not considered public bodies. They’re eligible to apply for an SFI agreement if they’re eligible for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer.

If you’re a tenant on land owned by a public body, you can only enter that land into an SFI agreement if there is no double funding. Read section 4.2: ‘Land you occupy under a tenancy’.

Question 4

4.  Check if you have management control of land

Accepted Answer

You must have management control of the land parcels you enter into your SFI agreement for the entire duration of the SFI actions you select for that land.

This includes any landscape features, such as hedgerows or ponds. Each relevant SFI action explains how management control works for these features.

Actions with different durations

As there are SFI actions with different durations (usually 3 or 5 years), an action’s duration may be shorter than the duration of your agreement (the ‘agreement period’). This is because your agreement period will last for the action with the longest duration.

This means that, if:

all your selected SFI actions have the same duration, and start and end on the same dates, you must have management control of the land for the duration of your agreement
your selected SFI actions have different durations, or start and end on different dates, you must have management control of the land for the duration of each action – this because your agreement period may be longer than the duration of an action

4.1 Who has management control

You’ll have management control if you have sufficient control over how the land is managed to complete the SFI actions you’ve selected. For SFI, this means you’re the person actively farming or managing the land. Usually, this means you’re:

an owner occupier who’s either farming or managing the land themselves or employing a contractor
a tenant with a Farm Business Tenancy (FBT) under the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995, or an Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 tenancy – read section 4.2 ‘Land you occupy under a tenancy agreement’

You will not have management control if you’re:

a landlord, as you’re not actively farming or managing the land
a licensee, who only has access to the land under a licence arrangement – if you have wider land management responsibilities similar to a tenancy (such as Ministry of Defence licences), read section 4.2 about ‘land you occupy under a tenancy agreement’

When you enter land into an SFI agreement, you declare that you’ll have management control of it for the duration of your selected SFI actions. You must provide evidence of this if the RPA asks for it.

4.2 Land you occupy under a tenancy agreement

If you occupy land under an FBT or an Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 tenancy, you must make sure that by entering this land into an SFI agreement you do not breach the conditions of your tenancy.

If your tenancy will expire before the end date of your selected SFI actions, you must only enter this land into these actions if you expect to have management control of it for the entire duration of the actions.

This will usually be the case if, for example, you occupy land under an FBT granted for a term of:

more than 2 years, that you expect to continue on a rolling year-by-year basis
2 years or less, that you expect your landlord to renew when the term expires

If you’re not sure if your tenancy will continue (or be renewed), you need to check this with your landlord before you enter the land into an SFI agreement.

4.3 Unexpected loss of management control

You must tell the RPA in writing if you unexpectedly lose management control of your agreement land before either:

your SFI agreement ends
the relevant SFI action’s end date

You must do this in writing as soon as possible. Preferably this should be within 8 weeks of you being able to do so.

If you lose management control of:

all your agreement land, the RPA will end the agreement
some of your agreement land, the RPA will remove the affected land from your agreement

In both cases, you may have to repay some or all the payments you’ve already received. Read section 13.2: ‘What you must do if you cannot comply with your agreement’.

Question 5

5.  Check if your land is eligible for SFI actions

Accepted Answer

The land (including landscape features) you enter into your SFI agreement must be eligible for the SFI actions you select. It’s your responsibility to check that this is the case.

Your land or landscape feature will be eligible for the SFI actions you select if:

the area or feature is in a land parcel that’s entirely located within England
the area is an eligible land type – this is set out in each action
the area is registered on your digital maps with an eligible land cover and declared with a compatible land use code – this is set out in each action
the feature, such as hedgerows, is eligible for each linear or feature based SFI action you select – this is set out in each action

You cannot enter land (or landscape features) into your SFI agreement if it’s being used for another SFI action, CS or ES option, or SFI pilot standard that:

requires activities which are not compatible with the SFI actions you select
means you will be paid twice for a similar activity on the same area of land at the same time (known as ‘double funding’)

Read section 6 ‘Eligible land in other funding schemes’ for more information.

5.1 Eligible land types for SFI

Land type describes the type of land in more detail. For example, different types of grassland, such as improved grassland and low input (semi-improved or unimproved grassland).

The land type must be eligible for your selected SFI actions at the start of your SFI agreement. If the land type changes because of the action you’re doing, it will not affect eligibility. You’ll continue to be paid for your selected actions.

Each SFI action sets out which land types are eligible. It’s your responsibility to check the land type is eligible for each action you select.

The following are the definitions of how certain land types are defined for SFI.

Arable land

Arable land includes land that’s been cultivated to produce arable crops, such as:

combinable crops
root crops
crops grown for animal feed, such as forage rape
field vegetables and cut flowers
bulbs or soft fruit which are not ‘permanent crops’

Arable land also includes:

fallow land that’s available for crop production
temporary grassland – this is often part of an arable crop rotation and has usually been grassland for less than 5 consecutive years

You can manage arable land to create or restore species-rich grassland.

You can also manage temporary grassland as:

improved grassland (as defined under improved permanent grassland)
low input grassland (as defined under low input (semi-improved and unimproved) permanent grassland)

Permanent crops

Permanent crops are non-rotational crops that usually:

occupy the land for 5 years or more
provide repeated harvests (other than permanent grassland)

They can be:

horticultural permanent crops, including commercial orchards, bush fruits, hops and vines
non-horticultural permanent crops, including miscanthus, reed canary grass, nursery crops and short rotation coppice

Permanent grassland

Permanent grassland is land used to grow grass for 5 consecutive years or more that’s not been included in an arable crop rotation. It can either be improved or low input.

Improved permanent grassland is permanent grassland that’s been agriculturally ‘improved’ by at least one of the following activities:

regularly reseeding, or reseeding within the last 15 years
regularly applying fertiliser (typically at least 100 kilograms per hectare per year of nitrogen as an artificial compound fertiliser or animal manures and slurries)
blanket herbicide application to treat weeds
maintaining field drains
taking conserved forage as silage, haylage or hay more than once a year

Improved grassland will usually have a high cover of ryegrasses and white clover, with a low cover of wildflowers and sedges.

Low input (semi-improved or unimproved) permanent grassland is permanent grassland that’s been managed by doing at least one of the following activities:

no reseeding for at least 15 years
applying low or no amounts of artificial compound fertiliser or animal manures and slurries
applying localised or no herbicide to treat weeds
leaving field drains unmaintained or maintaining them infrequently (hay meadows may be more actively drained)
taking conserved forage as hay or haylage no more than once a year

Semi-improved low input grassland will usually have:

been managed so it’s had some agricultural ‘improvement’ – for example, by applying low amounts of fertiliser or localised herbicide to treat weeds
a moderate cover (more than around 30%) of ryegrasses and white clover, with a high cover of wildflowers and sedges

Unimproved low input grassland will have had no agricultural ‘improvement’, usually for at least 15 years. For example, no application of fertiliser or herbicide. This includes the land type ‘rough grazing’ as set out in the relevant SFI actions (see also moorland).

Species-rich permanent grassland is permanent grassland that has:

minimal cover of white clover and perennial rye grass – this will usually be less than around 10% of the area
a species-rich sward – this usually means there are more than 15 plant species per square metre, including grasses
a high cover of wildflowers and sedges, excluding white clover, creeping buttercup, and injurious weeds – this will usually be more than around 30% of the area

Moorland

Moorland includes permanent grassland and certain non-agricultural features, such as scrub, scree, bracken and bog, which are above the moorland line. You can find out which land is above the moorland line on the MAGIC website.

The vegetation of moorland areas is usually:

semi-natural moorland habitats including heathland, blanket bog, rough acid grasslands, rushy flushes, swamps, mires and bracken
upland calcareous grassland

Much upland moorland is either registered common land or shared grazing.

5.2 Eligible land covers and compatible land uses

Land cover is registered by the RPA on your digital maps. It describes the physical nature of the land. There are 3 agricultural land covers:

arable land
permanent grassland
permanent crops

There are also a number of non-agricultural land covers, such as woodland and farm buildings.

Land use describes what you’re using the land for. For example, you’re using arable land to grow arable crops, temporary grassland or leaving it fallow. Each land use has a land use code which you declare in the Rural Payments service. This is not registered on your digital maps.

