SFI scheme information: expanded offer for 2024

Q: 14. Contact the RPA

If you have a general question about SFI , contact RPA by: email: ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk - use ‘ SFI ’ in the subject header and include your SBI telephone: 03000 200 301 - Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5pm, except bank holidays post: PO Box 325, Worksop, S95 1DG If you need to raise a specific query about your application, follow the guidance on how to contact RPA about SFI .

Question 1

1.  About the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme

Accepted Answer

The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) pays farmers and land managers to take up or maintain sustainable farming and land management practices that:

protect and benefit the environment
support food production
improve productivity

These practices are referred to as ‘SFI actions’.

You can apply for an SFI agreement if:

you’re a farmer or land manager with ‘management control’ of the land you want to enter into an agreement
your land is eligible for the SFI actions you select

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will open applications for the expanded SFI offer from summer 2024 in a controlled way, so everyone gets the right level of service and support.

During the first stage of rollout, there will be different ways into the application service. When you sign in to the Rural Payments service, you’ll either be able to apply online, or you’ll be asked to contact RPA so they can support you with the next steps for you to apply.

Applications will then stay open so you can apply at a time that works best for you. If it’s necessary to close applications, the RPA will usually give you 6 weeks’ notice and publish this on GOV.UK.

Your SFI agreement will usually last for either 3 or 5 years. This will depend on the SFI actions in your agreement with the longest duration (most actions will last for 3 years, but a few will last for 5 years).

1.1 SFI actions

The SFI actions in the expanded offer include:

the actions from the SFI 2023 offer – some of these have been updated since they were launched in 2023 to reflect feedback from the farming industry
new actions – such as no tillage farming, precision farming and spring-sown or summer-sown cover crops
actions previously offered under Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier – these have been updated for SFI to reduce prescription wherever possible

You can select any combination of SFI actions if your land (or landscape feature) is eligible for them. Each action sets out which other actions you can do on the same area of land.

There are 2 types of actions in the expanded SFI offer:

actions which you can apply for without specialist advice or prior approval – this is most of the actions
actions for certain priority habitats or species and heritage features, which require prior approval from Natural England or Historic England – read section 1.2 ‘SFI actions which require approval’

See Annex B for a summary of the initial expanded SFI offer from summer 2024.

Each SFI action is set out in a finder tool, so you can search and filter to select actions. Section 7.1: Search for actions using the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool tells you how to do this.

Later in 2024, Defra will introduce:

an educational access action, which will pay you to provide educational tours of your farm or woodland
more endorsed SFI actions for farmland wildlife and habitats on grassland, heritage, wood pasture, orchards, coastal habitats and waterbodies

Details of these additional SFI actions will be published in summer 2024.

1.2 SFI actions which require approval

There are some SFI actions which are targeted at certain priority habitats or species and heritage features.

You can only do these SFI actions if Natural England or Historic England, as relevant, gives you their prior written approval (‘endorsement’). This is to confirm the action is suitable for the specific location you want to do it.

You must get this approval before you can include these ‘endorsed’ SFI actions in your SFI agreement. This is set out in each endorsed SFI action in the ‘Find funding land or farms’ tool.

The initial expanded SFI offer from summer 2024 will include one endorsed SFI action endorsed SFI action (GRH6: Manage priority species-rich grassland). This action will be:

published on the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool in June
available for applications when the application service opens fully from July 2024

More endorsed SFI actions will be introduced later in 2024. Details of these will be published in summer 2024.

If you apply for an endorsed action, Natural England or Historic England (whichever is relevant) will contact you about the approval process. The application service will tell you which government approval body will be contacting you.

Guidance on the approval process for endorsed SFI actions will be published in summer 2024.

You will not receive an agreement offer until you have got the necessary approval. This will take longer than SFI actions that do not require approval. To avoid a delay in being offered an agreement, you can choose to apply separately for:

an agreement with SFI actions which do not require approval
an agreement with endorsed SFI actions

1.3 SFI actions with a limited area

There are some SFI actions that:

take land out of production
are intended to be done on a small proportion (up to 25%) of the farm, as part of a sustainable system – these actions are unlikely to deliver their intended aims if they’re done on more than 25% of the farm

There are 10 actions which you must only do on a proportion of your farm. These actions are referred to as ‘limited area’ actions and include:

CIPM2: Flower-rich grass margins, blocks, or in-field strips
CAHL1: Pollen and nectar flower mix
CAHL2: Winter bird food on arable and horticultural land
CAHL3: Grassy field corners or blocks
CIGL1: Take improved grassland field corners or blocks out of management
CIGL2: Winter bird food on improved grassland
WBD3: In-field grass strips
AHW1: Bumblebird mix
AHW9: Unharvested cereal headland
AHW11: Cultivated areas for arable plants

You can select as many ‘limited area’ actions as you wish, but the total eligible area you enter into them must not be more than 25% of the total agricultural area of your farm.

For example, if the total agricultural area of your farm is 100 hectares, you must only enter up to a total of 25 hectares of eligible land into any combination of one or more of these ‘limited area’ actions.

For the purpose of these ‘limited area’ actions:

‘farm’ means all the land parcels linked to your Single Business Identifier (SBI) at the point you apply for an SFI agreement – these parcels are shown on your digital maps
‘agricultural area’ means the area in each land parcel that’s registered with an arable, permanent grassland or permanent crops land cover

Defra will keep this 25% limited area action rule under review, including whether it should apply to the following actions in future:

AHW3: Beetle banks
AHW5: Nesting plots for lapwing
AHW12: Manage woodland edges on arable land
SCR1: Create scrub and open habitat mosaics

You can use the SFI limited area actions calculator to help calculate your eligible area limit for your next application.

1.4 Rotational SFI actions

Some SFI actions are ‘rotational’. This means that, after the first year of the action’s duration, you can choose to:

move the action’s location around your land – usually for each subsequent year of the action’s duration
do the action at the same location for each year of the action’s duration

Each SFI action sets out if it’s rotational.

If you move the action’s location, you can:

increase the area entered into the action
decrease the area, as long as it’s no less than 50% of the area entered for the first year of the action’s duration

If you select a rotational SFI action, you’ll tell the RPA its area and location for the first year of its duration in your application. This can be either:

where it’s located at the point you apply
where you will locate it, if it’s an action you can start doing within 12 months of the action’s start date

You can tell the RPA about a change in location and area of rotational SFI actions towards the end of each year of the action’s duration, except the final year.  The RPA will issue further guidance on how to do this. Do not complete the section in your application called ‘Select additional parcels for your rotational actions’. It does not apply to rotational SFI actions.

1.5 Static SFI actions

Some SFI actions are ‘static’. This means you must do them at the same location each year of the action’s duration. This is set out in each action.

Question 2

2.  When and how much you’ll get paid

Accepted Answer

Your agreement document will set out:

a summary of your payments – this includes the total annual payment value for your selected SFI actions, additional payments (where relevant) and the indicative SFI management payment (section 2.2 explains how your payment is calculated)
your annual payment schedule – this sets out a summary of the total payments you’ll receive for each year of your agreement and for the entire agreement period

Under an SFI agreement, your annual payment value is paid in quarterly instalments. You’ll usually receive your first payment in the fourth month after your agreement’s start date.

You’ll receive the first 3 instalments by an automated BACS transfer. You must submit an annual declaration before you’re paid the fourth instalment.

Read section 12.1: ‘Submit your annual declaration’ to find out what you must submit each year to get paid your fourth instalment.

2.1 Your payment statement

The RPA will usually email your payment statement to you a few days before you get paid. The payment statement tells you:

how much you’ll be paid
the payment date
how your payment has been calculated

2.2 How your payment is calculated

Your SFI agreement’s total annual payment value is based on:

what you’ve entered into your selected SFI actions – in hectares, metres, square metres (for traditional buildings) or the number of features (such as ponds), as relevant
the additional payment per agreement if you’ve entered land into actions CSAM1 (assess soil, produce a soil management plan and test soil organic matter) or CMOR1 (assess moorland and produce a written record)
SFI actions you’ve selected that apply to an SFI agreement, rather than a specific area of land (‘agreement level’ actions) – these are actions CIPM1 (integrated pest management assessment) and CNUM1 (nutrient management assessment)
the SFI management payment relevant to the year of your agreement
the additional common land payment for group agreements (if applicable)

You will not be paid under SFI for activities you’re already required to do by law.

SFI management payment

The SFI management payment is paid to you for entering and managing your SFI agreement.

For up to the first 50 hectares you enter into an SFI actions, you’ll be paid:

£40 per hectare for the first year of your agreement
£20 per hectare for the following 2 years of your agreement

The RPA will calculate the area for the SFI management payment based on the following SFI actions in your agreement:

actions which are done on a hectarage (or square metres for traditional farm building actions HEF1 and HEF2)
actions for boundary features, such as hedgerows, drystone walls, banks or ditches – the RPA will calculate a notional hectarage based on the length (in metres) you enter into these actions

The SFI management payment will not include:

agreement-level actions CIPM1 and CNUM1
feature-based actions, such as action WBD1: Manage ponds

The SFI management payment will only be paid for one SFI agreement for each farm business (SBI). If you enter more than one agreement, it will be paid for up to 50 hectares entered into the live agreement which started first.

