SFI actions for soils
Find out about the SFI actions for soils, what land is eligible for each action, and what you need to do to get paid.
Applies to England
This section contains the mandatory requirements for the SFI actions for soils. These requirements are part of your SFI agreement.
You can choose which SFI actions to do and what area of eligible land to do them on. There are no mandatory combinations of actions, and no minimum or maximum areas.
What we explain in each SFI action
The details of each SFI action explain:
- the action’s aim
- where you can do the action - this includes what land is eligible, whether it’s a rotational or static action, and which other environmental land management actions or options you can do on the same area within a land parcel (noting that it may also be possible to do part-parcel actions on another area within the same land parcel)
- what you need to do for the action
- when to do the action
- how to do the action – which is up to you, as long as it’s done in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve the action’s aim
- what evidence to keep
Rotational SFI actions
If you choose a rotational SFI action, you’ll tell us the area and location of that action for the first year of your SFI agreement in your application.
It will be possible for you to vary the coverage of rotational actions, so they work with your crop rotation and different sizes of land parcels. This means that in the second and third years of your agreement, you’ll be able to do the action on:
- a larger area than you entered into the action for the first year of your SFI agreement
- a lower area, as long as it’s at least 50% of the area you entered into the action for the first year of your agreement – for example, if you enter 10ha into a rotational action for the first year, you can decrease that area to 5ha for the second year and then either keep it as 5ha for the third year or increase it again.
We’ll let you know how to tell us about a change to the area and location of rotational actions for the second and third agreement years.
Overview of the SFI actions for soils
The SFI actions for soils are focused on improving soil health, structure, organic matter and biology. They include:
- SAM1: Assess soil, produce a soil management plan and test soil organic matter
- SAM2: Multi-species winter cover crops
- SAM3: Herbal leys
These actions can help with the long-term productivity and resilience of the soil to benefit food production. They can also provide environmental benefits, such as better water quality, improved climate resilience and increased biodiversity.
SAM1: Assess soil, produce a soil management plan and test soil organic matter
How much you’ll be paid
You’ll receive £6 per hectare (ha) and £97 per SFI agreement per year.
This action’s aim
This action’s aim is that you:
- understand the condition of your soil
- effectively plan how to increase the long-term health, productivity and resilience of your soil
Where you can do this action
You can do this action on eligible agricultural land located below the moorland line. The table below sets out what land is eligible for SAM1.
For land above the moorland line, you can do MOR1 to complete a survey to identify, assess and record the soil, vegetation, and historic and archaeological features.
Eligible land for SAM1
| Eligible land type | Eligible land use code | Compatible land cover |
|---|---|---|
| Arable land, including temporary grassland | Arable crops, Leguminous and nitrogen-fixing crops, FA01 and TG01 | Arable land |
| Permanent crops – horticultural and non-horticultural | Permanent crops | Permanent crops |
| Permanent grassland – improved and low input | PG01 | Permanent grassland |
The glossary explains what we mean by land types, land use codes and compatible land covers.
The SFI application service will automatically calculate what area may be eligible for this action in each land parcel. This is called the ‘SFI available area’. You must check this area is an eligible land type. Find out how the SFI available area is calculated in the information on land that’s eligible for the SFI actions.
You can only apply for this action on the total SFI available area in each land parcel shown in your SFI application. You cannot apply for it on part of that area.
This action is static. You must do it on the same area of eligible land each year of your 3-year SFI agreement.
Other land management actions or options you can do on the same area as SAM1
The table below sets out which other SFI actions, Countryside Stewardship (CS) management options, Environmental Stewardship (ES) revenue options and SFI pilot standards can be located on the same eligible area within a land parcel as SAM1.
Actions or options that can be located on the same area within a land parcel as SAM1
| Scheme | Action or option codes that can be located on the same area as SAM1 |
|---|---|
| SFI 2023 | All SFI actions, except MOR1 |
| CS | Arable CS options: AB1, AB2, AB3, AB4, AB5, AB6, AB7, AB8, AB9, AB10, AB11, AB12, AB13, AB14, AB15, AB16 |
| CS | In-field tree CS options: BE1, BE2 |
| CS | Traditional orchard CS options: BE4, BE5 |
| CS | Grassland CS options: GS1, GS2, GS3, GS4, GS5, GS6, GS7, GS8, GS9, GS10, GS11, GS12, GS13, GS14 |
| CS | Historic environment CS options: HS3, HS4, HS7, HS9 |
| CS | Lowland heathland CS options: CT1, CT2, CT3, CT4, CT5, CT7, LH1, LH2, LH3, WT6, WT7, WT8, WT9, WT10 |
| CS | Organic CS options: OP1, OP2, OP3, OP4, OP5, OR1, OR2, OR3, OR4, OR5, OT1, OT2, OT3, OT4, OT5 |
| CS | Water quality CS options: SW1, SW2, SW3, SW4, SW5, SW6, SW7, SW8, SW9, SW10, SW12, SW13, SW15, SW16, SW17, SW18, WT1, WT2 |
| CS | Uplands CS options: UP2 (if located below the moorland line) |
| ES | All ES revenue options |
| SFI pilot | SFI pilot arable and horticultural land standard – all levels |
| SFI pilot | SFI pilot improved grassland standard – all levels |
| SFI pilot | SFI pilot low and no input grassland standard – all levels |
| SFI pilot | SFI pilot water body buffering standard – all levels |
| SFI pilot | SFI pilot hedgerows – all levels |
Use the CS grant finder to search for the CS option codes shown above.