For each land parcel you want to enter into an area based SFI action, you need to check that the area that’s an eligible land type for the relevant SFI action is also:

registered on your digital maps with a land cover that’s eligible for the action – read the guidance on how to check the registered land cover on your digital maps
declared with a land use code in the Rural Payments service that’s compatible with the registered eligible land cover (a ‘compatible land use code’)

The eligible land covers and compatible land use codes are set out in each action.

Read Annex D: ‘Registered land covers and compatible land use codes’ for more information.

5.3 Available area calculation

If you select area based SFI actions when you apply for an SFI agreement, the application service will automatically calculate what area in each land parcel may be eligible for the action. This is called the ‘available area’.

Each area-based SFI action sets out if you can enter:

only the total available area within a land parcel
total or part of the available area within a land parcel
only part of the available area within a land parcel

The available area is calculated for each action you select by taking the land parcel’s total area and, wherever possible, subtracting (where relevant) any area which has been:

declared with a land use code that is not eligible for the action
entered into another SFI action, CS option or static ES option that is not compatible with the action or means there would be double funding

If you have an ES agreement which contains rotational ES options, the area for these will be included in the available area. Therefore, you’ll need to deduct any area entered into a rotational ES option that is not compatible or means there would be double funding.

It’s your responsibility to check that the available area you want to enter into an area based SFI action in each land parcel:

is an eligible land type for the action – read section 5.1 ‘Eligible land types for SFI’ 
will not overlap with any area entered into another SFI action, CS option or ES option that is not compatible or means there would be double funding

5.4 Organic land

If your organic land is an eligible land type and registered as ‘in conversion’ or ‘fully organic’ with an Organic Control Body (OCB) you can enter it into:

SFI actions which are not specifically for organic land, such as CSAM3 (herbal leys) and other actions which are not organic-specific
organic-specific SFI actions, including OFA1 (overwinter stubble) and OFA6 (undersown cereal crop)

There are also organic-specific SFI actions that pay you to:

convert your land to organic status
manage your organic land once it’s converted to ‘fully organic’ status

These organic-specific conversion and management actions set out which organic land is eligible.

5.5 Land that’s a site of special scientific interest (SSSI)

You can enter land that’s an SSSI into SFI actions if it’s eligible. Each action sets this out.

If you apply for SFI actions on land that’s an SSSI, you must get SSSI consent from Natural England. You must do this before you do the affected actions on this land, unless the SFI action is exempt.

Your SFI 2024 agreement offer may be delayed if you apply for SFI actions on SSSI land, but you do not give notice to Natural England to get SSSI consent.

Read section 10.3: ‘SSSI consent’ to find out how to get SSSI consent and which SFI actions are exempt.

5.6 Land with historic or archaeological features

You can enter land with historic or archaeological features into SFI actions if it’s eligible. Each action sets this out.

Historic or archaeological features include:

scheduled monuments
non-designated historic or archaeological features, known as ‘SHINE’ features, which have been created by your local authority Historic Environment Record
registered parks and gardens and registered battlefields

If land with historic or archaeological features is ineligible for an SFI action, this only affects the area where the feature is located in a land parcel. You can apply for the SFI action on the remaining area in the land parcel if it’s eligible for the action.

Request an SFI Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (SFI HEFER)

If you apply for SFI actions on land with historic or archaeological features, you must request an SFI HEFER from Historic England. You must do this before you do your selected SFI actions on this land.

If you have not requested an SFI HEFER before, you need to register to use the HEFER portal. You will be sent an email to confirm your registration.

You will be sent an email when your SFI HEFER is available to download. This will usually be within 2 days from when you request it.

You cannot use a HEFER you’ve already got for an SFI or CS agreement.

Your SFI HEFER will:

identify any known historic or archaeological features on the land parcels linked to your SBI at the time you request the SFI HEFER
set out the requirements to follow when you complete your selected SFI actions on any area in a land parcel that contains historic or archaeological features

If your SFI HEFER identifies a scheduled monument, you may need to get consent from Historic England before you do your selected SFI actions on that land. Read section 10.1 ‘scheduled monument consent’ to find out when you must get scheduled monument consent and how to get it.

Soil sampling on eligible land with historic or archaeological features

If an SFI action requires you to take soil samples, where possible, avoid doing this on any area of land with an historic or archaeological feature identified on your SFI HEFER.

If you need to take soil samples on an area of land with a SHINE feature, or that’s a registered park or garden, or registered battlefield, you should only:

take enough samples to meet the requirements of the SFI action
sample to a depth of no more than 7.5 centimetres (cm) on permanent grassland or around 20 to 25cm on arable land (including temporary grassland)

You must not take soil samples on any area of land that’s a scheduled monument, unless you have consent to do so from Historic England. Read section 10.1 to find out how to get scheduled monument consent.

Other activities you should avoid doing on eligible land with historic or archaeological features

When you do your selected SFI actions, you must avoid causing damage to historic or archaeological features. Activities you should avoid include:

growing deep rooted species
allowing areas of scrub to develop

5.7 Land that’s conditionally exempt from Inheritance Tax

Land may not be eligible for SFI actions if both of the following apply:

it’s conditionally exempt from Inheritance Tax or designated as the object of a Maintenance Fund
what’s required by the SFI action is already a requirement of the conditional exemption or Maintenance Fund obligations

Read the guidance on ‘Eligible funding on land conditionally exempt from Inheritance Tax’ for more information.

Question 6

6.  Eligible land in other funding schemes

Accepted Answer

You can enter land that’s used for other funding schemes into SFI actions in your SFI agreement for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer if:

you and your land are eligible for both
the activities you’re paid for under each scheme are compatible
you will not be paid twice for a similar activity on the same area of land at the same time (known as ‘double funding’)

These 3 conditions apply to land that’s already in an agreement for the following funding schemes or grants:

the SFI 2024 offer
the SFI 2023 offer
Countryside Stewardship (CS) Mid Tier, Wildlife Offers or Higher Tier
Environmental Stewardship (ES) Higher Level Stewardship
Landscape Recovery
the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme

Each SFI 2024 action sets out which other SFI actions and CS or ES options you can do on the same area of land in a land parcel as the SFI action.

If an SFI 2024 action cannot be done on the same area of land as the other funding scheme, you may be able to do it on a different area in the same land parcel if:

it’s an eligible land type for the action
it’s an action you can do on part of the available area in a land parcel
the area entered into the action does not overlap with the area used for the other funding scheme

You can enter land that’s in an existing CS capital grants agreement into an SFI agreement because they pay for different things.

  6.1 Private sector schemes

You can enter land that’s used for a private sector scheme into SFI actions for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer if it’s eligible for the SFI action.

Private sector schemes include arrangements, such as:

carbon trading
payments of natural flood management

Defra will review its policy on the eligibility of land in private sector schemes for SFI each year.

Question 7

7.  Select your SFI actions

Accepted Answer

You can select any number of SFI actions that your land (including landscape features) is eligible for.

7.1 Search for actions using the finder tool

Use the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool to search for actions.

Each SFI action is identified by a unique action code, for example ‘SOH2: Multi-species spring-sown cover crop’. If you do not know the code, you can search by either:

Land types:

arable
coastal
farmyard
grassland
lowland heath
moorland and upland
scrub
waterbodies
wetland
woodland

Areas of interest:

agroforestry
air quality
boundaries
crops
equipment and machinery
flood risk
forestry
hedgerows
historic environment
horticulture
integrated pest management
land features and archaeological features
livestock management
nutrient, manure and slurry management
organic
peat
pollinators and wildlife
precision farming
priority habitats
public access and education
soil
trees
vegetation control
water availability and storage
water quality

Each action tells you:

the action’s duration
how much you’ll be paid
the action’s aim
where you can do the action – including the eligible land type and cover
if you can do the action on eligible land that’s an SSSI - you must get SSSI consent before you do the action, unless it’s exempt
if you can do the action on eligible land with an historic or archaeological feature – you must get an SFI HEFER and scheduled monument consent, if relevant, from Historic England before you do the action
if you can enter the total or part of the available area in a land parcel
whether the action is rotational or static
what to do
when to do the action
what evidence to keep
other SFI actions, CS or ES options you can do on the same area in a land parcel as the action
advice to help you do the action

It may be useful to write down the SFI action codes, so you have them to hand when you apply.

