CIPM4: No use of insecticide on arable crops and permanent crops

The following changes have been made to this action for SFI26 (compared with the SFI24 version):

• land used to grow maize is no longer eligible for this action – this only applies to SFI26 agreements, not existing SFI24 or SFI23 agreements
• minor updates to standard wording which appears in all area-based SFI actions

This action’s aim is that no plant protection products containing insecticide are applied on an arable crop or permanent crops.

The purpose of this is to:

• support an integrated pest management approach by managing crop pests in a more sustainable way
• improve water and air quality
• increase biodiversity

What you must do

You must not apply any plant protection products containing insecticide on land entered into this action, including:

• insecticide seed dressings
• nematicides and acaricides
• other insecticides, such as silica insecticides and orange oil

You can apply herbicides, fungicides or plant growth regulators.

If the land is being used to grow arable crops (including non-permanent horticultural crops), you must do this action on one ‘cash crop’ from when it’s sown until it’s harvested.

A ‘cash crop’ means a crop grown to be harvested for commercial use.

For the purposes of this action, an arable crop includes:

• combinable crops, such as cereals and oilseed rape
• root crops
• field vegetables and salad crops
• soft fruit crops which do not occupy the land for 5 years or more and provide repeated harvests (also known as permanent crops)

You can choose which arable crop to do this action on, but it must not be:

• a cover crop which you will not harvest for commercial sale
• a short-term specialist crop, such as crops which are only in the ground for around 2 months
• maize

When to do it

For arable crops, you must do this action on at least one crop that’s sown during each year of this action’s 3-year duration. You can harvest it in a subsequent year of this action’s duration if you sow the next crop for this action in the same year.

This means you must do this action on a crop that’s sown during:

• the first year of this action’s duration – you can harvest it in the second year of this action’s duration
• the second year of this action’s duration – you can harvest it in the third year of this action’s duration
• the third year of this action’s duration – you must do this action until you harvest the crop or this action’s end date (whichever is earlier)

If you’re already growing an arable crop on the land entered into this action when the action starts, you must do this action on a crop that’s sown within 12 months of the action’s start date.

For permanent crops, you must do this action from its start date, throughout each year of this action’s 3-year duration.

Where you can do it

You can do this action on agricultural land located below the moorland line that’s:

• an eligible land type (as defined in section 5.1.1 ‘Eligible land types’ in the SFI26 scheme information)
• registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
• declared with a land use code which is compatible with the eligible land cover

Rotational or static

For arable crops (including non-permanent horticultural crops) this action is rotational. This means you can either:

• do it at the same location each year of this action’s duration
• move its location for the second and third years of this action’s duration

For permanent crops, this action is static. This means you must do it at the same location each year of this action’s duration.

Evidence to keep

You must keep evidence to show what you’ve done to complete this action, such as:

• field operations at a land parcel level and associated invoices
• photographs or other documentation

If it’s not clear that you’ve done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, we may ask for this evidence. You must supply the evidence if we ask for it.