WBD3: In-field grass strips

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

• you can now put all or part of a parcel's available area into this action
• minor updates to standard wording which appears in all area-based SFI actions

This action’s aim is that there’s an in-field grass strip:

• on land at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff
• with an intact grass sward throughout the year

The purpose of this is to:

• reduce the quantity of sediment, nutrients and pesticides transported through surface runoff water
• improve water quality
• provide habitats for wildlife
• support an integrated pest management approach if located close to cropped areas

What you must do

You must establish and maintain an in-field grass strip which has:

• an intact grass sward
• no evidence of damage from vehicle or stock access routes

During late summer after the bird breeding season, you must cut the entire strip to encourage a dense sward with a variety of grasses to grow.

You must not:

• apply fertilisers or manures
• apply pesticides except for herbicides to weed wipe or spot treat to control injurious weeds, invasive non-native species, nettles or bracken
• allow livestock to access the strip

You can maintain an existing in-field grass strip 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 SW3 (in-field grass strips)

When to do it

You must:

• establish the in-field grass strip within 12 months of this action’s start date
• maintain the in-field grass strip throughout each subsequent year of this action’s duration

Where you can do it

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

• identified by you as being at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff – you must keep evidence of this
• 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 static. This means you must do it at the same location each year of this action’s duration.

It counts toward the 25% limit

This is a ‘limited area’ action. The total eligible area you enter into any combination of one or more of the ‘limited area’ actions must not be more than 25% of the total agricultural area of your farm. Read section 4.5 ‘Limited area SFI actions’ in the SFI26 scheme information for more details (including a list of the ‘limited area’ actions).

Evidence to keep

You must keep written evidence that land entered into this action is at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff. You can use a soil management plan you’ve already produced for SFI24 action CSAM1 or SFI23 action SAM1 to identify this.

You must also 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 and 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.