Question 8

8.  What to do before you apply for an SFI agreement

Accepted Answer

Before you apply for an SFI agreement, you need to complete the following steps.

8.1 Read the rules you must follow

Read the rules you must follow when you enter an SFI agreement to make sure you understand what you’re agreeing to do.

You can find these rules in:

the SFI actions you select – these are shown in the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool, with the action’s requirements identified by a ‘must’
the re-opened SFI 2024 offer agreement terms and conditions

You also need to read the sections of this SFI scheme information which explain the scheme rules set out in the re-opened SFI 2024 offer agreement terms and conditions. These sections include:

section 1 (about the SFI offer) – the information on SFI actions
section 2 (when and how much you’ll get paid)
section 4 (check if you have management control of land)
section 5 (check if your land is eligible for the SFI actions)
section 10 (get all necessary regulatory consents, permissions and licences in place)
section 11 (about your SFI agreement)
section 12 (managing your SFI agreement)
section 13 (complying with your SFI agreement)

8.2 Check your digital maps show the correct land details

As you will only have a 6-week application window to make your application for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer, it’s really important to check that your digital maps show the correct land details.

Before you start your SFI 2024 application, you need to check your digital maps show:  

all the land parcels you want to include in your SFI application 
the correct total area (in hectares) for each land parcel 
the correct land covers for each land parcel (such as arable land, permanent grassland, permanent crops or relevant non-agricultural cover)

If these land details are not up to date, this may prevent you from applying for the SFI actions you select. Read the guidance on how to check your digital maps. 

If you need to update your digital maps, make sure you ask the RPA to do this as soon as possible. Read the guidance on:

how to update your digital maps online
update your maps using form RLE1

You do not need to check the registered hedgerows on your digital maps. These are not used in your SFI application.

8.3 Check your registered contact details are up to date

Check your registered contact details, including your business email address, are up to date in the Rural Payments service. The RPA will use these details to contact you about your SFI application and agreement.

8.4 Check you have the correct permission to apply for SFI

You need the correct permission to apply for an SFI agreement for your business (SBI). Sign in to the Rural Payments service:

From ‘Business overview’ select ‘Give people permission to act for this business’. You need to have one of the following permissions:

‘Business Details: Full’
‘BPS: Submit’
‘CS: Submit’

If you do not have one of these permissions, you need to ask someone with ‘Business Details: Full’ permission for the business to give you the correct permission.

8.4.1 How to give permission to someone acting on your behalf

If you want someone else to apply on your behalf, such as an agent, you need to:

check they’re registered with the RPA in the Rural Payments service
give them one of the required permissions to apply for an SFI agreement

Question 9

9.  When and how to apply online

Accepted Answer

If you’re eligible to apply for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer, you will be able to start a new SFI application* from 12 noon on Monday [7 July 2025]. To do this, sign into the Rural Payments service. From your ‘Business overview’ screen:

select ‘Apply for the Expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) Offer’ link
then click on ‘Apply for a new agreement’

You will have a 6-week window in which to make your SFI application. This window will close at 11:59pm on Monday 18 August 2025. You must submit your application by this deadline.

If you’re in the assisted digital exception group, you may be given longer than 6 weeks to apply. This is because you’ll need support from the RPA to complete and submit your online SFI application. The RPA will tell you if this is the case.

All eligible applicants will only be able to apply for one SFI 2024 agreement per farm business (as identified by your SBI) during the 6-week application window. This means that, once you’ve submitted a valid SFI 2024 application, if you ask the RPA to withdraw it, you will be unable to start another SFI 2024 application.

You can save your application and come back to it later, but you must submit it by 11:59pm on Monday 18 August 2025, or it will be withdrawn.

You need to complete each section of your SFI application before moving onto the next.

If your application is eligible, you’ll be offered an SFI agreement through the Rural Payments service. The RPA will tell you when your SFI agreement offer is ready for you to check.

(* you can submit your existing SFI 2024 application if the RPA has written to you to say a specific technical issue prevented you from submitting it on 11 March 2025).

Applying for the restricted SFI 2024 offer

If you’re in the eligible SNS applicant group, you’re only eligible to apply for the restricted SFI 2024 offer. This means that you:

can only apply for a maximum annual agreement value of £9,300 (excluding the SFI management payment, which will not count towards the value limit) – read section 2.3 ‘New limit on annual agreement payment value for restricted offer applicants’ for further information
will not be able to increase the area of land entered into any rotational SFI actions above the total area you enter into such actions for the first agreement year – read section 1.4 ‘Rotational SFI actions’ for further information

Before you submit your SFI 2024 application, it’s your responsibility to check the indicative annual agreement value is no more than £9,300 (excluding the SFI management payment). You need to do this on the ‘Check your answers before submitting your application’ screen in the Rural Payments service.

This is because the application service will not prevent you from submitting an application which exceeds the £9,300 limit.

When you submit your SFI 2024 application, the RPA will check if it exceeds the £9,300 maximum annual agreement value. If it does, the RPA will notify you that this is the case. You will then be allowed to start and submit one further application within the 6-week application window.

If you exceed the £9,300 maximum annual agreement value again, your application will be rejected, and you will not be given a further opportunity to apply for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer.

Applying if you’re in the SFI Pilot exception group

If you’re eligible to apply for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer because you’re in the SFI Pilot exception group, you can only apply for land which was in your Pilot agreement.

When the RPA processes your submitted SFI 2024 application, they will remove any land you’ve included that was not in your Pilot agreement.

Amending your submitted application

When the RPA processes your submitted SFI 2024 application, the annual agreement value may be reduced, for example, because you have applied for:

SFI actions which are not compatible
SFI actions on land or features, such as hedgerows, which are not eligible
SFI actions on land which is already in another scheme agreement that’s incompatible or would lead to double funding
the endorsed SFI action (GRH6: Manage priority habitat species-rich grassland), but Natural England does not endorse your land as being suitable for this action

If this is the case, you will not be able to amend your submitted SFI 2024 application to select alternative SFI actions or eligible land.

Question 10

10.  Get all necessary regulatory consents, permissions and licences in place

Accepted Answer

You must comply with all statutory legal requirements that apply to you and your land, even if they conflict with your SFI agreement’s requirements. Read the guidance on ‘Rules for farmers and land managers’ for more information.

You must also get any required regulatory consents, permissions and licences before you do your selected SFI actions. This section covers the main ones you may need to get. However, it’s your responsibility to check if you need consent, permission or a licence and get it, if required, before you do the affected SFI actions.

A ‘scheduled monument’ is a monument which has been scheduled for its national archaeological or historical interest. This means it’s protected by law against:

ground disturbance
unlicensed metal detecting

If your land has a scheduled monument, this will be identified in your SFI HEFER (read section 5.6 ‘Land with historic or archaeological features’).

If your selected SFI actions require activities which will disturb the ground on land with a scheduled monument, you must get scheduled monument consent from Historic England. You must do this before you do the affected SFI actions.

If you will be taking soil samples on land with a scheduled monument, you must get consent for soil sampling from Historic England. You must do this before you take soil samples.

For guidance on activities which may affect scheduled monuments, read Historic England’s ‘Scheduled monuments – a guide for owners and occupiers’.

10.2 Planning permission

You may need planning permission if your selected SFI actions:

It’s your responsibility to:

check with your local planning authority or national park authority if you need planning permission
get planning permission, if it’s required, before you do the affected SFI actions

Read the guidance on when planning permission is required for more information.

An SSSI is a statutory conservation designation made by Natural England. You can find out if your land is an SSSI on the MAGIC website.

