CAHL2: Winter bird food on arable and horticultural land (updated for SFI26)

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

£648 per hectare ( ha ) per year

Action’s aim

This action’s aim is that there’s an established winter bird food mix growing in blocks or strips, with plants that:

grow and flower during the spring and summer months

set seed to produce a supply of small seeds from late autumn until late winter

The purpose of this is to:

provide food resources for smaller farmland birds, especially in late autumn and winter

encourage flowering plants in the summer, which will benefit insects including bumblebees, solitary bees, butterflies and hoverflies

support an integrated pest management approach if located close to cropped areas

Where you can do this action

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

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

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

Permanent crops – horticultural and non-horticultural Permanent crops TC01

25% limited area action

This is a ‘limited area’ action. The total eligible area you enter into any combination of one or more of the ‘limited area’ actions must not be more than 25% of the total agricultural area of your farm. Read  section 4.5 ‘Limited area SFI actions’  in the SFI26 scheme information for more details (including a list of ‘limited area’ actions).

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

Total or part of the available area in a land parcel. It’s your responsibility to check that the area you enter is eligible for this action.

You must do this action on the area entered into your SFI26 agreement. If something happens which means you cannot complete this action on some or all of the area, you must tell the RPA in writing as soon as possible. Read section 12.2 ‘What to do if you cannot comply with your agreement’ in the SFI26 scheme information to find out how to do this.

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

You must establish a winter bird food mix as a block or strip on land entered into this action.

You must use a seed mix which includes at least 6 small seed-bearing crops, which are suitable for smaller farmland bird species. The mix must not include:

artichokes

reed canary grass

giant and intermediate sorghum

maize

miscanthus

sweet clover

tic beans

If you sow an annual mix, it can include a range of cereals, brassicas or other small-seeded crops. If you sow a 2-year mix, it can also include biennial crops such as kale, stubble turnip or teasel.

Once the winter bird food mix block or strip is established, you must maintain it. To do this, you must manage it in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim.

You must re-establish a 1-year mix annually and 2-year mixes every other year, so they continue to produce an extended supply of small seeds. This can be at the same location or a different location.

You must not use the winter bird food mix block or strip for regular vehicular access, turning or storage (for example, storing bales or machinery).

You can maintain an existing winter bird food mix block or 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 AB9 (winter bird food)

When to do it

You must:

establish the winter bird food mix block or strip in time for it to flower in the first summer after sowing (usually this means by the end of June)

maintain the mix at the same location until late winter (usually around the end of February) in the year after it was sown (for 1-year mixes) or the following year (for 2-year mixes)

If this action’s start date means it’s too late to establish the winter bird food mix, you must establish it within 12 months of your action’s start date.

If you establish the winter bird food mix block or strip after the end of June, you must maintain it at the same location for 2 consecutive winters in order to achieve this action’s aim.

In the final year of this action’s duration, you must do this action either until late winter, 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 evidence to show what you’ve done to complete this action, such as:

field operations at a land parcel level and associated invoices, including details of the seed mix used

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 AGF1, AGF2, CIPM3, CIPM4, OFC3, OFC4, OFC5, OFM4, OFM5, OFM6, PRF1, PRF2, PRF4, SOH1, SOH3

SFI 2024 actions AGF1, AGF2, CIPM1, CIPM3, CIPM4, CNUM1, CSAM1, OFC3, OFC4, OFC5, OFM4, OFM5, OFM6, PRF1, PRF2, PRF4, SOH1, SOH2, SOH3

SFI 2023 actions IPM1, IPM3, IPM4, NUM1, SAM1

CSHT actions from 2025 CAGF1, CAGF2, CAGF3, CAGF4, CHS3, CHS9, CSP13, CSP14, CSP15, CSP20, CSP21, CSP9, CWS1, CWS3

CS options HS3, HS9, OR3, OR4, OR5, OT3, OT4, OT5

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)

Supplemental actions you can apply for with this base action

If you apply for CAHL2, you can also apply for supplemental action AHW2: Supplementary winter bird food in the same SFI26 application.

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 a seed mix

This action explains (under ‘What to do’):

the minimum requirement for small seed-bearing crops in the seed mix

which crops you must not use in the seed mix

you can use an annual mix or 2-year mix – both provide food for a range of farmland birds, such as finches, buntings, sparrows and partridges

Cereal crops you could use include:

spring barley

spring oats

spring rye

spring triticale

spring wheat

red millet

white millet

Brassica crops you could use include:

fodder radish

forage rape

gold of pleasure

kale

mustard

stubble turnip

Your seed supplier can help you choose a seed mix that’s the best match for your land and local conditions.

Where to sow the seed mix

When you establish the winter bird food mix, by law you cannot cultivate or apply fertilisers or pesticides to land within 2 metres (m) of the centre of a hedgerow. Read the guidance on  Hedgerow management rules; buffer strips  to understand how these rules apply to you.

It will usually help if you sow the winter bird food mix block or strips on sites that:

receive plenty of sunlight, to help the plants establish

are weed-free, as a high weed burden will affect crop establishment

are close to nesting, roosting and other farmland bird feeding habitats, where possible

are next to a field edge, but they can extend into the field

are away from buildings to reduce the risk of vermin

You can choose to locate the winter bird food mix blocks or strips to square up cultivated areas which could help to speed up farm operations.

You can use larger blocks or strips (between around 0.4 hectares ( ha ) and 5ha) to:

allow more seeds to remain undiscovered for longer

extend the area’s value well into winter.

How and when to sow the seed mix

Your seed supplier can advise you on an overall sowing rate for the seed mix you choose.

It will usually help the seeds to germinate if you sow the seed mix:

into a seedbed that’s firm, consolidated, fine, level and weed free

when the weather and soil moisture is suitable for the crops in your seed mix – this will usually be between March and June (depending on the crops in your mix)

You can either:

broadcast the seeds onto the surface of the seedbed to help germination

shallow-drill the seeds up to a depth of 1 centimetre (cm) – small seeds usually struggle to germinate when sown deeper than 1cm

After you have sown the seed mix, you can roll the seeds (if the soil is dry enough) to improve:

seed-to-soil contact

retain moisture

reduce the risk of slug damage

Managing the winter bird food blocks or strips during establishment

Around 4 weeks after sowing, it’s advisable to check the block or strip for germination. If establishment is poor, you may need to re-sow part or all the block or strip. Your seed supplier can help you if you’re unsure what to do.

Maintaining established blocks or strips

Once the block or strip is established, this action requires you to to maintain it by managing it in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim.

To help you achieve the action’s aim, you may need to do the following, as necessary:

re-sow the area, so it continues to produce an extended supply of small seeds – an annual mix will need to be re-sown every year and 2-year mixes every other year

apply fertiliser, so the crops grow sufficiently to smother annual weeds and produce a supply of small seeds from late autumn until late winter (usually around mid-February)

control pests, such as flea beetle, slugs, rabbits, corvids and pigeons

control weeds where a high weed burden may cause poor seed production of the sown crops – to avoid damaging the sown crops, you can apply herbicides or remove the weeds by hand

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

Permanent crops – horticultural and non-horticultural Permanent crops TC01