Defra will keep the SFI management payment under review.

Additional common land payment for group agreements

There is an additional payment for a group application (of 2 or more people) on common land or shared grazing of £7 per hectare per year.

2.3 Other relevant funding available

SFI does not include capital funding, but you can apply separately for capital items as one-off payments to help you do SFI actions. For example, to buy fencing to exclude livestock if that’s required for the action.

Apply for capital grants

Apply for grants under the Farming Investment Fund

Question 3

3.  Check if you’re eligible to apply

Accepted Answer

You can apply for an SFI agreement if:

you’re a farmer or land manager (if you’re applying on common land you must also be a ‘single entity’ – read Annex A: Applying for SFI on common land or shared grazing to find out what this means)
you have management control of the land you want to enter into SFI actions – read section 4: ‘Check if you have management control of land’ to find out what this means (or Annex A for management control of common land)

The requirement that you were eligible for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in either 2022 or 2023 no longer applies to the expanded SFI offer. This means that groups that were not eligible for BPS are now eligible to apply for the expanded SFI offer. This includes groups such as new entrants, non-farming land managers and smallholders.

3.1 If you’ve received a Lump Sum Exit Scheme payment

If you’ve received a payment under the Lump Sum Exit Scheme to leave or retire from farming:

as an individual – you’re not eligible to apply for an SFI agreement, unless you repay the lump sum
as a partnership or limited company - if only some partners or shareholders left the business, the remaining partners or shareholders can apply for an SFI agreement without repaying the lump sum

3.2 If you receive delinked payments

If you receive delinked payments (which replaced BPS payments from 2024), you can apply for an SFI agreement. This is because you will not be paid twice for a similar activity on the same area of land at the same time (known as ‘double funding’).

  3.3 Eligibility of public bodies

A public body is a formally established organisation that is publicly funded to provide a public or government service.

Public bodies can apply for an SFI agreement, but only if they will not be paid under SFI to complete activities that are already:

required by statutory duty, which means they’re part of the public body’s obligations
paid for by other funding sources, as this would be double funding

Public bodies include:

Crown bodies (including all government departments, executive agencies and trading funds)
non-departmental public bodies
local authorities
national park authorities
park corporations

See a list of all departments, agencies and public bodies.

Parish councils and former college farms are not considered public bodies. They’re eligible to apply for an SFI agreement.

If you’re a tenant on land owned by a public body, you can only enter that land into an SFI agreement if there is no double funding. Read section 4.2: Land you occupy under a tenancy.

Question 4

4.  Check if you have management control of land

Accepted Answer

You must have management control of the land parcels you enter into your SFI agreement for the entire duration of the SFI actions you select for that land.

This includes any landscape features, such as hedgerows or ponds. Each relevant SFI action explains how management control works for these features.

Actions with different durations

As there are SFI actions with different durations (usually 3 or 5 years), an action’s duration may be shorter than the duration of your agreement (the ‘agreement period’). This is because your agreement period will last for the action with the longest duration.

This means that, if:

all your selected SFI actions have the same duration, and start and end on the same dates, you must have management control of the land for the duration of your agreement
your selected SFI actions have different durations, or start and end on different dates, you must have management control of the land for the duration of each action – this because your agreement period may be longer than the duration of an action

4.1 Who has management control

You’ll have management control if you have sufficient control over how the land is managed to complete the SFI actions you’ve selected. For SFI, this means you’re the person actively farming or managing the land. Usually, this means you’re:

an owner occupier who’s either farming or managing the land themselves or employing a contractor
a tenant with a Farm Business Tenancy (FBT) under the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995, or an Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 tenancy – read section 4.2 ‘Land you occupy under a tenancy agreement’
a group farming or managing common land (including areas of shared grazing) – read Annex A to find out about management control of common land

You will not have management control if you’re:

a landlord, as you’re not actively farming or managing the land
a licensee, who only has access to the land under a licence arrangement – if you have wider land management responsibilities similar to a tenancy (such as Ministry of Defence licences), read section 4.2 about ‘land you occupy under a tenancy agreement’

When you enter land into an SFI agreement, you declare that you’ll have management control of it for the duration of your selected SFI actions. You must provide evidence of this if the RPA asks for it.

4.2 Land you occupy under a tenancy agreement

If you occupy land under an FBT or an Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 tenancy, you must make sure that by entering this land into an SFI agreement you do not breach the conditions of your tenancy.

If your tenancy will expire before the end date of your selected SFI actions, you must only enter this land into these actions if you expect to have management control of it for the entire duration of the actions.

This will usually be the case if, for example, you occupy land under an FBT granted for a term of:

more than 2 years, that you expect to continue on a rolling year-by-year basis
2 years or less, that you expect your landlord to renew when the term expires

If you’re not sure if your tenancy will continue (or be renewed), you need to check this with your landlord before you enter the land into an SFI agreement.

4.3 Unexpected loss of management control

You must tell the RPA in writing if you unexpectedly lose management control of your agreement land before either:

your SFI agreement ends
the relevant SFI action’s end date

You must do this in writing as soon as possible. Preferably this should be within 8 weeks of you being able to do so.

If you lose management control of:

all your agreement land, the RPA will end the agreement
some of your agreement land, the RPA will remove the affected land from your agreement

In both cases, you may have to repay some or all the payments you’ve already received. Read section 13.2: What you must do if you cannot comply with your agreement.

Question 5

5.  Check if your land is eligible for SFI actions

Accepted Answer

The land (including landscape features) you enter into your SFI agreement must be eligible for the SFI actions you select.

Your land or landscape feature will be eligible for the SFI actions you select if:

the area or feature is in a land parcel that’s entirely located within England
the area is an eligible land type – this is set out in each action
the area is registered on your digital maps with an eligible land cover and declared with a compatible land use code – this is set out in each action
the feature, such as hedgerows, is eligible for each linear or feature based SFI action you select – this is set out in each action

You cannot enter land (or landscape features) into your SFI agreement if it’s being used for another SFI action, CS or ES option, or SFI pilot standard that:

requires activities which are not compatible with the SFI actions you select
means you will be paid twice for a similar activity on the same area of land at the same time (known as ‘double funding’)

Read section 6 ‘Eligible land in other funding schemes’ for more information.

5.1 Eligible land types for SFI

Land type describes the type of land in more detail. For example, different types of grassland, such as improved grassland and low input (semi-improved or unimproved grassland).

The land type must be eligible for your selected SFI actions at the start of your SFI agreement. If the land type changes because of the action you’re doing, it will not affect eligibility. You’ll continue to be paid for your selected actions.

Each SFI action sets out which land types are eligible. It’s your responsibility to check the land type is eligible for each action you select.

The following are the definitions of how certain land types are defined for SFI.

Arable land

Arable land includes land that’s been cultivated to produce arable crops, such as:

combinable crops
root crops
crops grown for animal feed, such as forage rape
field vegetables and cut flowers
bulbs or soft fruit which are not ‘permanent crops’

Arable land also includes:

fallow land that’s available for crop production
temporary grassland – this is often part of an arable crop rotation and has usually been grassland for less than 5 consecutive years

You can manage temporary grassland as:

improved grassland - see also improved permanent grassland
low input grassland

Permanent crops

Permanent crops are non-rotational crops that usually:

occupy the land for 5 years or more
provide repeated harvests (other than permanent grassland)

They can be:

horticultural permanent crops, including commercial orchards, bush fruits, hops and vines
non-horticultural permanent crops, including miscanthus, reed canary grass, nursery crops and short rotation coppice

Permanent grassland

Permanent grassland is land used to grow grass for 5 consecutive years or more that’s not been included in an arable crop rotation. It can either be improved or low input.

Improved permanent grassland is permanent grassland that’s been agriculturally ‘improved’ by at least one of the following activities:

regularly reseeding, or reseeding within the last 15 years
regularly applying fertiliser (typically at least 100 kilograms per hectare per year of nitrogen as an artificial compound fertiliser or animal manures and slurries)
blanket herbicide application to treat weeds
maintaining field drains
taking conserved forage as silage, haylage or hay more than once a year

Improved grassland will usually have a high cover of ryegrasses and white clover, with a low cover of wildflowers and sedges.

