What the action involves
This action’s aim is to create a dense and diverse grass sward throughout the year on land at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff.
The purpose is to:
- stabilise the soil
- reduce nutrient losses
- buffer sensitive habitats
- reduce the risk of flooding
What you must do
Your Natural England adviser will assess your land. They’ll work with you to adapt and agree the activities you must do to achieve this action’s aim. All mandatory activities will be set out in your agreement document.
To get paid for this action, you must:
- manage the land so there’s a diverse grass sward throughout the year
- exclude livestock from the sward during the autumn and winter or as agreed with your adviser
- keep a monthly record of stock numbers grazing the land parcels
- manage the sward by grazing or cutting with cuttings removed
- minimise the cover of bare ground, as agreed with your Natural England adviser
The advice you’re given from Natural England is specific to your land which means (where relevant) you may also need to establish a grass sward using a seed mix agreed with your adviser.
You must not:
- apply any livestock manures with more than 100 kilograms (kg) of total nitrogen per ha per year (where you do not use livestock manures, you can use nitrogen fertiliser to supply no more than 50kg of total nitrogen per ha per year)
- apply pesticides – you may be able to use herbicides to spot-treat or weed-wipe for the control of injurious weeds, invasive non-native plant species, nettles or other plants if this has been agreed with your Natural England adviser
- apply any manure or fertiliser between late summer and the end of January to reduce the risk of runoff
- supplementary feed except for mineral blocks (non-energy based)
When to do it
You must do this action each year of its duration.
Evidence to keep
You must keep evidence to show what you have done to complete this action. If it’s not clear that you have done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) may ask for this evidence.
You must supply the evidence if they ask for it, including:
- field operations at a land parcel level
- relevant invoices including seed invoices
- photographs and other documentation
The same action appears in the other schemes under a different code. The work is broadly the same; the rate and the length of the commitment are not.
- SFI26 — WBD4: £489 per hectare per year, over 3 years
- SFI26 pays the same rate and commits you for 3 years rather than 5.
Where you can do it
You can do this action on eligible land located below the moorland line that’s identified as being at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff, or important for buffering sensitive habitats.
For the purposes of this action, ‘sensitive habitats’ include:
- watercourses and waterbodies (streams, rivers, ponds or lakes)
- sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) at risk of diffuse water pollution – you can find these on the MAGIC website
- priority habitats – you can find these on Natural England’s priority habitat inventory map or the MAGIC website
Eligible land
You can do this action on land that’s:
- an eligible land type
- registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
- declared with a land use code which is compatible with the eligible land cover
Total or part of the available area in the land parcel.
Rotational or static
This action is static. This means you must do it at the same location each year of this action’s duration.
Consents and permissions
To apply for this action, you’ll need:
- Scheduled Monument Consent from Historic England for any work on scheduled monuments
- consent from Natural England for any activity on land designated as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI)
You may also need to get:
- advice from your Natural England adviser if you have other archaeological or historic features on your agreement land
- a wildlife licence from Natural England if your activities affect a protected species or their habitat
All archaeological and historic features (including scheduled monuments) are identified in your Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (HEFER).
If you’re a tenant, it’s your responsibility to check whether your tenancy agreement allows you to complete what’s required in the actions you choose. You may need your landlord’s consent.
Capital grants that support it
You can also apply for capital items to help you achieve the action’s aims. Your Natural England adviser will discuss eligible capital items with you.