If you apply for SFI actions on land that’s an SSSI, you must give notice to Natural England to get SSSI consent (an ‘SSSI notice’), unless:

the action is exempt
you already have SSSI consent

Exempt SFI actions

The exempt SFI actions (which you can do on SSSI land without getting consent) are:

CSAM1: Assess soil, produce a soil management plan and test soil organic matter
CMOR1: Assess moorland and produce a written record
CIPM1: Assess integrated pest management and produce a plan
CNUM1: Assess nutrient management and produce a review report

If you already have SSSI consent, you must check that it applies to:

the area of land entered into the affected SFI actions
the activities you’ll do to complete those actions
the duration (3 or 5 years) of those actions

Before you apply for certain SFI actions for moorland or CLIG3 (Manage grassland with very low nutrient inputs) on SSSI land, it’s advisable that you either:

speak to Natural England about the activities you’re proposing to do to complete the action
get other expert advice on managing your SSSI land

This will allow you to:

make sure the activities (including grazing and shepherding, where relevant) are appropriate for the relevant type of SSSI habitat and its condition
get an indication of the activities Natural England is likely to give you SSSI consent for

In addition to CLIG3, this applies to the following SFI actions for moorland:

UPL1: Moderate livestock grazing on moorland
UPL2: Low livestock grazing on moorland
UPL3: Limited livestock grazing on moorland
UPL4: Keep cattle and ponies on moorland supplement (minimum 30% GLU)
UPL5: Keep cattle and ponies on moorland supplement (minimum 70% GLU)
UPL6: Keep cattle and ponies on moorland supplement (100% GLU)
UPL7: Shepherding livestock on moorland (no required stock removal period)
UPL8: Shepherding livestock on moorland (remove stock for at least 4 months)
UPL9: Shepherding livestock on moorland (remove stock for at least 6 months)
UPL10: Shepherding livestock on moorland (remove stock for at least 8 months)

When you complete the form to give SSSI notice to Natural England, you need to provide detailed information covering the relevant action’s 3-year duration. For UPL1 to UPL10 (inclusive), this needs to include:

detailed stocking information – this can be a completed stocking calendar (including stock types and minimum and maximum stock numbers) or detailed stocking levels
the location of any mineral licks
how you will complete shepherding activities (where relevant)

For CLIG3, the information you provide with your SSSI notice needs to include (where relevant):

nutrient applications – please note Natural England will not usually give SSSI consent for these
stock types and numbers, including the timing of grazing activities
timing of cutting management
scrub management or control activities
supplementary feeding methods and locations
weed control methods

If you want to change your stocking levels or management activities during the relevant action’s 3-year duration, check if you need to get additional SSSI consent. If SSSI consent is:

required, you must get it from Natural England before you make any changes
not required, you need to tell Natural England about the changes ‘for information only’ by emailing protectedsites@naturalengland.org.uk

When the RPA will offer you an agreement

The RPA will offer you an SFI agreement when Natural England confirms that either:

your SSSI consent notice has been received - your SFI 2024 agreement offer will be delayed if you do not give notice to Natural England to get SSSI consent
you already have SSSI consent

If you accept your SFI agreement offer:

your agreement can start before you receive SSSI consent from Natural England
you must not do the affected SFI actions until you receive SSSI consent – if you do, it will be a breach of your agreement

10.4 Wildlife licences for protected species

You must get an ‘individual’ wildlife licence from Natural England if the activities required by your selected SFI actions:

will disturb or affect protected wildlife species or disturb their habitats, for example cleaning out a pond
are not covered by a ‘general’ or ‘class’ wildlife licence

It’s your responsibility to check this and get a wildlife licence before you do the affected SFI actions.

Protected trees include:

specific trees, groups of trees or woodland protected by a tree preservation order (TPO)
trees growing in a conservation area

If your selected SFI actions require you to do activities on protected trees, you must get consent from your local planning authority or national park authority. You must do this before you do the affected SFI actions.

10.6 Felling licences to remove trees

Check if you need to apply for a felling licence before you do SFI actions which require activities to remove trees or woodland

10.7 Permission to change uncultivated, semi-natural or rural land

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) (Agriculture) Regulations protect:

‘uncultivated land’ or ‘semi-natural areas’ from activities which increase agricultural productivity (known as an ‘uncultivated land project’)
rural land holdings from restructuring activities which may have a negative environmental impact (known as a ‘restructuring project’), such as altering a field boundary or moving earth

‘Uncultivated land’ is land that has not been cultivated in the last 15 years by:

physical means, such as ploughing and harrowing
chemical means, such as applying fertilisers

‘Semi-natural areas’ include land that:

is a priority habitat
contains an historic or archaeological feature, including scheduled monuments
is a ‘protected landscape’ – this includes national landscapes (which were known as areas of outstanding national beauty), national parks and the Broads
contains scrub or bracken over certain thresholds – you can find these thresholds in the guidance on land types for EIA screening decisions.

You must check if you need Natural England’s permission (an EIA ‘screening decision’) if your selected SFI actions require activities which will:

increase the productivity of 2 hectares or more of uncultivated land or semi-natural areas – such as ploughing, applying fertilisers, sowing seed, converting grassland to arable, and clearing scrub or vegetation
add, remove, move or change the nature of a field boundary that’s 4 kilometres (km) or more in length (2km or more in sensitive areas, such as a national park) – this includes installing fencing to protect a habitat you’re creating
add, remove or distribute 10,000 cubic metres or more of earth or other material over an area of 100 hectares or more (5,000 cubic metres or more over 50 hectares or more in sensitive areas)

It’s your responsibility to get an EIA screening decision from Natural England, if required, before you do the affected SFI actions.

10.8 Forestry environmental impact assessments

Check if you need to apply for a forestry environmental impact assessment (EIA) from the Forestry Commission.

For example, you may need a forestry EIA if your selected SFI actions require activities which:

convert agricultural land to woodland by planting trees or allowing natural regeneration (self-sowing) of trees which could create woodland cover
remove woodland cover to convert the land to agricultural use

It’s your responsibility to check this and apply for a forestry EIA, if relevant, before you do the affected SFI actions.

10.9 Permission to do work on or around a watercourse

If your selected SFI actions require you to do work on or near a watercourse, you may need a permit or consent. This includes carrying out drainage works on land which may affect the flow of a watercourse.

For work on a ‘main river’, check if you need to apply for a flood risk activity permit (FRAP) from the Environment Agency.

For work on or near a watercourse that is not a main river (an ‘ordinary watercourse’, such as small rivers, streams and ditches), check if you need ‘ordinary watercourse consent’ from either:

Check if you need permission to do work on or around a watercourse.

It’s your responsibility to get permission, where required, before you do the affected SFI actions.

Question 11

11.  About your SFI agreement

Accepted Answer

Your SFI agreement is the legally binding agreement between you and Defra. It comprises:

your agreement document – you can view this in the Rural Payments service
the re-opened SFI  2024 offer agreement terms and conditions
the SFI actions you have selected

11.1  What you’re agreeing to do

When you enter an SFI agreement, you’re agreeing to:

complete the SFI actions you have selected, as referenced in your agreement document and set out in the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool at your agreement’s start date (unless an SFI action is changed subsequently – read section 12.5 ‘When the RPA may change your agreement’ for more details)
comply with your agreement’s terms and conditions
obtain, maintain and comply with any required permits, licences, permissions, consents, approvals, certificates and authorisations (whether statutory or otherwise)

11.2 Agreement start and end date

Your agreement will:

start on the first day of the calendar month after you have accepted your offer
end on the last day of the month of the longest action in your agreement (3 or 5 years) unless it’s terminated earlier

Your agreement document will show the start and end dates for:

your agreement (the ‘agreement period’)
each SFI action that’s in your agreement

Question 12

12.  Managing your SFI agreement

Accepted Answer

12.1 Submit your annual declaration

Towards the end of each agreement year, you must submit an annual declaration to confirm you have complied, or expect to have complied, with your agreement’s obligations for that year.

You must do this by the date specified by the RPA (the ‘due date’), which will be within the last 2 months of the relevant agreement year.

Your annual declaration is a simple tick box form. You’ll submit it online using the Rural Payments service. The RPA will tell you when it’s ready to complete.