Low input (semi-improved or unimproved) permanent grassland is permanent grassland that’s been managed by doing at least one of the following activities:

no reseeding for at least 15 years
applying low or no amounts of artificial compound fertiliser or animal manures and slurries
applying localised or no herbicide to treat weeds
leaving field drains unmaintained or maintaining them infrequently (hay meadows may be more actively drained)
taking conserved forage as hay or haylage no more than once a year

Species-rich permanent grassland is permanent grassland that has:

minimal cover of white clover and perennial rye grass – this will usually be less than around 10% of the area
a species-rich sward – this usually means there are more than 15 plant species per square metre, including grasses
a high cover of wildflowers and sedges, excluding white clover, creeping buttercup, and injurious weeds – this will usually be more than around 30% of the area

Moorland

Moorland includes permanent grassland and certain non-agricultural features, such as scrub, scree, bracken and bog, which are above the moorland line. You can find out which land is above the moorland line on the MAGIC website.

The vegetation of moorland areas is usually:

semi-natural moorland habitats including heathland, blanket bog, rough acid grasslands, rushy flushes, swamps, mires and bracken
upland calcareous grassland

Much upland moorland is either registered common land or shared grazing.

5.2 Eligible land covers and compatible land uses

Land cover is registered by the RPA on your digital maps. It describes the physical nature of the land. There are 3 agricultural land covers:

arable land
permanent grassland
permanent crops

There are also a number of non-agricultural land covers, such as woodland and farm buildings.

Land use describes what you’re using the land for. For example, you’re using arable land to grow arable crops, temporary grassland or leaving it fallow. Each land use has a land use code which you declare in the Rural Payments service. This is not registered on your digital maps.

For each land parcel you want to enter into an area based SFI action, you need to check that its area is:

registered on your digital maps with a land cover that’s eligible for the action – read the guidance on how to check the registered land cover on your digital maps
declared with a land use code that’s compatible with the registered eligible land cover (a ‘compatible land use code’)

The eligible land covers and compatible land use codes are set out in each action.

See Annex C: Registered land covers and compatible land use codes for more information.

5.3 Available area calculation

If you select area based SFI actions when you apply for an SFI agreement, the application service will automatically calculate what area in each land parcel may be eligible for the action. This is called the ‘available area’.

The available area is calculated for each action you select by taking the land parcel’s total area and subtracting (where relevant) any area which has been:

declared with a land use code that is not eligible for the action
entered into another SFI action, CS option, static ES option, or SFI pilot standard that is not compatible with the action or means there would be double funding

The application service cannot automatically subtract any area entered into a rotational ES option that is not compatible or means there would be double funding. Instead, you need to enter this area and the RPA will manually subtract it when they process your application. They will contact you before they do this.

5.4 Organic land

If your organic land is an eligible land type and registered as ‘in conversion’ or ‘fully organic’ with an Organic Control Body (OCB) you can enter it into:

SFI actions which are not specifically for organic land, such as CSAM3 (herbal leys) and other actions which are not organic-specific
organic-specific SFI actions, including OFA1 (overwinter stubble), OFA2 (winter bird food) and OFA6 (undersown cereal crop)

There are also organic-specific SFI actions that pay you to:

convert your land to organic status
manage your organic land once it’s converted to ‘fully organic’ status

These organic-specific conversion and management actions set out which organic land is eligible.

5.5 Land that’s a site of special scientific interest (SSSI)

You can enter land that’s an SSSI into SFI actions if it’s eligible. Each action sets this out.

If you apply for SFI actions on land that’s an SSSI, you must get SSSI consent from Natural England. You must do this before you do the affected actions on this land, unless the SFI action is exempt.

Read section 10.3: ‘SSSI consent’ to find out how to get SSSI consent and which SFI actions are exempt.

5.6 Land with historic or archaeological features

You can enter land with historic or archaeological features into SFI actions if it’s eligible. Each action sets this out.

Historic or archaeological features include:

non-designated historic or archaeological features (also known as ‘SHINE’ features)
registered parks or gardens
registered battlefields
scheduled monuments

If land with historic or archaeological features is ineligible for an SFI action, this only affects the area where the feature is located in a land parcel. You can apply for the SFI action on the remaining area in the land parcel if it’s eligible for the action.

Request an SFI Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (SFI HEFER)

If you apply for SFI actions on land with historic or archaeological features, you must request an SFI HEFER from Historic England. You must do this before you do your selected SFI actions on this land. You will need to register if you have not requested a HEFER before.

You cannot use a HEFER you’ve already got for an SFI or CS agreement.

The SFI HEFER will tell you about:

any known historic or archaeological features on your land
how these features affect the SFI actions

You will receive an email when your SFI HEFER is available to download. This should be within 2 days from when you request it.

Soil sampling on eligible land with historic or archaeological features

If an SFI action requires you to take soil samples, where possible, avoid doing this on any area of land with an historic or archaeological feature identified on your SFI HEFER.

If you need to take soil samples on an area of land with a SHINE feature, or that’s a registered park or garden, or registered battlefield, you should only:

take enough samples to meet the requirements of the SFI action
sample to a depth of no more than 7.5 centimetres (cm) on permanent grassland or around 20 to 25cm on arable land (including temporary grassland)

You must not take soil samples on any area of land that’s a scheduled monument, unless you have consent to do so from Historic England. Read section 10.1 to find out how to get scheduled monument consent.

Other activities you should avoid doing on eligible land with historic or archaeological features

When you do your selected SFI actions, avoid causing damage to historic or archaeological features. Activities you should avoid include:

growing deep rooted species
allowing areas of scrub to develop

5.7 Land that’s conditionally exempt from Inheritance Tax

Land that’s conditionally exempt from Inheritance Tax (or as the object of a Maintenance Fund) may not be eligible for SFI actions if they are not compatible with the exemption.

Question 6

6.  Eligible land in other funding schemes

Accepted Answer

You can enter land that’s used for other funding schemes into SFI actions in your SFI agreement if:

you and your land are eligible for both
the activities you’re paid for under each scheme are compatible
you will not be paid twice for a similar activity on the same area of land at the same time (known as ‘double funding’)

If an action in the expanded SFI offer cannot be done on the same area of land as the other funding scheme, you may be able to do it on a different area in the same land parcel if:

it’s an eligible land type for the action
it’s an action you can do on part of the available area in a land parcel
the area entered into the action does not overlap with the area used for the other funding scheme

6.1 SFI 2023 offer

You can enter land that’s in an existing SFI agreement for the 2023 offer into the expanded SFI offer if it complies with the conditions set out in section 6.

Each SFI action in the expanded offer sets out which SFI actions from the 2023 offer you can do on the same area of land.

6.2 SFI pilot

You can enter land that’s in an existing SFI pilot agreement into SFI actions in the expanded SFI offer if it complies with the conditions set out in section 6.

Each SFI action sets out which SFI pilot standards you can do on the same area of land.

6.3 Countryside Stewardship (CS)

You can enter land that’s in an existing CS Mid Tier, Wildlife Offers or Higher Tier agreement into SFI actions in the expanded SFI offer if it complies with the conditions set out in section 6.

Each SFI action sets out which CS options you can do on the same area of land.

You can enter land that’s in an existing CS capital grants agreement into an SFI agreement because they pay for different things.

6.4 Environmental Stewardship (ES)

You can enter land that’s in an existing ES Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement into SFI actions in the expanded SFI offer if it complies with the conditions set out in section 6.

Each SFI action sets out which ES options you can do on the same area of land.

6.5 Landscape Recovery

You can enter land that’s used for a Landscape Recovery scheme project into SFI actions in the expanded SFI offer if it complies with the conditions set out in section 6.

6.6 Farming in Protected Landscapes

You can enter land that’s used for Farming in Protected Landscapes funding into SFI actions in the expanded SFI offer if it complies with the conditions set out in section 6.

  6.7 Private sector schemes

You can enter land that’s used for a private sector scheme into SFI actions for the expanded SFI offer.

Private sector schemes include arrangements, such as:

carbon trading
payments of natural flood management

Defra will review its policy on the eligibility of land in private sector schemes for SFI each year.

Question 7

7.  Select your SFI actions

Accepted Answer

You can select any number of actions that your land (including landscape features) is eligible for.

7.1 Search for actions using the finder tool

Use the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool to search for actions.

Each SFI action is identified by a unique code, for example ‘SOH2: Multi-species spring-sown cover crop’. If you do not know the code, you can search by either:

Land types:

arable
coastal
grassland
lowland heath
moorland and upland
priority habitats
scrub
waterbodies
wetland
woodland

Areas of interest:

agroforestry
air quality
boundaries
crops
equipment and machinery
flood risk
forestry
hedgerows
historic environment
horticulture
land features and archaeological features
livestock management
nutrient, manure and slurry management
organic
peat
pollinators and wildlife
precision farming
public access and education
soil
trees
vegetation control
water availability and storage
water quality

Each action tells you:

the action’s duration
how much you’ll be paid
the action’s aim
where you can do the action – including the eligible land type and cover
if you can do the action on eligible land that’s an SSSI - you must get SSSI consent before you do the action, unless it’s exempt
if you can do the action on eligible land with an historic or archaeological feature – you must get an SFI HEFER and scheduled monument consent, if relevant, from Historic England before you do the action
if you can enter the total or part of the available area in a land parcel
whether the action is rotational or static
what to do
when to do the action
what evidence you must keep
other SFI actions, CS or ES options, and SFI pilot standards you can do on the same area in a land parcel as the action
advice to help you do the action

It may be useful to write down the SFI action codes, so you have them to hand when you apply.