The SFI actions for hedgerows (HRW1, HRW2 and HRW3) and CS option BE3 can be done on the eligible boundaries of a land parcel entered into SAM1.
If an action or option cannot be located on the same area within a land parcel as SAM1, this is because it’s not an eligible land type, or the activities are incompatible, or you would be paid twice for doing the same activities on the same land. In this case, that area will be automatically removed from the affected land parcel’s SFI available area in your SFI application.
Read the information about eligibility of land used for other schemes and funding sources to find out more.
What to do
You must:
- assess the soil for all the land parcels entered into this action and produce a written soil management plan which covers that land
- test the soil organic matter (SOM) on all the land parcels entered into this action within the last 5 years
If you already have a soil management plan written in the last 12 months, informed by a soil assessment, you can use it to meet this action. You can also use existing SOM test results that are not more than 5 years old to meet this action.
To test the SOM for small land parcels, you can combine them into a single sample area if the soil type and past management is similar. This means you can take soil from each land parcel and combine it into a single sample to test the SOM.
If you need to take soil samples on areas within a land parcel containing historic or archaeological features, including scheduled monuments, you must:
- request an SFI Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (SFI HEFER), as explained in the information about historic and archaeological features (section 4.3.2)
- meet the requirements for taking soil samples on these areas, as explained in the information about completing SFI actions on land containing historic and archaeological features (section 4.3.2)
To help us improve national data on the condition of England’s soils, we may ask you to provide some information about your soil assessment and SOM testing results during your 3-year SFI agreement.
This data is one of the public goods that this action is paying for and part of wider government measures in relation to our soils policy and strategy. We’ll publish guidance on GOV.UK about what information is needed and how to supply it to us.
When to do it
For the soil assessment and soil management plan, you must:
- complete the soil assessment and produce the written soil management plan within the first 12 months of your SFI agreement
- review the soil management plan in each subsequent year of your 3-year SFI agreement, adding any new soil analyses
For the SOM testing, each year of your 3-year SFI agreement you must:
- make sure you’ve tested the SOM on all the land parcels entered into this action within the last 5 years
- retest that land if your existing SOM test results reach 5 years old
If the timing meets the requirements above, you can do the SOM testing at the same time as your other routine soil testing required in the farming rules for water.
If you enter land into this action which has not been tested for SOM within the last 5 years, you should try to do the SOM testing on that land during the first 12 months of your SFI agreement.
If the laboratory that tests your soil samples does not have capacity to do the tests during the first 12 months of your SFI agreement, you must:
- get the tests done as soon as possible
- make sure you’ve tested the SOM on all of these land parcels within the last 5 years by the end of your SFI agreement
- keep evidence of why it was not possible to complete the tests in the first 12 months, so you can provide it to us if we ask for it
How to do it
It’s up to you how you complete this action, as long as you do it in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim.
You may find it helpful to read the voluntary guidance on how to assess soil, produce a soil management plan and test soil organic matter but you do not have to follow it.
You can record the soil management plan on paper or digitally.
What evidence to keep
You must keep:
- the written record of your soil management plan, including your soil assessment
- the SOM test results
You must supply this evidence when we ask for it.
SAM2: Multi-species winter cover
How much you’ll be paid
You’ll receive £129 per hectare per year.
This action’s aim
This action’s aim is that there’s a well-established multi-species cover crop over the winter months. The purpose of this is to:
- protect the soil surface
- provide root growth that benefits soil structure, supports soil biology and minimises nutrient leaching, soil erosion and runoff
Where you can do this action
You can do this action on eligible land located below the moorland line. The table below sets out what land is eligible for SAM2.
