CAGF2: Manage low density in-field agroforestry on more sensitive land

This action is part of Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier ( CSHT ). You must read the CSHT guidance before you apply.

Duration

10 years

How much you’ll be paid

£385 per hectare ( ha ) per year

Action’s aim

The action’s aim is to manage in-field agroforestry systems at an agreed density and spacing of trees. The land should eventually have a combination of:

trees funded through CAGF1 to 4, which are called principal trees in your PA4 plan

trees identified on the agroforestry eligible species list

arable or horticultural crops

grassland for forage

areas used for other environmental benefits

Agroforestry is tree planting that’s deliberately combined with agriculture on the same piece of land.

The purpose is to:

reduce soil erosion

improve water and air quality

provide shade and shelter for crops and livestock

create habitats for wildlife and improve biodiversity

reduce flooding

contribute to net zero targets

Where you can do this action

You can only do this action on land this that has an if you have an agroforestry plan agreed by the Forestry Commission . Your agroforestry trees must be identified in the plan and in place before you can do this action.

You can do this action on:

low or high sensitivity land

eligible low-density in-field agroforestry systems

For the purpose of this action, low density means there’s an average of 51 to 130 trees per ha spread evenly across the area you enter into this action in each land parcel.

You should agree tree spacing and density with your Forestry Commission woodland officer as you may need to apply for a forestry environmental impact assessment ( EIA ) – read the  guidance on forestry EIAs for more information.

The in-field agroforestry system must:

contain established trees at any stage of maturity, including newly planted saplings if they’ll be left to become mature trees – fruit trees must be grown on semi-vigorous or vigorous rootstocks, which usually produce trees at least 4m tall

be low density

You can use this action on sites that are not suitable for the equivalent SFI action AGF2: Maintain low density in-field agroforestry on less sensitive land. The standard management activities for AGF2 may not be suitable because:

the land is classed as more ‘sensitive’ – these are identified as white areas on the ‘Land with low sensitivity to agroforestry’ map

the site needs additional actions, supplements or capital items which are only available in Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier

This applies to existing SFI expanded offer for 2024 agreement holders of action AGF2. The SFI 2024 expanded offer is closed for new applications.

You cannot do this agroforestry action on protected sites, including:

sites of special scientific interest ( SSSIs )

Special Areas of Conservation ( SACs )

Special Protection Areas ( SPAs )

Ramsar sites

You also cannot do this action where it would damage any of the following, unless you have approval from Natural England or Forestry Commission:

priority habitats

land recorded as ‘good quality semi-improved grassland’ or ‘no main habitat’ on the Priority Habitat Inventory mapped on the Magic website

protected species

features of archaeological, historic or landscape value

Working on peatland

You cannot do this action on peatland deeper than 30cm or land with more than 30% organic matter.

For land with peat less than 30cm deep, make sure that:

drainage does not affect adjacent deep peat

agroforestry trees do not colonise adjacent deep peat

To avoid this, use a recommended buffer zone if you have deep peat areas next to shallow peat. Read step 5 of the ‘Decision support frameworks’ section of the peatland protection guidance for more information on how to work safely with peatland.

Eligible land

You can do this action on land that’s:

an eligible land type

registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps

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

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

Permanent crops Permanent crops Land use codes for permanent crops

Permanent grassland Permanent grassland PG01

Available area you can enter into this action

Total or part of the available area in the land parcel.

Rotational or static action

This action is static. This means you must do it on the same location each year of the action’s duration.

What to do

Your Natural England adviser or Forestry Commission woodland officer will assess your land. They’ll work with you to adapt and agree the activities you must do to achieve this action’s aim. All mandatory activities will be set out in your agreement document.

To get paid for this action, you must:

have or be establishing trees at an agreed density and spacing pattern

have trees from the agroforestry eligible species list  agroforestry eligible species list  – any other species will need to be approved in advance and may not receive capital funding

agree your tree species with your Natural England adviser or Forestry Commission woodland officer

replace dead trees where necessary, maintaining at least the minimum number of trees for the agreed density banding

protect trees from damage from grazing livestock and pests, such as deer and rabbits

prune and shape the trees once they become established

not cultivate closer than 1.5m to any principal agroforestry tree

manage weeds around the base of establishing trees

The advice you’re given from Natural England or Forestry Commission is specific to your land which means (where relevant) you may also need to establish a buffer if you’re planting trees next to a protected site (for example, site of special scientific interest).

