This action’s aim is that there’s an established legume fallow with plants that:
- grow and flower from late spring and during the summer months
- provide green cover over the winter months
The purpose of this is to:
- manage nutrient efficiency and improved soil health
- provide food for farmland wildlife, such as pollen and nectar for pollinators and farmland birds
- support an integrated pest management approach by reducing grass weeds and, if located close to cropped areas, encourage natural crop pest predators
What you must do
You must establish a legume fallow on land entered into this action.
You must use a seed mix which contains at least 6 flowering species, including legumes. The seed mix can contain legumes such as:
- alsike clover
- bird’s foot trefoil
- black medick
- common vetch
- lucerne
The seed mix can also include:
- non-legume flower species
- grasses, such as cocksfoot or timothy, which can help to control blackgrass
You must avoid growing deep rooted legumes, such as lucerne, on any area in a land parcel that contains historic or archaeological features. These are identified in your SFI HEFER.
Once the legume fallow is established (usually from the second spring after sowing), you must maintain it. To do this, you must manage it in a way, and for a period of time, that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim.
You must not do the following on the established legume fallow:
- graze it with livestock – if you want to do this you may want to consider action CSAM3 (herbal leys) instead which allows grazing activity
- use the area for regular vehicular access, turning or storage (for example, storing bales or machinery)
- cut it, except to prevent blackgrass from setting seed or to control other annual grass weeds
- apply any fertilisers and manures
- apply pesticides, except for herbicides to weed wipe or spot treat to control injurious weeds, invasive non-native species, nettles or bracken
You can maintain an existing legume fallow to get paid for this action if it:
- meets this action’s requirements
- is not already being paid for under another environmental land management scheme option, such as CS option AB15 (two year sown legume fallow)
When to do it
You must:
- establish the legume fallow by the autumn, within 12 months of this action’s start date
- maintain the legume fallow at the same location for a period of time that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim – this will usually be until the end of the second summer after sowing
- re-establish the legume fallow by the following autumn (either at the same location or a different location) and maintain it until this action’s end date
If you want to establish a legume fallow in the spring and remove it in the summer during the same year, you should apply for the summer-sown cover crops action (SOH3).
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
This action is rotational or static. This means you can either:
- move its location for the second and third years of this action’s duration
- 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, including details of the seed mix used
- 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.