Eligible land for SAM2
| Eligible land type | Eligible land use code | Compatible land cover |
|---|---|---|
| Arable land, including temporary grassland | Arable crops, Leguminous and nitrogen-fixing crops, FA01 and TG01 | Arable land |
| Permanent crops – horticultural | TC01 | Permanent crops |
The glossary explains what we mean by land types, land use codes and compatible land covers.
The SFI application service will automatically calculate what area may be eligible for this action in each land parcel. This is called the ‘SFI available area’. You must check this area is an eligible land type. Find out how the SFI available area is calculated in the information on land that’s eligible for the SFI actions.
You can apply for this action on either the total SFI available area in each land parcel shown in your SFI application, or part of that area.
This action is rotational. You can do it on the same area of eligible land each year of your 3-year SFI agreement, or you can move the area each year.
Other land management actions or options you can do on the same area as SAM2
The table below sets out which other SFI actions, CS management options, ES revenue options and SFI pilot standards can be located on the same eligible area within a land parcel as SAM2.
Actions or options that can be located on the same area within a land parcel as SAM2
| Scheme | Action or option codes that can be located on the same area as SAM2 |
|---|---|
| SFI 2023 | SAM1, IPM1, IPM3 (if companion crop is not present during the winter months), IPM4, NUM1 |
| CS | AB11, AB12, AB14, HS3, HS9, OP3, OP5, OR3, OR4, OT3, OT4, SW17 |
| ES | No ES revenue options |
| SFI pilot | No area-based SFI pilot standards |
Use the CS grant finder to search for the CS option codes shown above.
The SFI actions for hedgerows (HRW1, HRW2 and HRW3), CS option BE3 and the introductory level of the SFI pilot hedgerows standard can be done on the eligible boundaries of a land parcel entered into SAM2.
If an action or option cannot be located on the same area within a land parcel as SAM2, this is because it’s not an eligible land type, or the activities are incompatible, or you would be paid twice for doing the same activities on the same land. In this case, that area will be automatically removed from the affected land parcel’s SFI available area in your SFI application.
If this is the case, you may be able to do the action on a different area in the same land parcel if:
- it’s an eligible land type for the action or option
- it’s a part-parcel action or option
- the area used for the action or option does not overlap with the area used for SAM2
Read the information about eligibility of land used for other schemes and funding sources to find out more.
What to do
You must establish and maintain a well-established multi-species cover crop over the winter months on land entered into this action. Read ‘When to do it’ to find out what we mean by winter months.
To establish the multi-species cover crop you must sow a mix containing at least 2 species from one or more of these plant families:
- brassicae
- legumes
- grass or cereals
- herbs
You can choose any mix that works for your farm. Using a more varied mix, containing multiple species with different characteristics, will normally bring greater benefits to your soil.
If you’re doing this action on land with peaty soil, you should not use legumes as part of the multi-species mix. Peaty soil means there’s around 20% or more organic matter to a depth of 40cm or more. The SOM test results from completing action SAM1 will tell you if this is the case.
The multi-species cover crop must be established early enough so it can reasonably be expected to meet this action’s aim. This means there should be leafy vegetation that’s sufficiently well grown so the cover crop is well-established to protect the soil surface for the duration of the winter months.
If the multi-species cover crop is not sufficiently well-established to protect the soil surface for the duration of the winter months, for example, due to prolonged adverse weather, you must let us know about this. Read about what happens if you find you cannot comply with your SFI agreement.
You must not mechanically apply any fertilisers or manures on the areas of multi-species cover crops.
You can graze the multi-species cover crop, but it still needs to be well-established over the winter months.
You can maintain existing areas of multi-species cover crops to meet this action if they:
- meet the requirements explained above
- are not already being paid for under another environmental land management scheme option
When to do it
Each year of your SFI agreement, you must have a well-established multi-species cover crop that’s present for the duration of the winter months. The winter months will usually include December, January and February.
If your agreement starts too late for you to complete this action, you can complete it within 12 months of your agreement’s start date.
After the winter months, you can destroy the multi-species winter cover crop if you choose.
You may destroy the multi-species winter cover crop before the end of the winter months if you’re establishing an early-sown spring crop. This includes grazing the cover crop with livestock. You must not do this more than 6 weeks before you establish the early-sown spring crop.
When you destroy the multi-species winter cover crop, you should try to minimise risks such as compaction, poaching, soil runoff or erosion.
How to do it
It’s up to you how you complete this action, as long as you do it in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim.
You may find it helpful to read the voluntary guidance on how to establish and maintain multi-species winter cover, but you do not have to follow it.
What evidence to keep
You should keep evidence to show what you’ve done to complete this action. This will help if it’s not clear that you’ve completed the action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim. You must supply this evidence if we ask for it.