Annex B lists a summary of the SFI actions.

Question 8

8.  What to do before you apply for an SFI agreement

Accepted Answer

Before you apply for an SFI agreement, you need to complete the following steps.

8.1 Read the rules you must follow

Read the rules you must follow when you enter an SFI agreement to make sure you understand what you’re agreeing to do.

You can find these rules in:

You also need to read the sections of this SFI scheme information which explain the rules which apply to the SFI actions, and the scheme rules set out in the agreement terms and conditions. These sections include:

section 1 (about the SFI offer) – the information on SFI actions
section 2 (when and how much you’ll get paid)
section 4 (check if you have management control of land)
section 5 (check if your land is eligible for the SFI actions)
section 10 (get all necessary regulatory consents, permissions and licences in place)
section 11 (about your SFI agreement)
section 12 (managing your SFI agreement)
section 13 (complying with your SFI agreement)
annex A (applying for SFI on common land or shared grazing), if applicable

8.2 Get registered with the RPA

If you and your land are not already registered with the RPA, you need to:

8.3 Check your registered contact details are up to date

Check your registered contact details, including your business email address, are up to date in the Rural Payments service. The RPA will use these details to contact you about your SFI application and agreement.

8.4 Check you have the correct permission to apply for SFI

You need the correct permission to apply for an SFI agreement for your business (SBI). Sign in to the Rural Payments service:

From ‘Business overview’ select ‘Give people permission to act for this business’. You need to have either:

‘Business Details: Full’ permission
‘BPS: Submit’ permission

If you do not have either of these permissions, you need to ask someone with ‘Business Details: Full’ permission for the business to give you the correct permission.

8.4.1 How to give permission to someone acting on your behalf

If you want someone else to apply on your behalf, such as an agent, you need to:

check they’re registered with the RPA in the Rural Payments service
give them one of the required permissions to apply for an SFI agreement

8.5 Check your registered land details are up to date

Check the registered land details on your digital maps are up to date, so they show:

all the land parcels you want to include in your SFI application
the correct total area (in hectares) for each land parcel
the correct land covers for each land parcel (such as arable land, permanent grassland, permanent crops or relevant non-agricultural cover)

If these land details are not up to date, this may prevent you from applying for the SFI actions you select. Read the guidance on how to check your digital maps.

If you need to update your digital maps, read the guidance on:

You do not need to check the registered hedgerows on your digital maps. These are not used in your SFI application.

Question 9

9.  How to apply online

Accepted Answer

To apply for an SFI agreement, sign into the Rural Payments service.

From Business Overview, select the ‘Apply for Funding’ link and then select ‘Apply for a new agreement’.

Follow the screen guidance to complete your application.

You can save your application and come back to it later.

You must check each section before moving onto the next.

If you have difficulty applying online, you can telephone RPA for help on 03000 200 301 (Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm, except bank holidays).

There’s no limit to how many SFI agreements you can have under an SBI. Therefore, you can start and submit another application when you’ve completed your first one.

If your application is eligible, you’ll be offered an SFI agreement through the Rural Payments service. The RPA will tell you when your SFI agreement offer is ready for you to check.

Question 10

10.  Get all necessary regulatory consents, permissions and licences in place

Accepted Answer

You must comply with all statutory legal requirements that apply to you and your land, even if they conflict with your SFI agreement’s requirements. Read the guidance on ‘Rules for farmers and land managers’ for more information.

You must also get any required regulatory consents, permissions and licences before you do your selected SFI actions. This section covers the main ones you may need to get. However, it’s your responsibility to check if you need consent, permission or a licence and get it, if required, before you do the affected SFI actions.

A ‘scheduled monument’ is a monument which has been scheduled for its national archaeological or historical interest. This means it’s protected by law against:

ground disturbance
unlicensed metal detecting

If your land has a scheduled monument, this will be identified in your SFI HEFER (read section 5.6 ‘Land with historic or archaeological features’).

If your selected SFI actions require activities which will disturb the ground on land with a scheduled monument, you must get scheduled monument consent from Historic England. You must do this before you do the affected SFI actions.

If you will be taking soil samples on land with a scheduled monument, you must get consent for soil sampling from Historic England. You must do this before you take soil samples.

For guidance on activities which may affect scheduled monuments, read Historic England’s ‘Scheduled monuments – a guide for owners and occupiers’.

10.2 Planning permission

You may need planning permission if your selected SFI actions:

It’s your responsibility to:

check with your local planning authority or national park authority if you need planning permission
get planning permission, if it’s required, before you do the affected SFI actions

Read the guidance on when planning permission is required for more information.

An SSSI is a statutory conservation designation made by Natural England. You can find out if your land is an SSSI on the MAGIC website.

If you apply for SFI actions on land that’s an SSSI, you must give notice to Natural England to get SSSI consent, unless:

the action is exempt
you already have SSSI consent

The exempt SFI actions (which you can do on SSSI land without getting consent) are:

CSAM1: Assess soil, produce a soil management plan and test soil organic matter
CMOR1: Assess moorland and produce a written record
CIPM1: Assess integrated pest management and produce a plan
CNUM1: Assess nutrient management and produce a review report

If you already have SSSI consent, you must check that it applies to:

the area of land entered into the affected SFI actions
the activities you’ll do to complete those actions
the duration (3 or 5 years) of those actions

The RPA will offer you an SFI agreement when Natural England confirms that either:

your notice to get SSSI consent has been received
you already have SSSI consent

If you accept your SFI agreement offer:

your agreement can start before you receive SSSI consent from Natural England
you must not do the affected SFI actions until you receive SSSI consent – if you do, it will be a breach of your agreement

10.4 Wildlife licences for protected species

You must get an ‘individual’ wildlife licence from Natural England if the activities required by your selected SFI actions:

will disturb or affect protected wildlife species or disturb their habitats, for example cleaning out a pond
are not covered by a ‘general’ or ‘class’ wildlife licence

It’s your responsibility to check this and get a wildlife licence before you do the affected SFI actions.

Protected trees include:

specific trees, groups of trees or woodland protected by a tree preservation order (TPO)
trees growing in a conservation area

If your selected SFI actions require you to do activities on protected trees, you must get consent from your local planning authority or national park authority. You must do this before you do the affected SFI actions.

10.6 Felling licences to remove trees

Check if you need to apply for a felling licence before you do SFI actions which require activities to remove trees or woodland

10.7 Permission to change uncultivated, semi-natural or rural land

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) (Agriculture) Regulations protect:

‘uncultivated land’ or ‘semi-natural areas’ from activities which increase agricultural productivity (known as an ‘uncultivated land project’)
rural land holdings from restructuring activities which may have a negative environmental impact (known as a ‘restructuring project’), such as altering a field boundary or moving earth

‘Uncultivated land’ is land that has not been cultivated in the last 15 years by:

physical means, such as ploughing and harrowing
chemical means, such as applying fertilisers

‘Semi-natural areas’ include land that:

is a priority habitat
contains an historic or archaeological feature, including scheduled monuments
is a ‘protected landscape’ – this includes national landscapes (which were known as areas of outstanding national beauty), national parks and the Broads
contains scrub or bracken over certain thresholds – you can find these thresholds in the guidance on land types for EIA screening decisions.

You must check if you need Natural England’s permission (an EIA ‘screening decision’) if your selected SFI actions require activities which will:

increase the productivity of 2 hectares or more of uncultivated land or semi-natural areas – such as ploughing, applying fertilisers, sowing seed, converting grassland to arable, and clearing scrub or vegetation
add, remove, move or change the nature of a field boundary that’s 4 kilometres (km) or more in length (2km or more in sensitive areas, such as a national park) – this includes installing fencing to protect a habitat you’re creating
add, remove or distribute 10,000 cubic metres or more of earth or other material over an area of 100 hectares or more (5,000 cubic metres or more over 50 hectares or more in sensitive areas)

It’s your responsibility to get an EIA screening decision from Natural England, if required, before you do the affected SFI actions.

10.8 Permission to do work on or around a watercourse

If your selected SFI actions require you to do work on or near a watercourse, you may need a permit or consent. This includes carrying out drainage works on land which may affect the flow of a watercourse.

For work on a ‘main river’, check if you need to apply for a flood risk activity permit (FRAP) from the Environment Agency.

For work on or near a watercourse that is not a main river (an ‘ordinary watercourse’, such as small rivers, streams and ditches), check if you need ‘ordinary watercourse consent’ from either:

Check if you need permission to do work on or around a watercourse.

It’s your responsibility to get permission, where required, before you do the affected SFI actions.