If you do not submit your annual declaration by the due date, the RPA may:

delay the fourth instalment of your payment
regard it as a breach of your agreement

If something happens which means you cannot comply with your agreement’s obligations for the relevant agreement year:

you will not be able to submit your annual declaration, as you cannot confirm that you have complied, or expect to have complied, with your agreement’s obligations for that year
you must tell the RPA about what’s happened in writing as soon as possible - read section 13.2: ‘What you must do if you cannot comply with your agreement’

12.2 Add actions or land to your agreement

You cannot add SFI actions or land to your agreement for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer. The only exception to this is if you:

have selected rotational SFI actions
are eligible to apply for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer because you’re in one of the 3 exception groups (SFI Pilot, system issues or assisted digital)

In this case, after the first year of the rotational SFI action’s duration, you can add land into the action for subsequent years of its duration. Read section 1.4 ‘Rotational SFI actions’ for more information.

12.3 Remove actions or land from your agreement or end it early

During the agreement period, you will not usually be able to remove SFI actions or land from your agreement or end it early.

If you want to remove an action or land from your agreement, or end it early, you must email or write to the RPA as soon as possible to request this and explain the reason why. Preferably, this should be within 8 weeks of you being able to do so.

The RPA will consider your request and may allow it if there’s been a change of circumstances. The RPA will tell you what they decide.

If the RPA approves your request:

your agreement will be amended or ended early
you may have to repay some or all of the payments you’ve already received

Read section 13.2 on ‘what you must do if you cannot comply with your agreement’.

12.4 What happens if you transfer land in your agreement to another person

You will not usually be able to transfer your agreement to another person if, for example, you transfer land in your agreement because:

you sell it to someone else
your tenancy on the land ends, and there’s a new tenant

Instead, you must email or write to the RPA about this as soon as possible. As you’ll no longer have management control of the land you’ve transferred, the RPA will need to remove it from your agreement.

You may have to repay some, or all the payments you’ve already received during the agreement year in which you transfer the land if you:

have not completed your selected SFI actions
submitted your annual declaration for that year

Unlike previous schemes, the RPA will not apply additional financial ‘penalties’.

Once the RPA has removed the land from your agreement, the new occupier can apply for an SFI agreement on that land.

Read section 13.2 ‘What you must do if you cannot comply with your agreement’.

12.5 When the RPA may change your agreement

The RPA will not usually change your SFI agreement during the agreement period.

However, it is possible that they may offer you an agreement ‘upgrade’, for example, if they change:

your agreement’s terms and conditions
the SFI actions which are in your agreement

If the RPA considers the agreement upgrade is a change that’s beneficial to you, such as a payment rate increase, they will:

publish details on GOV.UK
write to you with details of the agreement upgrade, including the date it will apply from

If you want to reject a beneficial change and continue with your existing agreement, you must email or write to the RPA within 8 weeks of their notification. If you do not, the change will apply from the date the RPA tells you.

If the RPA offers you an agreement upgrade that they do not consider beneficial to you:

they will write to you with details of the agreement upgrade
you can either accept the upgrade or continue with your existing agreement

There may also be exceptional circumstances which mean the RPA has to change your agreement. For example, changes in the law, disease outbreaks or food security emergencies. In this case:

they will notify you in writing, giving as much notice as possible
the change will apply from the date specified by the RPA in their notice
if the change is not acceptable to you, you can end your agreement by telling the RPA in writing by the deadline they’ll specify in their notice – you will not be required to repay payments you’ve already received

12.6 Temporary adjustments to the SFI actions in your agreement

The RPA may identify factors which may temporarily affect your ability to complete the SFI actions in your agreement. This could include, for example, adverse weather conditions, such as flooding or drought.

If this happens, the RPA may make a temporary adjustment to the SFI actions for a period of time specified by them. To do this they will publish details on GOV.UK, giving you as much notice as possible. These details will include:

what the temporary adjustment is – including which SFI actions it affects
the start and end dates for the temporary adjustment
the evidence you must keep if you choose to comply with the temporary adjustment

After the temporary adjustment’s end date, you must complete your selected SFI actions as if the temporary adjustment no longer applies.

You do not have to comply with the temporary adjustment. If you choose to comply with it, you must:

keep evidence to show how you’ve complied with it
complete and retain a copy of the prescribed form the RPA publishes on GOV.UK

You must supply this evidence if the RPA asks for it.

Question 13

13.  Complying with your SFI agreement

Accepted Answer

The RPA will support and advise you if you cannot comply with your agreement to help you resolve the problem, where possible.

During the period of your SFI agreement, the RPA may check:

you’re complying with your agreement’s terms and conditions
you’ve completed what’s required in each of your selected SFI actions in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve their aims

You must follow this version (v1.3) of the SFI scheme information and actions for your agreement.

13.1 How the RPA will check you’re complying with your agreement

The RPA will check you’re complying with your agreement’s obligations through a combination of:

physical or virtual site visits
remote monitoring
desk-based administrative checks

The RPA may ask you to supply supporting evidence to show, for example, that:

you have management control of your land
you’ve completed what’s required in each SFI action you’ve selected in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim – each action sets out what evidence you must keep

Your agreement’s terms and conditions explain that you must:

provide this evidence if the RPA requests it
keep this evidence for at least 7 years from your agreement’s end date, or its termination date if that’s earlier

Site visits

If the RPA selects your farm or land for a site visit, they’ll:

try to arrange a suitable date and time with you in advance
let you know what to expect during the visit

If it’s not possible to arrange a suitable date and time, the RPA will write to you by email or post explaining the purpose, date and time of the visit. This will be at least 48 hours before the site visit, unless the RPA has reason to suspect there’s been a serious breach of your agreement, fraud or any other related offence.

Remote monitoring

The RPA uses aerial photography and satellite imagery to carry out remote monitoring of land cover, vegetation condition and soil erosion risk. This aims to:

reduce the need for physical site visits
make sure the SFI actions are being done in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve their aims
identify potential issues so the RPA can give targeted support

Desk-based administrative checks

The RPA carries out desk-based administrative checks to make sure you’re meeting your SFI agreement’s obligations. This can include checking the nature and quality of any supporting evidence they ask you to supply, such as receipts and farm records.

13.2 What you must do if you cannot comply with your agreement

You must tell the RPA in writing as soon as possible if something happens within or outside your control which might reasonably be expected to affect your ability to comply with your SFI agreement’s obligations. This is called a ‘change of circumstances’.

A change of circumstances includes something that may affect:

your eligibility to get paid
how much you’re paid
your ability to complete your selected SFI actions
your ability to comply with your agreement’s terms and conditions

Preferably, you should tell the RPA about a change of circumstances within 8 weeks of you being able to do so.

You can notify the RPA about a change of circumstances by email or post. When you email or write to the RPA, you should include:

your SBI
your SFI agreement reference number, which you can find on your agreement document
as many details as possible about the change of circumstances, including specific details about any SFI actions you cannot complete

RPA will look at each change of circumstances on a case-by-case basis. Depending on what’s happened, they may:

amend your agreement, for example, by removing land or SFI actions
reduce your payments
ask you to repay some or all of the payments you’ve already received
end your agreement early (before your agreement’s end date)

RPA will tell you what their decision is. If you do not agree with it, you can use the complaints procedure to ask the RPA to reconsider it. You must do this within 60 calendar days of the date you’re notified of the decision.

13.3 How you could breach your agreement

You could breach your SFI agreement if you have:

not notified the RPA of a change of circumstances
given false or misleading information
used the payments received under your agreement for a purpose that’s not in accordance with the agreement
used the payments received under your agreement for activities that breach any law you’re required to comply with
failed to comply with the terms of your agreement
breached a requirement you’re subject to under the Agriculture (Financial Assistance) Regulations 2021, as amended
failed to provide required information, records or evidence
prevented an authorised person from carrying out a virtual or physical site visit of the land in your agreement
refused a reasonable request by an authorised person to provide assistance to carry out a virtual or physical site visit of the land in your agreement
obstructed a virtual or physical site visit of the land in your agreement
failed to prevent or report actual or anticipated fraud or corruption in relation to the payments you receive under your agreement

This includes a breach caused by your employees or someone acting on your behalf, unless it relates to a change of circumstances or actual or anticipated fraud or corruption.

