UPL3: Limited livestock grazing on moorland

What changed for SFI26

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

the payment rate has increased to £111 per hectare per year – this applies to both SFI26 agreements and existing SFI24 agreements
you enter the parcel's whole available area, and that area is measured as it stands when you apply
there are some updated values for converting livestock into grazing livestock units (GLU) and there’s a new exception for ‘supplementary feeding in extreme weather conditions’
minor updates to standard wording which appears in all area-based SFI actions

How many farms have this action in SFI23/24?

88 agreements

53rd of 71

£593k paid

43rd of 71

8,980 hectares

27th of 64 hectare-based

Estimated payments in the 2025 calendar year, from Defra's CS and SFI release. These are agreements, not farms: one business can hold several, and Defra advises they cannot be summed across actions. Ranks compare the 71 actions that remain in SFI26, and area ranks only against actions measured in the same unit.

What the action involves

This action’s aim is that there’s a limited livestock density grazing on the moorland, so its habitat is maintained or enhanced alongside farming.

The purpose of this is to:

prevent expansion of areas of bare ground
increase surface roughness
reduce diffuse pollution
improve water quality and flood risk management
provide habitats for moorland species
protect historic and archaeological features

What you must do

You must make sure that the livestock density across the land entered into this action does not exceed 0.04 grazing livestock units (GLU) per ha at any time.

To convert livestock numbers into GLU, you must use the following values:

Cattle over 2 years old at the start of an agreement year – 1.0 GLU
Cattle over 6 months to 2 years old at the start of an agreement year – 0.6 GLU
Lowland ewe and lamb, or ram – 0.12 GLU
Store lamb, hill ewe and lamb or hogg or teg – 0.08 GLU
Goat – 0.12 GLU
Pony or donkey – 0.8 GLU
Horse – 1.0 GLU

Lambs at foot do not have a separate GLU allocation. They are included in the figures shown for ‘ewe and lamb’.

Read the ‘advice to help you do this action’ to find out how to calculate the livestock density.

You must not carry out supplementary feeding of livestock on land entered into this action, except with mineral licks.

When to do it

You must do this action from its start date, throughout each year of its 3-year duration.

Evidence to keep

You must keep the required written stocking calendar and supply this evidence if we ask for it. It can be recorded on paper or electronically.

The same action in other schemes

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.

CS Higher Tier — CUP10: £66 per hectare per year, over 10 years
CS Higher Tier pays £45 less per hectare per year and commits you for 10 years rather than 3.

Eligibility, land types and admin detail

Where you can do it

You can do this action on land located above 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

If a land parcel is located above and below the moorland line, you can enter it into this action if:

most of the area is above the moorland line
it’s managed as one grazing unit with adjacent land parcels located above the moorland line

Farmyards or land used for turf or peat production are not eligible for this action.

Rotational or static

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

Read the full guidance on GOV.UK

What you can do on the same land

Actions and options you can put on the same area of a land parcel, by scheme.

SFI 2026

OFM3, UPL8, UPL10

SFI 2024

CMOR1, HEF5, OFM3, UPL7, UPL8, UPL9, UPL10

SFI 2023

MOR1

CS Higher Tier, 2025+

CAGF1, CAGF2, CAGF3, CAGF4, CHS4, CSP9, CSP13, CSP14, CSP15, CSP20, CSP21, CSW25, CWS1, CWS3

CS options

HS4

Environmental Stewardship

No ES revenue options

Planning an SFI26 application

Build the plan field by field, and see the clashes before you apply

SFI Shepherd adds actions to your fields from your RPA maps, flags conflicts with SFI and Countryside Stewardship agreements you already hold, tracks the 25% limited-area total across the whole holding, and exports a summary ready for the RPA portal. Draft as many versions as you like and compare them side by side.

See SFI Shepherd