Question 11

11.  About your SFI agreement

Accepted Answer

Your SFI agreement is the legally binding agreement between you and Defra. It comprises:

11.1  What you’re agreeing to do

When you enter an SFI agreement, you’re agreeing to:

complete the SFI actions you have selected, as shown in your agreement document and described in the ‘Find funding for farms or land or farms’ tool
comply with your agreement’s terms and conditions

11.2 Agreement start and end date

Your agreement will:

start on the first day of the calendar month after you have accepted your offer
end on the last day of the month of the longest action in your agreement (3 or 5 years) unless it’s terminated earlier

Your agreement document will show the start and end dates for:

your agreement (the ‘agreement period’)
each SFI action that’s in your agreement

If you add more actions or land, or a combination of both, the RPA may extend your agreement period. Read section 12.2: ‘Add land or actions to your agreement’ for more information.

Question 12

12.  Managing your SFI agreement

Accepted Answer

12.1 Submit your annual declaration

Towards the end of each agreement year, you must submit an annual declaration to confirm you have complied, or expect to have complied, with your agreement’s obligations for that year.

You must do this by the date specified by the RPA (the ‘due date’), which will be within the last 2 months of the relevant agreement year.

Your annual declaration is a simple tick box form. You’ll submit it online using the Rural Payments service. The RPA will tell you when it’s ready to complete.

If you do not submit your annual declaration by the due date, the RPA may:

delay the fourth instalment of your payment
regard it as a breach of your agreement

If something happens which means you cannot comply with your agreement’s obligations for the relevant agreement year:

you will not be able to submit your annual declaration, as you cannot confirm that you have complied, or expect to have complied, with your agreement’s obligations for that year
you must tell the RPA about what’s happened in writing as soon as possible - read section 13.2: ‘What you must do if you cannot comply with your agreement’

12.2 Add land or actions to your agreement

You can submit a request to the RPA to add more SFI actions or land, or a combination of both, to your agreement. This called an agreement ‘upgrade request’.

You can submit one upgrade request towards the end of each agreement year, except the final year of your agreement. You must do this by the deadline the RPA tells you. The RPA will not accept an upgrade request after this date.

If the RPA agrees to your upgrade request, your updated agreement:

will usually apply from the start of the following agreement year
may continue for its original agreement period, or the RPA may specify a different agreement period

The RPA will ask you to confirm you accept your updated agreement by a date they specify. If you do not do this, the RPA will not update your agreement.

The RPA will tell you if your request is not accepted and you must continue with your existing agreement.

You can also apply for a separate SFI agreement for more SFI actions and land. You can do this at any time.

12.3 Remove actions or land from your agreement or end it early

During the agreement period, you will not usually be able to remove SFI actions or land from your agreement or end it early.

If you want to remove an action or land from your agreement, or end it early, you must email or write to the RPA as soon as possible to request this and explain the reason why. Preferably, this should be within 8 weeks of you being able to do so.

The RPA will consider your request and may allow it if there’s been a change of circumstances. The RPA will tell you what they decide.

If the RPA approves your request:

your agreement will be amended or ended early
you may have to repay some or all of the payments you’ve already received

Read section 13.2 on ‘what you must do if you cannot comply with your agreement’.

12.4 What happens if you transfer land in your agreement to another person

You will not usually be able to transfer your agreement to another person if, for example, you transfer land in your agreement because:

you sell it to someone else
your tenancy on the land ends, and there’s a new tenant

Instead, you must email or write to the RPA about this as soon as possible. As you’ll no longer have management control of the land you’ve transferred, the RPA will need to remove it from your agreement.

You may have to repay some, or all the payments you’ve already received during the agreement year in which you transfer the land if you:

have not completed your selected SFI actions
submitted your annual declaration for that year

Unlike previous schemes, the RPA will not apply additional financial ‘penalties’.

Once the RPA has removed the land from your agreement, the new occupier can either:

apply for an SFI agreement on that land
submit an upgrade request to the RPA to add the land to any existing SFI agreement they have

Read section 13.2 on ‘what you must do if you cannot comply with your agreement’.

12.5 When the RPA may change your agreement

The RPA will not usually change your SFI agreement during the agreement period.

However, it is possible that they may offer you an agreement ‘upgrade’, for example, if they change:

your agreement’s terms and conditions
the SFI actions which are in your agreement

If the RPA considers the agreement upgrade is a change that’s beneficial to you, such as a payment rate increase, they will:

publish details on GOV.UK
write to you with details of the agreement upgrade, including the date it will apply from

If you want to reject a beneficial change and continue with your existing agreement, you must email or write to the RPA within 8 weeks of their notification. If you do not, the change will apply from the date the RPA tells you.

If the RPA offers you an agreement upgrade that they do not consider beneficial to you:

they will write to you with details of the agreement upgrade
you can either accept the upgrade or continue with your existing agreement

There may also be exceptional circumstances which mean the RPA has to change your agreement. For example, changes in the law, disease outbreaks or food security emergencies. In this case:

they will notify you in writing, giving as much notice as possible
the change will apply from the date specified by the RPA in their notice
if the change is not acceptable to you, you can end your agreement by telling the RPA in writing by the deadline they’ll specify in their notice – you will not be required to repay payments you’ve already received

12.6 Temporary adjustments to the SFI actions in your agreement

The RPA may identify factors which may temporarily affect your ability to complete the SFI actions in your agreement. This could include, for example, adverse weather conditions, such as flooding or drought.

If this happens, the RPA may make a temporary adjustment to the SFI actions for a period of time specified by them. To do this they will publish details on GOV.UK, giving you as much notice as possible. These details will include:

what the temporary adjustment is – including which SFI actions it affects
the start and end dates for the temporary adjustment
the evidence you must keep if you choose to comply with the temporary adjustment

After the temporary adjustment’s end date, you must complete your selected SFI actions as if the temporary adjustment no longer applies.

You do not have to comply with the temporary adjustment. If you choose to comply with it, you must:

keep evidence to show how you’ve complied with it
complete and retain a copy of the prescribed form the RPA publishes on GOV.UK

You must supply this evidence if the RPA asks for it.

Question 13

13.  Complying with your SFI agreement

Accepted Answer

The RPA will support and advise you if you cannot comply with your agreement to help you resolve the problem, where possible.

During the period of your SFI agreement, the RPA may check:

you’re complying with your agreement’s terms and conditions
you’ve completed what’s required in each of your selected SFI actions in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve their aims

13.1 How the RPA will check you’re complying with your agreement

The RPA will check you’re complying with your agreement’s obligations through a combination of:

physical or virtual site visits
remote monitoring
desk-based administrative checks

The RPA may ask you to supply supporting evidence to show, for example, that:

you have management control of your land
you’ve completed what’s required in each SFI action you’ve selected in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim – each action sets out what evidence you must keep

Your agreement’s terms and conditions explain that you must:

provide this evidence if the RPA requests it
keep this evidence for at least 7 years from your agreement’s end date, or its termination date if that’s earlier

Site visits

If the RPA selects your farm or land for a site visit, they’ll:

try to arrange a suitable date and time with you in advance
let you know what to expect during the visit

If it’s not possible to arrange a suitable date and time, the RPA will write to you by email or post explaining the purpose, date and time of the visit. This will be at least 48 hours before the site visit, unless the RPA has reason to suspect there’s been a serious breach of your agreement, fraud or any other related offence.

Remote monitoring

The RPA uses aerial photography and satellite imagery to carry out remote monitoring of land cover, vegetation condition and soil erosion risk. This aims to:

reduce the need for physical site visits
make sure the SFI actions are being done in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve their aims
identify potential issues so the RPA can give targeted support

Desk-based administrative checks

The RPA carries out desk-based administrative checks to make sure you’re meeting your SFI agreement’s obligations. This can include checking the nature and quality of any supporting evidence they ask you to supply, such as receipts and farm records.

13.2 What you must do if you cannot comply with your agreement

You must tell the RPA in writing as soon as possible if something happens within or outside your control which might reasonably be expected to affect your ability to comply with your SFI agreement’s obligations. This is called a ‘change of circumstances’.

A change of circumstances includes something that may affect:

your eligibility to get paid
how much you’re paid
your ability to complete your selected SFI actions
your ability to comply with your agreement’s terms and conditions

Preferably, you should tell the RPA about a change of circumstances within 8 weeks of you being able to do so.

You can notify the RPA about a change of circumstances by email or post. When you email or write to the RPA, you should include:

your SBI
your SFI agreement reference number, which you can find on your agreement document
as many details as possible about the change of circumstances, including specific details about any SFI actions you cannot complete

RPA will look at each change of circumstances on a case-by-case basis. Depending on what’s happened, they may:

amend your agreement, for example, by removing land or SFI actions
reduce your payments
ask you to repay some or all of the payments you’ve already received
end your agreement early (before your agreement’s end date)

RPA will tell you what their decision is. If you do not agree with it, you can use the complaints procedure to ask the RPA to reconsider it. You must do this within 60 calendar days of the date you’re notified of the decision.