13.4 If the RPA suspects there’s been a breach

When the RPA checks if you’re complying with your SFI agreement, they may reasonably suspect there’s been a breach.

If this is the case, the RPA will:

carry out a proportionate investigation to determine whether there has been a breach - unlike previous schemes, they will not usually withhold your payments while investigating
discuss their investigation with you, where possible, so you understand what they have found
consider any ‘good reasons’ for the suspected breach (read section 13.6 ‘Good reasons for a breach’ for more information)

The RPA may also ask you to provide more information or evidence.

Once the RPA has completed their investigation, they’ll write to tell you:

the outcome
how you can respond to the outcome if you do not agree with it – including the deadline for submitting your response in writing

The RPA will consider your response before making a formal decision (known as a ‘determination’) about whether you have breached your agreement.

13.5 RPA confirms there’s been a breach

If the RPA decides that you have breached your SFI agreement, they will:

explain the reasons for their determination in writing
decide what action, if any, they will take – there are no set actions that they’ll take for particular breaches of your agreement

What the RPA does about the breach will depend on the individual circumstances of your case. They will consider factors such as:

how serious the breach was
if you had a ‘good reason’ for the breach – read section 13.6: ‘Good reasons for a breach’
why the breach happened and any consequences it may have
what impact the breach has on achieving the aims of the SFI actions in your agreement, and whether that impact will be short or longer term
if you can take action to make sure you are complying with your agreement
any past conduct and whether a similar breach has happened before
if you intentionally breached your agreement
whether the breach constitutes an offence and has caused widespread or irreparable damage
if you have not co-operated with the RPA checking you’re complying with your agreement
if you notified the RPA about a change of circumstances (if applicable)

The RPA may decide that no action is needed because:

of the nature of the breach
you’ve supplied evidence to them of a ‘good reason’ for the breach

If the RPA decides action is needed, they may:

issue you with a warning letter
temporarily or permanently amend, remove or replace a condition subject to which your agreement’s payments are made to you
temporarily or permanently amend, remove or replace your selected SFI actions or timescales
allow you to rectify the breach
delay, reduce, recover or withhold payments or require you to repay some or all the payments you’ve already received

The RPA may decide that there’s a serious breach of your SFI agreement because it:

was intentional
was due to negligence or recklessness
has happened more than once, without good reason

In this case, they may:

end your SFI agreement before its end date
prevent you from receiving payments under any other financial assistance scheme for up to 2 years

Where there is evidence of fraud or illegality, they will follow the relevant legal process.

If you do not agree with the RPA’s determination that there’s been a breach, you can use the complaints procedure to ask the RPA to reconsider it. You must do this within 60 calendar days of the date you’re notified of the determination.

13.6 Good reasons for a breach

There may be circumstances (a ‘good reason’) which mean you breach your SFI agreement’s obligations because of events outside of your control.

Good reasons for a breach include, but are not limited to:

natural events, such as prolonged adverse weather conditions, flooding, or animal or plant disease
if you are seriously ill
the death of the agreement holder
if there is unforeseen loss of management control of the land in your agreement, for example when a tenancy is terminated, or because of the compulsory purchase of land by a third party
financial circumstances, such as bankruptcy
evidenced supply chain problems, such as a lack of laboratory soil testing capacity
criminal damage by a third party, such as arson or vandalism

If there’s a ‘good reason’ for the breach of your agreement, you (or someone authorised to act on your behalf) must write to the RPA to explain:

what has happened, including details of the events outside your control which meant you breached your agreement
whether you can take action to make sure you are complying with your agreement

You must email or write to the RPA immediately if the good reason is because you’ve breached your agreement by:

preventing the RPA from carrying out a site visit
refusing to provide assistance with a site visit
otherwise obstructing a virtual or physical site visit of the land in your agreement

In all other cases, you must email or write to the RPA within 8 weeks from the date that either:

you are able to
the RPA notifies you of their determination that you’ve breached your agreement

The RPA will:

consider your individual circumstances – they may ask you to supply further evidence
decide what action, if any, they will take – they will tell you about their decision

If you knew about the issue when you entered your agreement, it’s unlikely the RPA will consider it to be a good reason for a breach.

The RPA will also take ‘good reasons’ into account when they investigate a suspected breach of your agreement. Read section 13.4: ‘If the RPA suspect there’s been a breach’.

Question 14

14.  Contact the RPA

Accepted Answer

If you have a general question about SFI, contact RPA by:

email: ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk - use ‘SFI’ in the subject header and include your SBI
telephone: 03000 200 301 - Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5pm, except bank holidays
post: PO Box 325, Worksop, S95 1DG

If you need to raise a specific query about your application, follow the guidance on how to contact RPA about SFI.

Question 15

Annex A: Summary of rules for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer

Accepted Answer

This following information includes a summary of which new rules for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer apply to the:

3 exception groups
eligible SNS applicant group

Read section 3 ‘Check if you’re eligible to apply for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer’ for more information about these groups and the new rules.

Group	£9,300 per year limit	Cap on rotational SFI actions after Year 1	Limit on land type
Eligible started not submitted*	Yes	Yes	No
SFI Pilot exception	No	No	Yes - former SFI Pilot agreement land only
System issues exception	No	No	No
Assisted digital exception	No	No	No

*eligible to apply for the re-opened SFI 2024 offer because they started an SFI 2024 application on or after 12 January 2025.

Question 16

Annex B: Summary of the re-opened SFI 2024 offer

Accepted Answer

The following information includes a summary of the SFI actions in the re-opened SFI 2024 offer.

Code	SFI actions for agroforestry	Annual payment	Action’s duration
AGF1	Maintain very low density in-field agroforestry on less sensitive land	£248 per hectare	3 years
AGF2	Maintain low density in-field agroforestry on less sensitive land	£385 per hectare	3 years

Code	SFI actions for boundary features	Annual payment	Action’s duration
CHRW1	Assess and record hedgerow condition	£5 per 100 metres for one side	3 years
CHRW2	Manage hedgerows	£13 per 100 metres for one side	3 years
CHRW3	Maintain or establish hedgerow trees	£10 per 100 metres for both sides	3 years
BND1	Maintain dry stone walls	£27 per 100 metres for both sides	3 years
BND2	Maintain earth banks or stone-faced hedgebanks	£11 per 100 metres for one side	3 years

Code	SFI actions for buffer strips	Annual payment	Action’s duration
CAHL4	4m to 12m grass buffer strip on arable and horticultural land	£515 per hectare	3 years
CIGL3	4m to 12m grass buffer strip on improved grassland	£235 per hectare	3 years
BFS1	12m to 24m watercourse buffer strip on cultivated land	£707 per hectare	3 years
BFS2	Buffer in-field ponds on arable land	£681 per hectare	3 years
BFS3	Buffer in-field ponds on improved grassland	£311 per hectare	3 years
BFS4	Protect in-field trees on arable land	£553 per hectare	3 years
BFS5	Protect in-field trees on intensive grassland	£295 per hectare	3 years
BFS6	6m to 12m habitat strip next to watercourses	£742 per hectare	5 years

Code	SFI actions for farmland wildlife on arable and horticultural land	Annual payment	Action’s duration
CAHL1	Pollen and nectar flower mix	£739 per hectare	3 years
CAHL2	Winter bird food on arable and horticultural land	£853 per hectare	3 years
CAHL3	Grassy field corners or blocks	£590 per hectare	3 years
AHW1	Bumblebird mix	£747 per hectare	3 years
AHW2	Supplementary winter bird food (*maximum 1 tonne for every 2 hectares of CAHL2)	£732 per tonne*	3 years
AHW3	Beetle banks	£764 per hectare	3 years
AHW4	Skylark plots (*minimum 2 plots)	£11 per plot*	3 years
AHW5	Nesting plots for lapwing	£765 per hectare	3 years
AHW6	Basic overwinter stubble	£58 per hectare	3 years
AHW7	Enhanced overwinter stubble	£589 per hectare	3 years
AHW8	Whole crop spring cereals and overwinter stubble	£596 per hectare	3 years
AHW9	Unharvested cereal headland	£1,072 per hectare	3 years
AHW10	Low input harvested cereal crop	£354 per hectare	3 years
AHW11	Cultivated areas for arable plants	£660 per hectare	3 years
AHW12	Manage woodland edges on arable land	£428 per hectare	3 years

