AHW4: Skylark plots

This is a Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026 ( SFI26 ) action. Read the SFI26 scheme information to understand what you’re required to do under an SFI26 agreement and how to apply.

Select ‘See all updates’ at the start of this page to find out how this action has changed for SFI26 compared with SFI24 .

For SFI24 actions, read the  SFI24 agreement holder’s information .

Duration

3 years

How much you’ll be paid

£11 per plot per year (minimum 2 plots per hectare ( ha ))

Action’s aim

This action’s aim is that there are fallow plots for nesting skylarks within a winter cereal crop, until the crop is harvested in the summer.

The purpose of this is to provide skylarks with suitable nesting habitats in winter cereal crops throughout their breeding season.

Where you can do this action

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

identified by you as not being at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff – you must keep evidence of this

an eligible land type (as defined in section 5.1.1 ‘Eligible land types’ in the SFI26 scheme information)

registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps

declared with a land use code which is compatible with the eligible land cover

You must not do this action on land that’s bounded by tree lines or adjacent to woods, unless the land parcel is larger than 10ha. This is because it increases the risks of predator attack.

Eligible land

Eligible land type Eligible land cover Compatible land use code

Arable land used to grow crops Arable land Land use codes for arable crops or leguminous and nitrogen-fixing crops

Temporary grassland Arable land TG01

Arable land lying fallow Arable land FA01

Eligibility of protected land

Sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs): Eligible – you must:

give notice to Natural England to get SSSI consent before the Rural Payments Agency ( RPA ) offer you an SFI26 agreement

have received SSSI consent from Natural England before you do this action (read section 10.1 ‘SSSI consent’ in the SFI26 scheme information for more details)

Historic and archaeological features: Eligible – you must get an SFI HEFER before you do this action (read  section 5.3 ‘Land with historic or archaeological features’ in the SFI26 scheme information to find out how to do this).

Available area you can enter into this action

Not applicable – you’ll apply per plot (minimum 2 plots per ha ).

Rotational or static action

This action is rotational or static. This means you can either:

move its location for the second and third years of this action’s duration

do it at the same location each year of this action’s duration

What to do

During the autumn and winter, you must create fallow plots within a winter cereal crop.

For each land parcel where you do this action, there must be at least 2 plots per ha of winter cereal crop you’re growing. For example, if you’re growing 5ha of winter cereal crop in a land parcel, there must be at least 10 plots.

You must make sure that the plots are large enough to meet this action’s aim. This will usually mean they need to be at least 3 metres (m) wide and around 16 square m in area.

You must retain the fallow plots until the winter cereal crop is harvested in the summer.

You must not locate the fallow plots in tramlines, boundaries or margins, as this increases risk of attacks on skylark nests by predators.

You can maintain an existing skylark plot 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 Countryside Stewardship option AB4 (skylark plots)

When to do it

You must do this action each year of its 3-year duration.

If this action’s start date means it’s too late to establish the skylark plot, you must do this within 12 months of this action’s start date.

In the final year of this action’s duration, you must do this action until the winter cereal crop is harvested, or this action’s end date whichever is earlier.

How to do it

It’s up to you how you do this action, as long as you:

follow this action’s requirements – these are identified by a ‘must’

do the action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim

You may find it helpful to read the ‘advice to help you do this action’, but it’s not part of this action’s requirements.

Evidence to keep

You must keep written evidence that land entered into this action is not at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff. You can use the soil management plan you’ve already produced for SFI24 action CSAM1 or SFI23 action SAM1 to identify this.

You must 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 or 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.

Other actions or options you can do on the same area as this action

You can do the following actions or options on the same area in a land parcel as this action.

Scheme Action or option codes

SFI 2026 actions OFC3, OFM4

SFI 2024 actions CIPM1, CNUM1, CSAM1, OFC3, OFM4

SFI 2023 actions IPM1, IPM4, NUM1, SAM1

CSHT actions from 2025 No CSHT actions

CS options HS3, HS9, OR3, OT3

ES options No ES revenue options

If an action or option cannot be located on the same area, you may be able to do it on a different area in the same land parcel. Read  section 5.6 ‘Land that’s already in other funding schemes or grants’  in the SFI26 scheme information for more details.

You can do the following actions or options on the eligible boundaries of a land parcel entered into this action:

SFI 2026 actions: CHRW2, BND1, BND2 and WBD2

SFI 2024 actions: CHRW1, CHRW2, CHRW3, BND1, BND2 and WBD2

SFI 2023 actions: HRW1, HRW2, HRW3

CSHT actions: CHRW4

CS options: BE3 (management of hedgerows)

Advice to help you do this action

The following advice may help you to do this action, but it’s not part of this action’s requirements.

Choosing the right location

To help make sure there is easy landing and foraging access for skylarks, you can locate the plots:

in large, open winter cereal fields – this will usually be around at least 5ha (or at least around 10ha where fields are bordered by mature scrub, tall hedgerows, trees and woodland)

in field where skylarks are present or have nested in the past

on land with little or no spring cropping, where possible

between tramlines, away from telegraph poles and pylons (and at least around 80 metres from field edges)

close to complementary wildlife habitats that are insect and seed rich – such as, cultivated areas for arable plants, flower-rich margins, enhanced overwintered stubble and winter bird food

How to establish the plots

You can establish the skylark plots by either:

turning off the drill during sowing to leave an unsown plot

drilling the field and spraying the plot areas with a non-selective herbicide by the end of December

If you establish the plots by spraying, this can reduce foraging opportunities for the insects which skylarks forage for. This is because these areas will not have much vegetation for longer.

Managing the plots

After drilling, you can apply fertiliser and spray treatments to the skylark plots, as well as the adjacent crop. You do not need to keep the plots weed-free.

Birds, nests and eggs are protected by law . To avoid damage to skylark nests, avoid mechanically weeding the winter cereal crop between April and harvesting.

You can control weeds (such as black-grass and wild oat) by spot spraying using a hand-held device (such as a knapsack or hand lance) before they flower and set seed.

Eligible land

Eligible land type Eligible land cover Compatible land use code

Arable land used to grow crops Arable land Land use codes for arable crops or leguminous and nitrogen-fixing crops

Temporary grassland Arable land TG01

Arable land lying fallow Arable land FA01