Additional trees to support in-field agroforestry trees

Additional trees are permitted where they support principal funded trees, and must be agreed in your PA4 agroforestry plan.

Additional trees must be planted within 2m of the trees funded through AF1 or AF2. They must not be:

funded through another government scheme

cultivated fruit trees

Additional trees planted in this way are not funded and do not count towards the overall density of your agroforestry system.

When to do it

You must do this action each year of its duration.

Evidence to keep

You must keep evidence to show what you have done to complete this action. If it’s not clear that you have done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, the Rural Payments Agency ( RPA ) may ask for this evidence.

You must supply the evidence if they ask for it, including:

field operations at the parcel level

associated invoices

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.

Some actions or options can only be done on the same area if they’re done at a different time of year to this action.

Scheme Action or option code

SFI26 actions SOH1, CNUM3, CNUM2, CIPM4, CIPM3, BND1, CIPM2, AHW9, CLIG3, CIGL2, CIGL1, PRF4, PRF2, PRF1, UPL10, UPL8, UPL3, UPL2, UPL1, AHW11, AHW10, AHW8, AHW7, AHW6, AHW3, CAHL3, CAHL2, CAHL1, WBD4, WBD3, WBD2, BFS1, CIGL3, CAHL4, BND2, CHRW2, CSAM3, CSAM2, OFC1, OFC2, OFC3, OFC4, OFM1, OFM2, OFM3, OFM4, OFM5, WBD6, WBD7

SFI 2024 actions CSAM1, CSAM2, CSAM3, SOH1, SOH4, CAHL4, CIGL3, BFS1, BFS2, BFS3, BFS4, BFS5, WBD3, WBD4, WBD5, WBD6, WBD7, WBD8, OFC1, OFC2, OFC3, OFC4, OFM1, OFM2, OFM3, OFM4, OFM5, OFA1, OFA6, CAHL1, CAHL2, CAHL3, AHW1, AHW3, AHW6, AHW7, AHW8, AHW9, AHW10, AHW11, AHW12, CMOR1, UPL1, UPL2, UPL3, UPL7, UPL8, UPL9, UPL10, PRF1, PRF2, PRF3, PRF4, CIGL1, CIGL2, CLIG3, CIPM2, CIPM3, CIPM4, CNUM2, CNUM3, CIPM1, CNUM1

SFI 2023 actions SAM1, SAM2, SAM3, MOR1, IPM2, IPM3, IPM4, NUM2, NUM3, AHL1, AHL2, AHL3, IGL1, IGL2, AHL4, IGL3, LIG1, LIG2, IPM1, NUM1

CSHT actions CGS4, CGS21, CGS22, CGS25, CGS26, CUP3, CUP8, CUP9, CUP10, CUP11, CUP12, CUP13, CUP14, CSP13, CSP14, CSP15, CWS1, CWS3, CSP21, CSP20, CSW24, CSW23, CSW15, CSW16, CSW21, CPAC1, CSW7, CSW8, CSW13, CAB18, CAB19, CWT1, CWT2, CAB16, CAB17, CAB2, CAB6, CAB7, CAB10, CAB14, CAB11, CWD3

CS options AB1, AB10, AB11, AB14, AB15, AB16, AB2, AB3, AB6, AB7, AB8, AB9, BE1, BE2, GS1, GS13, GS14, GS2, GS3, GS4, GS5, GS7, GS8, OP1, OP2, OP4, OP5, OR1, OR2, OR3, OR4, OT1, OT2, OT3, OT4, OT6, SW1, SW10, SW13, SW15, SW16, SW2, SW3, SW4, SW5, SW6, SW7, SW8, SW9, UP1, WD3, WT1, WT2

ES options N/A

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

CSHT actions: CGS4, CGS25, CGS26, CWT3, CHRW4

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

SFI  2023 actions: HRW1, HRW2, HRW3

CS  option BE3 (management of hedgerows)

Consents, permissions and licensing requirements

To apply for this action, you’ll need:

an agroforestry plan agreed with your Natural England adviser or Forestry Commission woodland officer

Scheduled Monument Consent from Historic England for any work on scheduled monuments

You may need to:

get a forestry environmental impact assessment ( EIA ) from the Forestry Commission – read the guidance on forestry EIAs for more information

get advice from your Natural England adviser or Forestry Commission woodland officer if you have other archaeological or historic features on your agreement land

apply for a felling licence from the Forestry Commission to carry out some activities in this action

get a screening decision under the agricultural EIA Regulations from Natural England

get a wildlife licence from Natural England if your activities affect a protected species or their habitat

All archaeological and historic features (including scheduled monuments) are identified in your Historic Environment Farm Environment Record ( HEFER ).

