In-field grass strips (updated for SFI26)

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

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.

SFI26 actions v2.0, updated 7 July 2026 — verified 1 Aug 2026. Open official guidance