Code	SFI actions for farmland wildlife and habitats on grassland	Annual payment	Action’s duration
CIGL1	Take grassland field corners or blocks out of management	£333 per hectare	3 years
CIGL2	Winter bird food on improved grassland	£515 per hectare	3 years
CLIG3	Manage grassland with very low nutrient inputs	£151 per hectare	3 years
GRH1	Manage rough grazing for birds	£121 per hectare	3 years
GRH6	Manage priority habitat species-rich grassland (endorsed)	£646 per hectare	5 years
GRH7	Supplement: Haymaking	£157 per hectare	3 years
GRH8	Supplement: Haymaking (late cut)	£187 per hectare	3 years
GRH10	Supplement: Lenient grazing	£28 per hectare	3 years
GRH11	Supplement: Cattle grazing (non-moorland)	£59 per hectare	5 years
SCR1	Create scrub and open habitat mosaics	£588 per hectare	5 years
SCR2	Manage scrub and open habitat mosaics	£350 per hectare	3 years

Code	SFI actions for heritage	Annual payment	Action’s duration
HEF1	Maintain weatherproof traditional farm or forestry buildings	£5 per square metre	3 years
HEF2	Maintain weatherproof traditional farm or forestry buildings in remote areas	£8 per square metre	3 years
HEF5	Control scrub on historic and archaeological features	£215 per hectare	5 years
HEF6	Manage historic and archaeological features on grassland	£55 per hectare	5 years
HEF8	Maintain designed or engineered waterbodies	£2,512 per hectare	5 years

Code	SFI actions for integrated pest management	Annual payment	Action’s duration
CIPM1	Assess integrated pest management and produce a plan	£1,129 for the assessment and plan	3 years
CIPM2	Flower-rich grass margins, blocks or in-field strips	£798 per hectare	3 years
CIPM3	Companion crop on arable and horticultural land	£55 per hectare	3 years
CIPM4	No use of insecticide on arable crops and permanent crops	£45 per hectare	3 years

Code	SFI actions for moorland	Annual payment	Action’s duration
CMOR1	Assess moorland and produce a written record	£10.60 per hectare and £272 per agreement	3 years
UPL1	Moderate livestock grazing on moorland	£20 per hectare	3 years
UPL2	Low livestock grazing on moorland	£53 per hectare	3 years
UPL3	Limited livestock grazing on moorland	£66 per hectare	3 years
UPL4	Supplement: Keep cattle and ponies on moorland (minimum 30% GLU)	£7 per hectare	3 years
UPL5	Supplement: Keep cattle and ponies on moorland (minimum 70% GLU)	£18 per hectare	3 years
UPL6	Supplement: Keep cattle and ponies on moorland (100% GLU)	£23 per hectare	3 years
UPL7	Shepherding livestock on moorland (no required stock removal period)	£33 per hectare	3 years
UPL8	Shepherding livestock on moorland (remove stock for at least 4 months)	£43 per hectare	3 years
UPL9	Shepherding livestock on moorland (remove stock for at least 6 months)	£45 per hectare	3 years
UPL10	Shepherding livestock on moorland (remove stock for at least 8 months)	£48 per hectare	3 years

Code	SFI actions for nutrient management	Annual payment	Action’s duration
CNUM1	Assess nutrient management and produce a review report	£652 for the assessment and report	3 years
CNUM2	Legumes on improved grassland	£102 per hectare	3 years
CNUM3	Legume fallow	£593 per hectare	3 years

Code	SFI actions for organic farming	Annual payment	Action’s duration
OFC1	Organic conversion – improved permanent grassland (*maximum of 2 consecutive years)	£187 per hectare	1 year*
OFC2	Organic conversion – unimproved permanent grassland (*maximum of 2 consecutive years)	£96 per hectare	1 year*
OFC3	Organic conversion – rotational land (*maximum of 2 consecutive years)	£298 per hectare	1 year*
OFC4	Organic conversion – horticultural land (*maximum of 2 consecutive years)	£874 per hectare	1 year*
OFC5	Organic conversion – top fruit (*maximum of 3 consecutive years)	£1,920 per hectare	1 year*
OFM1	Organic land management – improved permanent grassland	£20 per hectare	3 years
OFM2	Organic land management – unimproved permanent grassland	£41 per hectare	3 years
OFM3	Organic land management – enclosed rough grazing	£97 per hectare	3 years
OFM4	Organic land management – rotational land	£132 per hectare	3 years
OFM5	Organic land management – horticultural land	£707 per hectare	3 years
OFM6	Organic land management – top fruit	£1,920 per hectare	3 years
OFA1	Overwinter stubble (organic land)	£264 per hectare	3 years
OFA3	Supplementary winter bird food (organic land) (*maximum 1 tonne for every 2 hectares of CALH2)	£935 per tonne*	3 years
OFA6	Undersown cereal crop (organic land)	£380 per hectare	3 years

Code	SFI actions for precision farming	Annual payment	Action’s duration
PRF1	Variable rate application of nutrients	£27 per hectare	3 years
PRF2	Camera or remote sensor guided herbicide spraying	£43 per hectare	3 years
PRF3	Non-mechanical robotic weeding	£101 per hectare	3 years
PRF4	Mechanical robotic weeding	£150 per hectare	3 years

Code	SFI actions for species recovery and management	Annual payment	Action’s duration
SPM2	Supplement: Keep native breeds on grazed habitats (50-80%)	£92 per hectare	3 years
SPM3	Supplement: Keep native breeds on grazed habitats (more than 80%)	£146 per hectare	3 years
SPM4	Supplement: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats (50-80%)	£7 per hectare	3 years
SPM5	Supplement: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats (more than 80%)	£11 per hectare	3 years

Code	SFI actions for soil health	Annual payment	Action’s duration
CSAM1	Assess soil, produce a soil management plan and test soil organic matter	£6 per hectare and an additional payment of £97 per agreement	3 years
CSAM2	Multi-species winter cover crop	£129 per hectare	3 years
CSAM3	Herbal leys	£382 per hectare	3 years
SOH1	No-till farming	£73 per hectare	3 years
SOH2	Multi-species spring-sown cover crop	£163 per hectare	3 years
SOH3	Multi-species summer-sown cover crop	£163 per hectare	3 years
SOH4	Winter cover following maize crops	£203 per hectare	3 years

Code	SFI actions for waterbodies	Annual payment	Action’s duration
WBD1	Manage ponds (*maximum of 3 ponds per hectare)	£257 per pond*	3 years
WBD2	Manage ditches	£4 per 100m for both sides	3 years
WBD3	In-field grass strips	£765 per hectare	3 years
WBD4	Arable reversion to grassland with low fertiliser input	£489 per hectare	5 years
WBD5	Manage intensive grassland adjacent to a watercourse	£311 per hectare	5 years
WBD6	Remove livestock from intensive grassland during the autumn and winter (outside SDAs)	£115 per hectare	3 years
WBD7	Remove livestock from grassland during the autumn and winter (SDAs)	£115 per hectare	3 years
WBD8	Manage grassland to reduce nutrient levels in groundwater	£396 per hectare	3 years
WBD9	Supplement: Nil fertiliser	£156 per hectare	5 years

Additional payments	Annual payment	Action’s duration
SFI management payment (*up to the first 50 hectares entered into the relevant SFI actions, per SBI)	£40 per hectare* for the first agreement year, £20 per ha* for each subsequent agreement year	Not applicable

Question 17

Annex C: What supplemental actions you can do with each base action

Accepted Answer

The following information sets out:

each base action in the re-opened SFI 2024 offer
which supplemental actions can be done with each base action

Unless identified otherwise, you can only do:

one supplemental action with the base action
your selected supplemental action on the same area of land as the base action

