Guides · SFI 2026
Winter evidence for SFI 2026: what to keep between now and March
Winter is when several SFI actions do their work by being left alone: stubble standing, bird food left in the field, a cover crop growing. Being left alone produces no invoice. A dated photo and a line in a notebook are the record, and they take a minute while you are in the field anyway.
What the rules ask for
The scheme rules cover evidence in one short section (12.4). You must keep evidence that shows you've complied with the agreement, including anything your actions ask for, and the rules give field operations and their invoices as the example. You must keep it for at least 7 years from the agreement's end date, and provide it if the RPA asks.
The section does not say what form the evidence takes. Each action's page on GOV.UK lists its own, and the table below summarises them.
How the RPA checks
Section 12.3 lists three ways. A site visit: the RPA tries to agree a date with you, and if that isn't possible gives at least 48 hours' notice in writing. Remote monitoring: aerial photography and satellite imagery, used to check land cover, vegetation and soil erosion risk. Desk checks: asking for supporting evidence and reading it.
Imagery can show a cover crop on a field. It cannot show a seed label, the date a hedge was cut or how often feed was spread. Those are the records worth having to hand.
What has a winter window
14 of the 71 SFI 2026 actions have a dated window that runs through December, January or February. If one is in your agreement, this is its season.
| Action | Winter window | Records to keep |
|---|---|---|
| CHRW2 Manage hedgerows | Cut on rotation (incremental, or every 2–3 years) — outside the nesting season |
|
| CAHL2 Winter bird food on arable and horticultural land | Leave standing to feed birds from late autumn to late winter (~end Feb) |
|
| CIGL2 Winter bird food on improved grassland | Leave the grass to set seed through autumn and winter |
|
| CSAM2 Multi-species winter cover crop | Keep it growing over winter (~Dec–Feb) |
|
| AHW6 Basic overwinter stubble | Leave the stubble standing over winter (harvest to ~mid-Feb) |
|
| AHW7 Enhanced overwinter stubble | Leave the stubble standing from harvest through to mid-summer the following year |
|
| WBD4 Arable reversion to grassland with low fertiliser input | No grazing from early October to mid-March |
|
| WBD2 Manage ditches | Manage the ditch in autumn, winter or early spring (~Sep–late Mar) |
|
| WBD6 Remove livestock from intensive grassland during autumn and winter (outside SDAs) | Remove all livestock for ≥5 continuous months (usually Oct–Mar) |
|
| WBD7 Remove livestock from grassland during autumn and winter (SDAs) | Remove all livestock through autumn and winter (early Oct–mid Mar) |
|
| AHW5 Nesting plots for lapwing | Cultivate the fallow plots by early spring |
|
| AHW8 Whole crop spring cereals and overwinter stubble | Leave the stubble standing over autumn and winter, after the whole-crop harvest |
|
| AHW9 Unharvested cereal headland | Leave the headland unharvested through summer, autumn and winter |
|
| AHW2 Supplementary winter bird food | Spread at least weekly from early December to late April |
|
The windows are a planning guide in FieldBook's words. The action's own page on GOV.UK is the rule, and your agreement document is what you signed.
Four habits that cover most of it
- Photograph the start and the end of a window. A standing crop in December and again in February shows it stood through winter. One photo shows one day.
- Take the photo wide enough to recognise the field. A gateway, a boundary or a skyline does more than a close-up of the crop.
- Keep the seed invoice and the label with the action they belong to. For a home-mixed or farm-saved mix, write down what went in and the date.
- Write the date down on the day. Hedge cutting, the day a cover crop was destroyed, each spread of supplementary feed: the date is the evidence, and it is hard to rebuild in March.
A folder does the job
No rule asks for software. A folder of dated phone photos and a box of invoices meets section 12.4, provided you can still find them 7 years after the agreement ends.
FieldBook is for the finding. A photo or a note is saved with its date, against the action and the parcel you file it under, and the 7-year record downloads as a zip you keep. It never sends anything to the RPA. What you provide, and when, stays with you.
The yearly declaration
Each agreement year you confirm you've complied (section 12.1). The RPA sets the due date, within the last 2 months of the agreement year, and tells you when the declaration is ready in Rural Payments. The winter's records are what let you make it without relying on memory.
Always check GOV.UK before you rely on a rule. This page is not the official source. The wording above is from the SFI26 scheme rules, version 4.0. SFI 2024 and Countryside Stewardship agreements have their own rules, set out in your agreement document.