13.3 How you could breach your agreement

You could breach your SFI agreement if you have:

not notified the RPA of a change of circumstances
given false or misleading information
used the payments received under your agreement for a purpose that’s not in accordance with the agreement
used the payments received under your agreement for activities that breach any law you’re required to comply with
failed to comply with the terms of your agreement
breached a requirement you’re subject to under the Agriculture (Financial Assistance) Regulations 2021, as amended
failed to provide required information, records or evidence
prevented an authorised person from carrying out a virtual or physical site visit of the land in your agreement
refused a reasonable request by an authorised person to provide assistance to carry out a virtual or physical site visit of the land in your agreement
obstructed a virtual or physical site visit of the land in your agreement
failed to prevent or report actual or anticipated fraud or corruption in relation to the payments you receive under your agreement

This includes a breach caused by your employees or someone acting on your behalf, unless it relates to a change of circumstances or actual or anticipated fraud or corruption.

13.4 If the RPA suspects there’s been a breach

When the RPA checks if you’re complying with your SFI agreement, they may reasonably suspect there’s been a breach.

If this is the case, the RPA will:

carry out a proportionate investigation to determine whether there has been a breach - unlike previous schemes, they will not usually withhold your payments while investigating
discuss their investigation with you, where possible, so you understand what they have found
consider any ‘good reasons’ for the suspected breach (read section 13.6 ‘Good reasons for a breach’ for more information)

The RPA may also ask you to provide more information or evidence.

Once the RPA has completed their investigation, they’ll write to tell you:

the outcome
how you can respond to the outcome if you do not agree with it – including the deadline for submitting your response in writing

The RPA will consider your response before making a formal decision (known as a ‘determination’) about whether you have breached your agreement.

13.5 RPA confirms there’s been a breach

If the RPA decides that you have breached your SFI agreement, they will:

explain the reasons for their determination in writing
decide what action, if any, they will take – there are no set actions that they’ll take for particular breaches of your agreement

What the RPA does about the breach will depend on the individual circumstances of your case. They will consider factors such as:

how serious the breach was
if you had a ‘good reason’ for the breach – read section 13.6: ‘Good reasons for a breach’
why the breach happened and any consequences it may have
what impact the breach has on achieving the aims of the SFI actions in your agreement, and whether that impact will be short or longer term
if you can take action to make sure you are complying with your agreement
any past conduct and whether a similar breach has happened before
if you intentionally breached your agreement
whether the breach constitutes an offence and has caused widespread or irreparable damage
if you have not co-operated with the RPA checking you’re complying with your agreement
if you notified the RPA about a change of circumstances (if applicable)

The RPA may decide that no action is needed because:

of the nature of the breach
you’ve supplied evidence to them of a ‘good reason’ for the breach

If the RPA decides action is needed, they may:

issue you with a warning letter
temporarily or permanently amend, remove or replace a condition subject to which your agreement’s payments are made to you
temporarily or permanently amend, remove or replace your selected SFI actions or timescales
allow you to rectify the breach
delay, reduce, recover or withhold payments or require you to repay some or all the payments you’ve already received

The RPA may decide that there’s a serious breach of your SFI agreement because it:

was intentional
was due to negligence or recklessness
has happened more than once, without good reason

In this case, they may:

end your SFI agreement before its end date
prevent you from receiving payments under any other financial assistance scheme for up to 2 years

Where there is evidence of fraud or illegality, they will follow the relevant legal process.

If you do not agree with the RPA’s determination that there’s been a breach, you can use the complaints procedure to ask the RPA to reconsider it. You must do this within 60 calendar days of the date you’re notified of the determination.

13.6 Good reasons for a breach

There may be circumstances (a ‘good reason’) which mean you breach your SFI agreement’s obligations because of events outside of your control.

Good reasons for a breach include, but are not limited to:

natural events, such as prolonged adverse weather conditions, flooding, or animal or plant disease
if you are seriously ill
the death of the agreement holder
if there is unforeseen loss of management control of the land in your agreement, for example when a tenancy is terminated, or because of the compulsory purchase of land by a third party
financial circumstances, such as bankruptcy
evidenced supply chain problems, such as a lack of laboratory soil testing capacity
criminal damage by a third party, such as arson or vandalism

If there’s a ‘good reason’ for the breach of your agreement, you (or someone authorised to act on your behalf) must write to the RPA to explain:

what has happened, including details of the events outside your control which meant you breached your agreement
whether you can take action to make sure you are complying with your agreement

You must email or write to the RPA immediately if the good reason is because you’ve breached your agreement by:

preventing the RPA from carrying out a site visit
refusing to provide assistance with a site visit
otherwise obstructing a virtual or physical site visit of the land in your agreement

In all other cases, you must email or write to the RPA within 8 weeks from the date that either:

you are able to
the RPA notifies you of their determination that you’ve breached your agreement

The RPA will:

consider your individual circumstances - they may ask you to supply further evidence
decide what action, if any, they will take – they will tell you about their decision

If you knew about the issue when you entered your agreement, it’s unlikely the RPA will consider it to be a good reason for a breach.

The RPA will also take ‘good reasons’ into account when they investigate a suspected breach of your agreement. Read section 13.4: ‘If the RPA suspect there’s been a breach’.

Question 14

14.  Contact the RPA

Accepted Answer

If you have a general question about SFI, contact RPA by:

If you need to raise a specific query about your application, follow the guidance on how to contact RPA about SFI.

Question 15

Annex A: Applying for SFI on common land or shared grazing

Accepted Answer

You must enter common land (including shared grazing) into a separate SFI agreement.

To apply for an SFI agreement on common land, you need to contact the RPA. They will help you to prepare to apply, so you’re ready for when the online application service is available for common land later in 2024.

If you want to apply for the expanded SFI offer on land that is not common land, you can enter that into a separate SFI agreement. You can do this from when applications open from summer 2024.

How common land is defined

For SFI, common land is defined as:

land registered as common land in a register of common land kept under Part 1 of the Commons Act 2006
land to which Part 1 of that Act does not apply and which is subject to rights of common within the meaning of that Act

‘Shared grazing’ means communal pasture that is not registered as common land where graziers have a legal entitlement to graze. For example, a pasture used jointly by tenants.

Any reference to common land in this section includes shared grazing.

Check you’re eligible to apply as a ‘single entity’

To apply for an SFI agreement on common land, you must be a ‘single entity’. This can be either as a:

a person who is the sole beneficiary - usually a landowner who owns the whole common and has sole use and rights to the common
a group of 2 or more people

If the single entity is a group, it must have a formal, legally enforceable internal arrangement between the members that sets out:

each person’s responsibilities
the payments they expect to receive
that each person agrees that the RPA or Defra may recover payments from them personally if there’s a breach of the SFI agreement

Each individual member of the group who will benefit from, or contribute to, the delivery of the SFI agreement must:

sign the internal arrangement
be registered with the RPA in the Rural Payments service, so they have their own SBI

In addition, the group must:

identify a main business contact (the nominated representative) with the RPA who will be responsible for administering the SFI agreement on behalf of the group
have a single bank account registered with the RPA

You do not have to submit a copy of your formal internal arrangement to the RPA when you apply for an SFI agreement. However, you must supply this evidence if the RPA asks for it.

There should not be more than one single entity overseeing another environmental land management scheme agreement for the same area of land on the common. This includes CS, Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) (part of ES) and SFI.

The single entity must have sufficient management control of the common land to comply with the SFI agreement’s obligations for the entire agreement period. Read ‘Check the single entity has management control of the common land’.

Using an existing single entity for a group

A group may have an existing single entity to administer:

an existing CS, HLS or SFI agreement on the common
general management of the common

In this case, the existing single entity should be able to extend its scope to meet the requirements for a common land SFI agreement. It should apply for an SFI agreement using its existing SBI.

Setting up a new single entity for a group

If a group needs to set up a new single entity, it needs to do this before it applies for a common land SFI agreement.

The new single entity will need to register on the Rural Payments service to get a new SBI. It needs to use this SBI to apply for the SFI agreement, even if individual members have their own SBIs.

When setting up the new single entity, the group may want to consider:

how to deal with membership changes
how to distribute payments among members
what permissions are given to members who are not the nominated representative in the Rural Payments service, so they can view relevant documents
how to resolve disputes within the group

You may find it helpful to read the CS guidance about setting up a commons association or an internal agreement for common land and shared grazing. Where this guidance uses the word ‘must’ or ‘should’, that requirement applies to a CS agreement, not an SFI agreement.

Additional payment on common land for a single entity that’s a group

To help with a group’s costs of administering a common land SFI agreement, there’s an annual additional payment of £7 per hectare of eligible common land.

Defra will keep this payment under review.

Check if the single entity has management control of the common land

To enter common land into an SFI agreement, the single entity must have sufficient management control of the land for the entire agreement period.

If the single entity is a group, it should have sufficient management control if its members have sufficient control over how the common land is managed to complete the SFI actions selected.