Base action	Supplemental actions you can do with the base action
AGF2 (maintain low density agroforestry on less sensitive land)	SPM2: Keep native breeds on grazed habitats supplement (50-80%) SPM3: Keep native breeds on grazed habitats supplement (more than 80%)
AGF2 (maintain low density agroforestry on less sensitive land)	SPM2: Keep native breeds on grazed habitats supplement (50-80%) SPM3: Keep native breeds on grazed habitats supplement (more than 80%)
CAHL2: Winter bird food (AHL2 in the SFI 2023 offer)	AHW2: Supplementary bird food* OFA3: Supplementary bird food (organic)* (*can be done on different area to base action)
CLIG3: Manage grassland with very low nutrient inputs (LIG1 or LIG2 in the SFI23 offer)	GRH7: Hay making supplement* (GRH11 can also be done on same area as GRH7) GRH8: Hay making supplement (late cut)* (GRH11 can also be done on same area as GRH8) GRH10: Lenient grazing supplement GRH11: Cattle grazing supplement (non-moorland)* (GRH7 or GRH8 can also be done on same area as GRH11) SPM2: Keep native breeds on grazed habitats supplement (50-80%) SPM3: Keep native breeds on grazed habitats supplement (more than 80%) (*same or less than area in base action)
GRH1: Manage rough grazing for birds	GRH11: Cattle grazing supplement (non-moorland)* SPM4: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (50-80%) SPM5: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (more than 80%) (*same or less than area in base action)
GRH6: Manage priority habitat species-rich grassland	GRH7: Hay making supplement* (GRH11 can also be done on same area as GRH7) GRH8: Hay making supplement (late cut)* (GRH11 can be also done on same area as GRH8) GRH11: Cattle grazing supplement (non-moorland)* (GRH7 or GHR8 can also be done on same area as GRH11) SPM2: Keep native breeds on grazed habitats supplement (50-80%) SPM3: Keep native breeds on grazed habitats supplement (more than 80%) (*same or less than area in base action)
OFC1: Organic conversion – improved permanent grassland	SPM2: Keep native breeds on grazed habitats supplement (50-80%) SPM3: Keep native breeds on grazed habitats supplement (more than 80%)
OFC2: Organic conversion – unimproved permanent grassland	SPM2: Keep native breeds on grazed habitats supplement (50-80%) SPM3: Keep native breeds on grazed habitats supplement (more than 80%)
OFM1: Organic land management – improved permanent grassland	SPM2: Keep native breeds on grazed habitats supplement (50-80%) SPM3: Keep native breeds on grazed habitats supplement (more than 80%)
OFM2: Organic land management – unimproved permanent grassland	SPM2: Keep native breeds on grazed habitats supplement (50-80%) SPM3: Keep native breeds on grazed habitats supplement (more than 80%)
OFM3: Organic land management – enclosed rough grazing	SPM4: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (50-80%) SPM5: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (more than 80%)
SCR2: Manage scrub and open habitat mosaics	SPM4: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (50-80%) SPM5: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (more than 80%)
UPL1: Moderate livestock grazing on moorland	UPL4: Keep cattle and ponies on moorland supplement (minimum 30% GLU) (SPM4 or SPM5 can also be done on same area as UPL4) UPL5: Keep cattle and ponies on moorland supplement (minimum 70% GLU) (SPM4 or SPM5 can also be done on same area as UPL5) UPL6: Keep cattle and ponies on moorland supplement (100% GLU) (SPM4 or SPM5 can also be done on same area as UPL6) SPM4: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (50-80%) (UPL4 or UPL5 or UPL6 can also be done on the same area as SPM4) SPM5: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (more than 80%) (UPL4 or UPL5 or UPL6 can also be done on the same area as SPM5)
UPL2: Low livestock grazing on moorland	UPL4: Keep cattle and ponies on moorland supplement (minimum 30% GLU) (SPM4 or SPM5 can also be done on same area as UPL4) UPL5: Keep cattle and ponies on moorland supplement (minimum 70% GLU) (SPM4 or SPM5 can also be done on same area as UPL5) UPL6: Keep cattle and ponies on moorland supplement (100% GLU) (SPM4 or SPM5 can also be done on same area as UPL6) SPM4: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (50-80%) (UPL4 or UPL5 or UPL6 can also be done on the same area as SPM4) SPM5: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (more than 80%) (UPL4 or UPL5 or UPL6 can also be done on the same area as SPM5)
UPL3: Limited livestock grazing on moorland	UPL4: Keep cattle and ponies on moorland supplement (minimum 30% GLU) (SPM4 or SPM5 can also be done on same area as UPL4) UPL5: Keep cattle and ponies on moorland supplement (minimum 70% GLU) (SPM4 or SPM5 can also be done on same area as UPL5) UPL6: Keep cattle and ponies on moorland supplement (100% GLU) (SPM4 or SPM5 can also be done on same area as UPL6) SPM4: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (50-80%) (UPL4 or UPL5 or UPL6 can also be done on the same area as SPM4) SPM5: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (more than 80%) (UPL4 or UPL5 or UPL6 can also be done on the same area as SPM5)
UPL7: Shepherding livestock on moorland (no required stock removal)	SPM4: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (50-80%) SPM5: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (more than 80%)
UPL8: Shepherding livestock on moorland (remove stock 4 months)	SPM4: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (50-80%) SPM5: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (more than 80%)
UPL9: Shepherding livestock on moorland (remove stock 6 months)	SPM4: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (50-80%) SPM5: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (more than 80%)
UPL10: Shepherding livestock on moorland (remove stock 8 months)	SPM4: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (50-80%) SPM5: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (more than 80%)
WBD4: Arable reversion to grassland with low fertiliser input	WBD9: Nil fertiliser supplement
WBD5: Management of intensive grassland adjacent to a watercourse	WBD9: Nil fertiliser supplement

Question 18

Annex D: Land covers the RPA registers and compatible land use codes

Accepted Answer

Table 1 and 2 explain the:

agricultural and non-agricultural land covers registered by the RPA on your digital maps – there may be more than one land cover in each land parcel
land use codes which are compatible with each registered land cover

Read section 5.2 ‘Eligible land covers and compatible land uses’ for more information.

Table 1: Agricultural land covers

Registered agricultural land covers	Compatible land use codes
Arable land	Land use codes for arable crops
Arable land	Land use codes for leguminous and nitrogen-fixing crops
Arable land	TG01 (temporary grassland)
Arable land	FA01 (fallow)
Permanent grassland	PG01
Permanent crops	Land use codes for permanent crops

Table 2: Non-agricultural land covers

Registered non-agricultural land covers	Compatible land use codes
Airstrip or airports	MT05
Bog	IW07
Cliffs	CF01
Drain, ditch, dyke	WF01
Drain, ditch, dyke on a boundary	IW11
Farm building	AB01
Farmyards	AB09
Fen marsh and swamp	IW06
Gallop	NT01
General utility	UT06
Glasshouse	AB06
Golf course	RL04
Hard standing	HS01
Heath land and bracken – ungrazeable	HE02
Heap	HE03
Intertidal habitats	MW04
Metalled track	MT01
Mineral extraction site	MS04
Non-agricultural area	NA02
Non-utilised Bank	PL01
Notional – rock	NF01
Notional - bracken	NF02
Notional - scrub	NF03
Notional - trees	NF04
Notional - water	NF05
Notional – natural	NF06
Notional - manmade	NF07
Notional - mixed	NF08
Peat production	CM01
Pond	WF03
Railway	MT04
Real estate services	ES01
Reed beds	MW03
Residential gardens	WO17
Residential dwelling, house	NR01
River/Stream on a boundary	IW01
Rivers and Streams type 2	IW02
Rivers and Streams type 3	IW03
Roads	MT03
Salt marsh – ungrazeable	MW01
Sand dunes	CF03
Saline habitats	MW05
Scree	RO02
Scrub - ungrazeable	WO25
Shelter on bare soil	AB03
Shingle	IW05
Solar panels	UT01
Sports and recreation	RL03
Storage area	SA02
Structure	ST05
Tidal areas	MW02
Track – natural surface	NT03
Turf production	CM02
Uncropped	PL02
Vegetated shingle	CF02
Water treatment works	UT07
Woodland	WO12

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1.1 Summary of SFI actions

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11.1  What you’re agreeing to do

13.5 RPA confirms there’s been a breach