This evidence could include photographs and other documentation to show what you’ve done to complete this action. It could also include field operations at a land parcel level and associated invoices. If you choose to take photographs, read the guidance on how to take photographic evidence.
SAM3: Herbal leys
How much you’ll be paid
You’ll receive £382 per hectare per year.
This action’s aim
This action’s aim is to provide varied root structures. This purpose of this is to help improve and maintain the soil’s structure, carbon, biology and fertility.
Where you can do this action
You can do this action on eligible agricultural land located below the moorland line. The table below sets out what land is eligible for SAM3.
Eligible land for SAM3
| Eligible land type | Eligible land use code | Compatible land cover |
|---|---|---|
| Arable land, including temporary grassland | Arable crops, Leguminous and nitrogen-fixing crops, FA01 and TG01 | |
| Improved permanent grassland | PG01 | Permanent grassland |
The glossary explains what we mean by land types, land use codes and compatible land covers.
The SFI application service will automatically calculate what area may be eligible for this action in each land parcel. This is called the ‘SFI available area’. You must check this area is an eligible land type. Find out how the SFI available area is calculated in the information on land that’s eligible for the SFI actions.
You can apply for this action on either the total SFI available area in each land parcel shown in your SFI application, or part of that area.
This action is rotational. You can do this action on the same area of eligible land each year of your 3-year SFI agreement, or you can move the area each year.
You must not enter any area within a land parcel into this action that:
- is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI), because herbal leys are not appropriate for these settings and can cause significant damage
- contains historic or archaeological features identified in your SFI HEFER – read the information about historic and archaeological features, including scheduled monuments to find out more about the SFI HEFER
You should also not enter any area of land into this action that has peaty soil because this action could damage peat. Peaty soil means there’s around 20% or more organic matter to a depth of 40cm or more. The SOM test results from completing SAM1 will tell you if this is the case.
Other land management actions or options you can do on the same area as SAM3
The table below sets out which other SFI actions, CS management options, ES revenue options and SFI pilot standards can be located on the same eligible area within a land parcel as SAM3.
Actions or options that can be located on the same area as SAM3
| Scheme | Action or option codes that can be located on the same area within a land parcel as SAM3 |
|---|---|
| SFI 2023 | SAM1, IPM1, NUM1 |
| CS | OR3, OT1, OT3, OR1 |
| ES | No ES revenue options |
| SFI pilot | No area-based SFI pilot standards |
Use the CS grant finder to search for the CS option codes shown above.
The SFI actions for hedgerows (HRW1, HRW2 and HRW3), CS option BE3 and the introductory level of the SFI pilot hedgerows standard can be done on the eligible boundaries of a land parcel entered into SAM3.
If an action or option cannot be located on the same area within a land parcel as SAM3, this is because it’s not an eligible land type, or the activities are incompatible, or you would be paid twice for doing the same activities on the same land. In this case, that area will be automatically removed from the affected land parcel’s SFI available area in your SFI application.
If this is the case, you may be able to do the action on a different area in the same land parcel if:
- it’s an eligible land type for the action or option
- it’s a part-parcel action or option
- the area used for the action or option does not overlap with the area used for SAM3
Read the information about eligibility of land used for other schemes and funding sources to find out more.
What to do
You must establish and maintain herbal leys with a mixture of grasses, legumes, and herbs on the land entered into this action.
You can maintain an existing herbal ley to meet this action. However, you can only do this if it’s not already being paid for under another environmental land management scheme option.
When to do it
If you’re doing this action on the same area of land for the 3-year duration of your SFI agreement, you must:
- establish the herbal leys within the first 12 months of your SFI agreement
- maintain the area of herbal leys in each subsequent year of your SFI agreement
If you’re rotating this action around your farm, each year of your SFI agreement you must do it for a period of time that could reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim.
How to do it
It’s up to you how you complete this action, as long as you do it in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim.
You may find it helpful to read the voluntary guidance on how to establish and maintain herbal leys, but you do not have to follow it.
What evidence to keep
You should keep evidence to show what you’ve done to complete this action. This will help if it’s not clear that you’ve completed the action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim. You must supply this evidence if we ask for it.
This evidence could include photographs and other documentation to show what you’ve done to complete this action. It could also include field operations at a land parcel level and associated invoices. If you choose to take photographs, read the guidance on how to take photographic evidence.
Last updated 28 February 2024 + show all updates
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Updated payment figures
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CS options added for SAM1 and SAM3. Links to voluntary guidance added for SAM1, SAM2 and SAM3.
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First published.