To demonstrate a group has sufficient management control, it must:

take all reasonable steps to contact and consult everyone with a legal interest in the management of the common land
obtain the consent of the landowner if it’s required – the group will also need to consider whether the landowner needs to be part of the single entity

People with a legal interest in the management of the common land include:

all known common rights holders, whether they’re actively using their rights or not
the landowner
tenants
anyone who has an easement or other rights and covenants over the land, including sporting tenants

You may find it helpful to read the CS guidance for more information about consulting other people with a legal interest in managing the common. Where this guidance uses the word ‘must’ or ‘should’, that requirement applies to a CS agreement, not an SFI agreement.

When a single entity enters common land into an SFI agreement, it declares that it will have management control of that land for the entire agreement period. The single entity must provide evidence of this if the RPA asks for it.

Check the common land is eligible

The common land must be eligible for an SFI agreement. Read section 5 ‘Check if your land is eligible for the SFI actions’.

If the common land is eligible, the SFI agreement can include:

a whole common
more than one whole common, if they’re managed as a single unit
part of a common, if it’s a defined area that’s managed as a separate, single unit and the SFI actions selected will not impact land management practices on the remaining part of the common

Question 16

Annex B: Summary of the initial expanded SFI offer from summer 2024

Accepted Answer

The following information includes the SFI actions in the initial expanded SFI offer from summer 2024.

It includes one SFI action which requires approval (GRH6: Manage priority habitat species-rich grassland). This ‘endorsed’ SFI action will be published on the ‘Find funding for land or farms’ tool in June.

Later in 2024, Defra will introduce:

an educational access action, which will pay you to provide educational tours of your farm or woodland
more endorsed SFI actions for farmland wildlife and habitats on grassland, heritage, wood pasture, orchards, coastal habitats and waterbodies

Details of these additional SFI actions will be published in summer 2024.

Code	SFI actions for agroforestry	Annual payment	Action’s duration
AGF1	Maintain very low density in-field agroforestry on less sensitive land	£248 per hectare	3 years
AGF2	Maintain low density in-field agroforestry on less sensitive land	£385 per hectare	3 years

Code	SFI actions for boundary features	Annual payment	Action’s duration
CHRW1	Assess and record hedgerow condition	£5 per 100 metres for one side	3 years
CHRW2	Manage hedgerows	£13 per 100 metres for one side	3 years
CHRW3	Maintain or establish hedgerow trees	£10 per 100 metres for both sides	3 years
BND1	Maintain dry stone walls	£27 per 100 metres for both sides	3 years
BND2	Maintain earth banks or stone-faced hedgebanks	£11 per 100 metres for one side	3 years

Code	SFI actions for buffer strips	Annual payment	Action’s duration
CAHL4	4m to 12m grass buffer strip on arable and horticultural land	£515 per hectare	3 years
CIGL3	4m to 12m grass buffer strip on improved grassland	£235 per hectare	3 years
BFS1	12m to 24m watercourse buffer strip on cultivated land	£707 per hectare	3 years
BFS2	Buffer in-field ponds on arable land	£681 per hectare	3 years
BFS3	Buffer in-field ponds on improved grassland	£311 per hectare	3 years
BFS4	Protect in-field trees on arable land	£553 per hectare	3 years
BFS5	Protect in-field trees on intensive grassland	£295 per hectare	3 years
BFS6	6m to 12m habitat strip next to watercourses	£742 per hectare	5 years

Code	SFI actions for farmland wildlife on arable and horticultural land	Annual payment	Action’s duration
CAHL1	Pollen and nectar flower mix	£739 per hectare	3 years
CAHL2	Winter bird food on arable and horticultural land	£853 per hectare	3 years
CAHL3	Grassy field corners or blocks	£590 per hectare	3 years
AHW1	Bumblebird mix	£747 per hectare	3 years
AHW2	Supplementary winter bird food (*maximum 1 tonne for every 2 hectares of CAHL2)	£732 per tonne*	3 years
AHW3	Beetle banks	£764 per hectare	3 years
AHW4	Skylark plots (*minimum 2 plots)	£11 per plot*	3 years
AHW5	Nesting plots for lapwing	£765 per hectare	3 years
AHW6	Basic overwinter stubble	£58 per hectare	3 years
AHW7	Enhanced overwinter stubble	£589 per hectare	3 years
AHW8	Whole crop spring cereals and overwinter stubble	£596 per hectare	3 years
AHW9	Unharvested cereal headland	£1,072 per hectare	3 years
AHW10	Low input harvested cereal crop	£354 per hectare	3 years
AHW11	Cultivated areas for arable plants	£660 per hectare	3 years
AHW12	Manage woodland edges on arable land	£428 per hectare	3 years

Code	SFI actions for farmland wildlife and habitats on grassland	Annual payment	Action’s duration
CIGL1	Take grassland field corners or blocks out of management	£333 per hectare	3 years
CIGL2	Winter bird food on improved grassland	£515 per hectare	3 years
CLIG3	Manage grassland with very low nutrient inputs	£151 per hectare	3 years
GRH1	Manage rough grazing for birds	£121 per hectare	3 years
GRH6	Manage priority habitat species-rich grassland (endorsed)	£646 per hectare	5 years
GRH7	Supplement: Haymaking	£157 per hectare	Same as base action
GRH8	Supplement: Haymaking (late cut)	£187 per hectare	Same as base action
GRH10	Supplement: Lenient grazing	£28 per hectare	Same as base action
GRH11	Supplement: Cattle grazing (non-moorland)	£59 per hectare	Same as base action
SCR1	Create scrub and open habitat mosaics	£588 per hectare	5 years
SCR2	Manage scrub and open habitat mosaics	£350 per hectare	3 years

Code	SFI actions for heritage	Annual payment	Action’s duration
HEF1	Maintain weatherproof traditional farm or forestry buildings	£5 per square metre	3 years
HEF2	Maintain weatherproof traditional farm or forestry buildings in remote areas	£8 per square metre	3 years
HEF5	Control scrub on historic and archaeological features	£215 per hectare	5 years
HEF6	Manage historic and archaeological features on grassland	£55 per hectare	5 years
HEF8	Maintain designed or engineered waterbodies	£2,512 per hectare	5 years

Code	SFI actions for integrated pest management	Annual payment	Action’s duration
CIPM1	Assess integrated pest management and produce a plan	£1,129 for the assessment and plan	3 years
CIPM2	Flower-rich grass margins, blocks or in-field strips	£798 per hectare	3 years
CIPM3	Companion crop on arable and horticultural land	£55 per hectare	3 years
CIPM4	No use of insecticide on arable crops and permanent crops	£45 per hectare	3 years

Code	SFI actions for moorland	Annual payment	Action’s duration
CMOR1	Assess moorland and produce a written record	£10.60 per hectare and £272 per agreement	3 years
UPL1	Moderate livestock grazing on moorland	£20 per hectare	3 years
UPL2	Low livestock grazing on moorland	£53 per hectare	3 years
UPL3	Limited livestock grazing on moorland	£66 per hectare	3 years
UPL4	Supplement: Keep cattle and ponies on moorland (minimum 30% GLU)	£7 per hectare	Same as base action
UPL5	Supplement: Keep cattle and ponies on moorland (minimum 70% GLU)	£18 per hectare	Same as base action
UPL6	Supplement: Keep cattle and ponies on moorland (100% GLU)	£23 per hectare	Same as base action
UPL7	Shepherding livestock on moorland (no required stock removal period)	£33 per hectare	3 years
UPL8	Shepherding livestock on moorland (remove stock for at least 4 months)	£43 per hectare	3 years
UPL9	Shepherding livestock on moorland (remove stock for at least 6 months)	£45 per hectare	3 years
UPL10	Shepherding livestock on moorland (remove stock for at least 8 months)	£48 per hectare	3 years

Code	SFI actions for nutrient management	Annual payment	Action’s duration
CNUM1	Assess nutrient management and produce a review report	£652 for the assessment and report	3 years
CNUM2	Legumes on improved grassland	£102 per hectare	3 years
CNUM3	Legume fallow	£593 per hectare	3 years

Code	SFI actions for organic farming	Annual payment	Action’s duration
OFC1	Organic conversion – improved permanent grassland (*maximum of 2 consecutive years)	£187 per hectare	1 year*
OFC2	Organic conversion – unimproved permanent grassland (*maximum of 2 consecutive years)	£96 per hectare	1 year*
OFC3	Organic conversion – rotational land (*maximum of 2 consecutive years)	£298 per hectare	1 year*
OFC4	Organic conversion – horticultural land (*maximum of 2 consecutive years)	£874 per hectare	1 year*
OFC5	Organic conversion – top fruit (*maximum of 3 consecutive years)	£1,920 per hectare	1 year*
OFM1	Organic land management – improved permanent grassland	£20 per hectare	3 years
OFM2	Organic land management – unimproved permanent grassland	£41 per hectare	3 years
OFM3	Organic land management – enclosed rough grazing	£97 per hectare	3 years
OFM4	Organic land management – rotational land	£132 per hectare	3 years
OFM5	Organic land management – horticultural land	£707 per hectare	3 years
OFM6	Organic land management – top fruit	£1,920 per hectare	3 years
OFA1	Overwinter stubble (organic land)	£264 per hectare	3 years
OFA3	Supplementary winter bird food (organic land) (*maximum 1 tonne for every 2 hectares of CALH2)	£935 per tonne*	3 years
OFA6	Undersown cereal crop (organic land)	£380 per hectare	3 years

