GovWire

This section contains mandatory scheme requirements.

What land is eligible for an SFI agreement

To enter land into an SFI agreement, it must be eligible. This means the land is wholly located in England and that:

• you expect to have management control of the land for the 3-year duration of your SFI agreement this includes hedgerows, where relevant
• the land is eligible for the SFI actions you choose this includes hedgerows, where relevant

You can choose what area of eligible land or length of eligible hedgerows to enter into your SFI agreement. Theres no minimum or maximum area.

Management control of land

You must expect to have management control of the land entered into your SFI agreement for its 3-year duration. This includes hedgerows you enter into the SFI actions for hedgerows.

Youll have management control if you have sufficient control over how the land (and hedgerows, if relevant) is managed to complete whats required in the SFI actions you choose.

This will usually mean youre the person actively farming the land (and managing the hedgerows, if relevant), who is:

• the owner occupier, farming the land yourself 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
• in a group that farms on common land (including areas of shared grazing)

When you enter land (and hedgerows, where relevant) into your SFI agreement, you declare that youll have management control of that land (and hedgerows) for the agreements 3-year duration. You must supply evidence to show that you do have management control of the land (and hedgerows, if relevant) if we ask for it.

The following information explains:

• what management control means if you occupy land under a tenancy or access it under a licence
• more about management control of hedgerows

To find out what management control means for commoners and shared graziers, read the information on eligibility of commons and shared grazing for an SFI agreement.

Land you occupy under a tenancy

Only a tenant can enter land (including hedgerows, where relevant) occupied under a tenancy into an SFI agreement. This is because theyre the person actively farming the land, not the landlord.

As a tenant, its your responsibility to check whether your tenancy agreement allows you to complete whats required in the SFI actions you choose.

If you occupy land under a tenancy on a rolling year-by-year basis, you can enter this land into your SFI agreement if you expect to have management control of that land for the SFI agreements 3-year duration.

For example, this may be the case if you occupy land under:

• an FBT granted for a term of more than 2 years, that continues on a rolling year-by-year basis after its initial term ends
• an FBT granted for a term of 2 years or less that you expect your landlord to renew on an annual basis

You must not enter land into an SFI agreement if you do not expect to have management control of that land for its 3-year duration.

If youre unsure whether you will have management control of the land occupied under a tenancy for the 3-year duration of your SFI agreement, you should check with your landlord.

If you unexpectedly lose management control of the land occupied under a tenancy during your 3-year SFI agreement, you must tell us about this, in writing. Well remove that land from your SFI agreement.

If your loss of management control was because of a change of circumstances, you may not have to repay payments already received for an agreement year if youve completed the actions and submitted your annual declaration for the relevant agreement year. Read the information about what happens if you find you cannot comply with your SFI agreement to find out more about a change of circumstances.

Land you access under a licence

If you only have access to land under a licence arrangement (so youre a licensee), its unlikely you have sufficient control over how the land is managed to complete whats required in the SFI actions you choose.

In this case, the licensor (usually the owner occupier) can enter the land into an SFI agreement and make the licensee aware of its requirements, if relevant.

If, in practice, your arrangement with the landowner gives you wider land management responsibilities, similar to those of a tenant, you may be able to enter this land into an SFI agreement. For example, some licences on Ministry of Defence land operate in this way. If this applies, read the information above about management control of land you occupy under a tenancy.

Management control of hedgerows

To enter both sides of a hedgerow into your SFI agreement, you must have management control of both sides of the hedgerow and the land adjacent to each side of the hedgerow for the 3-year duration of your SFI agreement.

If you only have management control of one side of a hedgerow and adjacent land you must only enter one side into your SFI agreement. This may be the case if:

• a hedgerow is next to a road or track and requires annual or more frequent trimming for public safety reasons but you can enter it into HRW3 (which is for both sides of a hedgerow) if you can meet the requirements in that action
• one side of a hedgerow and the adjacent land is owned or managed by a neighbour
• a hedgerow is next to a woodland edge

Land thats eligible for the SFI actions

The land you enter into your SFI agreement must be eligible for each SFI action you choose. This includes hedgerows you enter into the SFI actions for hedgerows.

How well calculate what land may be eligible for the area based SFI actions

If you have to enter a specific area of a land parcel into an action, thats an area based SFI action.

The SFI application service will automatically calculate what area in each land parcel may be eligible for each area based SFI action you choose. This is called the SFI available area and it will be shown for each eligible land parcel in your SFI application.

Well use the land use code declared for a BPS 2023 application to check what area in a land parcel may be eligible for each area based SFI action you choose. This area also needs to be registered with a land cover thats compatible with that land use code (a compatible land cover).

You can find the land use codes for 2023 on GOV.UK. If a land use code was not declared for a BPS 2023 application, contact the Rural Payments Agency (RPA).

When you choose an area based SFI action, the SFI application service will calculate the 