If you’re a tenant, it’s your responsibility to check whether your tenancy agreement allows you to complete what’s required in the actions you choose. You may need your landlord’s consent.

Capital grants to support this action

If you need to complete an implementation plan or a feasibility study before you apply, you can apply for capital grants plans funding .

You can also apply for capital items to help you achieve the action’s aims. Your Natural England adviser or Forestry Commission woodland officer will discuss eligible capital items with you.

Advice to help you do this action

The following optional advice may help you to do this action. Your agreement document will set out all the activities you must do.

‘Low density’ means there’s an average of 51 to 130 trees per hectare. Plant the trees evenly across the area you enter into this action.

Planning your agroforestry system

Before you plant in-field agroforestry trees, check the sensitivity of the land you plan to plant on using the SFI Agroforestry data layer . It identifies low sensitivity to agroforestry planting. Anything outside this layer is considered as more sensitive.

You’ll need an approved agroforestry plan before you apply for this action.

It can help you plan:

what types of tree to plant and where

the opportunities and constraints on your holding

which planting pattern best suits the purpose of your trees and your agricultural system – for example, designing a silvoarable system to allow space for arable operations

how you’ll manage the land underneath the trees, particularly if you’re doing other actions on that land

which tree species are best to use with your crops and livestock – for example, if there’ll be competition for light and nutrients

potential benefits of your agroforestry system such as shade, shelter and forage

potential issues such as toxic berries or seeds

the water requirements of your trees and any effects your trees may have on local hydrology

what treeless buffer you may need if you want to plant trees next to a protected site

Tree spacing and planting pattern

Your approved plan will set out:

principal trees on your land that must be maintained during your agreement

planting patterns

Informal and grid planting pattern

Trees can be arranged informally, in grids, or rows provided trees are between 5m and 45m across the action area.

Row or alley pattern

Agroforestry rows can include single or double tree rows with agricultural alleys between 10m and 51m apart, tree to tree.

Double rows can be up to 6m apart. Trees within these rows must be a minimum of 3m apart.

Orchard conversions

You may be able to convert commercial orchards to agroforestry systems if they meet the requirements of CSHT . This may involve removing individual trees or rows of trees to meet the allowed maximum of 400 trees per ha . You will need to agree this with your Forestry Commission woodland officer or Natural England adviser.

Cultivated fruit trees cannot be considered as additional trees.

Your PA4 plan will set out plans for your agroforestry conversion and ongoing management as an integrated agroforestry system.

Agriculture EIAs and Forestry EIAs

Your agroforestry plan will identify if you need a ‘screening decision’ for an Agriculture EIA from Natural England or a Forestry EIA from the Forestry Commission. Read the guidance on forestry EIAs for more information.

Maintaining your agroforestry system

The root system of your trees will usually:

be quite shallow, with the majority of roots in the top 60 centimetres (cm) of the soil

spread beyond the tree’s crown

To help protect the root system, avoid disturbing the soil within a suitable radius from the trees (a ‘root protection area’). For example, this would be a 1.5m radius from the tree for 3m wide strips of planting. Read the Woodland Trust’s guidance on root protection areas for more information.

Activities which could disturb the soil within the root protection area include:

ploughing

harrowing

poaching by grazing livestock

When you prune and shape the trees once they’re established, you may want to consider doing this in a way that means:

competition for light is managed

you can access between the trees with machinery

the trees’ yield of fruit, nuts and forage (as relevant) is optimised

there’s a balanced tree shape and strong branches to support the fruit or nut crop

You can manage your agroforestry system for timber by early pruning and then high pruning later on. This will help you achieve a branch free clear stem of 3m to 5m from the base of the tree, which can improve the quality of timber.

Read guidance on maintaining your agroforestry system .

How to increase biodiversity in your agroforestry system

Your plan will identify ways to increase biodiversity in your agroforestry system. This will include:

a plan for additional trees or regeneration that can be done within your system

pruning plans for trees and shrubs

Agroforestry can benefit integrated pest management by providing habitat for natural predators.

You can also consider planting:

wildflower strips on the areas between the trees

flower rich mixes in the understorey which are left uncut

Eligible land

You can do this action on land that’s:

an eligible land type

registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps

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

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

Permanent crops Permanent crops Land use codes for permanent crops

Permanent grassland Permanent grassland PG01