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Nutrient management
CNUM2 — Legumes on improved grassland
£102 / ha / year3-year agreement
Action’s aim
This action’s aim is that there are legumes growing from spring until early autumn.
The purpose of this is to:
- manage nutrient efficiency
- protect the soil surface
- provide root growth that maintains soil structure, supports soil biology, and minimise nutrient leaching, soil erosion and runoff
- support an integrated pest management approach if located close to cropped areas
Where you can do this
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 type | Eligible land cover | Compatible land use code |
Temporary grassland | Arable land | TG01 |
Improved permanent grassland | Permanent grassland | PG01 |
What to do
You must establish and maintain legumes on improved grassland entered into this action.
You can use one or more type of legume, such as:
- red clover
- white clover
- alsike clover
- sainfoin
- lucerne
- bird’s foot trefoil
You can establish the legumes by:
- adding them to an existing grass sward
- sowing a mix of grass and legumes
Once established, you must maintain the legumes. To do this, you must manage them in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim.
You can maintain existing areas of legumes on improved grassland to get paid this action if they:
- meet this action’s requirements
- are not already being for under another environmental land management scheme option, such as CS option GS4 (legume and herb-rich swards)
When to do it
If you’re doing this action on the same area of land for this action’s 3-year duration, you must:
- establish the legumes within 12 months of this action’s start date
- maintain the area of legumes in each subsequent year of this action’s duration
If you’re rotating this action around your farm, each year of your SFI agreement you must do it for a period of time that could reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim.
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
- 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.
Advice
Optional advice for CNUM2: Legumes on improved grassland .
Can be combined with
Want to know if this actually applies to your farm, and roughly what it’d be worth alongside everything else you’re eligible for?
Get your planVerbatim from GOV.UK’s SFI26 actions guidance. Estimates are based on published rates, not a guarantee of payment — see our disclaimer.