Code	SFI actions for precision farming	Annual payment	Action’s duration
PRF1	Variable rate application of nutrients	£27 per hectare	3 years
PRF2	Camera or remote sensor guided herbicide spraying	£43 per hectare	3 years
PRF3	Non-mechanical robotic weeding	£101 per hectare	3 years
PRF4	Mechanical robotic weeding	£150 per hectare	3 years

Code	SFI actions for species recovery and management	Annual payment	Action’s duration
SPM2	Supplement: Keep native breeds on grazed habitats (50-80%)	£92 per hectare	Same as base action
SPM3	Supplement: Keep native breeds on grazed habitats (more than 80%)	£146 per hectare	Same as base action
SPM4	Supplement: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats (50-80%)	£7 per hectare	Same as base action
SPM5	Supplement: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats (more than 80%)	£11 per hectare	Same as base action

Code	SFI actions for soil health	Annual payment	Action’s duration
CSAM1	Assess soil, produce a soil management plan and test soil organic matter	£6 per hectare and an additional payment of £97 per agreement	3 years
CSAM2	Multi-species winter cover crop	£129 per hectare	3 years
CSAM3	Herbal leys	£382 per hectare	3 years
SOH1	No-till farming	£73 per hectare	3 years
SOH2	Multi-species spring-sown cover crop	£163 per hectare	3 years
SOH3	Multi-species summer-sown cover crop	£163 per hectare	3 years
SOH4	Winter cover following maize crops	£203 per hectare	3 years

Code	SFI actions for waterbodies	Annual payment	Action’s duration
WBD1	Manage ponds (*maximum of 3 ponds per hectare)	£257 per pond*	3 years
WBD2	Manage ditches	£4 per 100m for both sides	3 years
WBD3	In-field grass strips	£765 per hectare	3 years
WBD4	Arable reversion to grassland with low fertiliser input	£489 per hectare	5 years
WBD5	Manage intensive grassland adjacent to a watercourse	£311 per hectare	5 years
WBD6	Remove livestock from intensive grassland during the autumn and winter (outside SDAs)	£115 per hectare	3 years
WBD7	Remove livestock from grassland during the autumn and winter (SDAs)	£115 per hectare	3 years
WBD8	Manage grassland to reduce nutrient levels in groundwater	£396 per hectare	3 years
WBD9	Supplement: Nil fertiliser	£156 per hectare	Same as base action

Additional payments	Annual payment	Action’s duration
Additional common land payment (*if a group of 2 or more people apply for an SFI agreement on common land)	£7 per hectare*	Not applicable
SFI management payment (*up to the first 50 hectares entered into the relevant SFI actions, per SBI)	£40 per hectare* for the first agreement year, £20 per ha* for each subsequent agreement year	Not applicable

Question 17

Annex C: Registered land covers and compatible land use codes

Accepted Answer

Table 1 and 2 explain the:

agricultural and non-agricultural land covers registered by the RPA on your digital maps – there may be more than one land cover in each land parcel
land use codes which are compatible with each registered land cover

Read section 5.2 ‘Eligible land covers and compatible land uses’ for more information.

Table 1: Agricultural land covers

Registered agricultural land covers	Compatible land use codes
Arable land	Land use codes for arable crops
Arable land	Land use codes for leguminous and nitrogen-fixing crops
Arable land	TG01 (temporary grassland)
Arable land	FA01 (fallow)
Permanent grassland	PG01
Permanent crops	Land use codes for permanent crops

Table 2: Non-agricultural land covers

Registered non-agricultural land covers	Compatible land use codes
Airstrip or airports	MT05
Bog	IW07
Cliffs	CF01
Drain, ditch, dyke	WF01
Drain, ditch, dyke on a boundary	IW11
Farm building	AB01
Farmyards	AB09
Fen marsh and swamp	IW06
Gallop	NT01
General utility	UT06
Glasshouse	AB06
Golf course	RL04
Hard standing	HS01
Heath land and bracken – ungrazeable	HE02
Heap	HE03
Intertidal habitats	MW04
Metalled track	MT01
Mineral extraction site	MS04
Non-agricultural area	NA02
Non-utilised Bank	PL01
Notional – rock	NF01
Notional - bracken	NF02
Notional - scrub	NF03
Notional - trees	NF04
Notional - water	NF05
Notional – natural	NF06
Notional - manmade	NF07
Notional - mixed	NF08
Peat production	CM01
Pond	WF03
Railway	MT04
Real estate services	ES01
Reed beds	MW03
Residential gardens	WO17
Residential dwelling, house	NR01
River/Stream on a boundary	IW01
Rivers and Streams type 2	IW02
Rivers and Streams type 3	IW03
Roads	MT03
Salt marsh – ungrazeable	MW01
Sand dunes	CF03
Saline habitats	MW05
Scree	RO02
Scrub - ungrazeable	WO25
Shelter on bare soil	AB03
Shingle	IW05
Solar panels	UT01
Sports and recreation	RL03
Storage area	SA02
Structure	ST05
Tidal areas	MW02
Track – natural surface	NT03
Turf production	CM02
Uncropped	PL02
Vegetated shingle	CF02
Water treatment works	UT07
Woodland	WO12

Cookies on GOV.UK

Applies to England

1. About the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme

1.1 SFI actions

1.2 SFI actions which require approval

1.3 SFI actions with a limited area

1.4 Rotational SFI actions

1.5 Static SFI actions

2. When and how much you’ll get paid

2.1 Your payment statement

2.2 How your payment is calculated

2.3 Other relevant funding available

3. Check if you’re eligible to apply

3.1 If you’ve received a Lump Sum Exit Scheme payment

3.2 If you receive delinked payments

3.3 Eligibility of public bodies

4. Check if you have management control of land

Actions with different durations

4.1 Who has management control

4.2 Land you occupy under a tenancy agreement

4.3 Unexpected loss of management control

5. Check if your land is eligible for SFI actions

5.1 Eligible land types for SFI

Arable land

Permanent crops

Permanent grassland

Moorland

5.2 Eligible land covers and compatible land uses

5.3 Available area calculation

5.4 Organic land

5.5 Land that’s a site of special scientific interest (SSSI)

5.6 Land with historic or archaeological features

Request an SFI Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (SFI HEFER)

Soil sampling on eligible land with historic or archaeological features

Other activities you should avoid doing on eligible land with historic or archaeological features

5.7 Land that’s conditionally exempt from Inheritance Tax

6. Eligible land in other funding schemes

6.1 SFI 2023 offer

6.2 SFI pilot

6.3 Countryside Stewardship (CS)

6.4 Environmental Stewardship (ES)

6.5 Landscape Recovery

6.6 Farming in Protected Landscapes

6.7 Private sector schemes

7. Select your SFI actions

7.1 Search for actions using the finder tool

8. What to do before you apply for an SFI agreement

8.1 Read the rules you must follow

8.2 Get registered with the RPA

8.3 Check your registered contact details are up to date

8.4 Check you have the correct permission to apply for SFI

8.4.1 How to give permission to someone acting on your behalf

8.5 Check your registered land details are up to date

9. How to apply online

10. Get all necessary regulatory consents, permissions and licences in place

10.1 Scheduled monument consent

10.2 Planning permission

10.3 SSSI consent

10.4 Wildlife licences for protected species

10.5 Consent to do work on protected trees

10.6 Felling licences to remove trees

10.7 Permission to change uncultivated, semi-natural or rural land

10.8 Permission to do work on or around a watercourse

11. About your SFI agreement

11.1 What you’re agreeing to do

11.2 Agreement start and end date

12. Managing your SFI agreement

12.1 Submit your annual declaration

12.2 Add land or actions to your agreement

12.3 Remove actions or land from your agreement or end it early

12.4 What happens if you transfer land in your agreement to another person

12.5 When the RPA may change your agreement

12.6 Temporary adjustments to the SFI actions in your agreement

13. Complying with your SFI agreement

13.1 How the RPA will check you’re complying with your agreement

Site visits

Remote monitoring

Desk-based administrative checks

13.2 What you must do if you cannot comply with your agreement

13.3 How you could breach your agreement

1.1 SFI actions

1.2 SFI actions which require approval

  3.3 Eligibility of public bodies

6.2 SFI pilot

  6.7 Private sector schemes

11.1  What you’re agreeing to do

13.5 RPA confirms there’s been a breach