Cover photo: Hugh Venables (CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped) · Source
CSAM2 winter cover crops under SFI26: £129/ha, the 2-family seed mix rule, what counts as well established, early destruction limits and stacking.
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Quick summary
- Code and name: CSAM2 Multi-species winter cover crop, a soil health action in SFI26
- Payment: £129 per hectare per year
- Duration: 3 years, with the cover crop grown each winter
- Land: arable land, temporary grassland, fallow and horticultural permanent crops below the moorland line
- Seed mix: at least 2 species from 2 or more plant families
- Winter cover: well established, usually from early December until late February
- Grazing: allowed, provided the crop stays well established
- Application status: SFI26 is closed on GOV.UK
Application status for 2026
The SFI26 offer is listed on GOV.UK as closed for applications. There were two windows in 2026. The first closed at 11:59pm on 28 August and was for small farms and farms without an existing environmental land management revenue agreement. The second, open to all eligible farmers, ended at 3:48pm on 22 September after the budget was allocated.
This page covers what SFI26 agreement holders must now deliver with CSAM2, and gives planners a clear view of the action. Existing SFI24 and SFI 2023 holders follow their own agreement’s rules.
Payment and the SAM2 connection
CSAM2 pays £129 per hectare per year, paid through quarterly instalments. GOV.UK says no substantive changes were made to this action for SFI26 compared with the SFI24 version, beyond standard wording updates.
SAM2 was the SFI 2023 multi-species winter cover action, and the government’s January 2024 rate table listed it at £129 per hectare, the same figure. CSAM2 is the SFI24 code that continues in SFI26. Every SFI26 agreement is capped at £100,000 a year, with one agreement per business.
Purpose of the cover crop
The aim is a multi-species cover that is well established over winter, sitting between harvest of one cash crop and establishment of the next. It is there to protect the soil surface, give root growth that improves structure, support soil biology and cut nutrient leaching, erosion and runoff.
A cash crop here means anything grown to be harvested for commercial use. The CSAM2 cover must not be harvested as one.
Eligible land
The ground must be below the moorland line, mapped with an eligible land cover and declared with a compatible land use code. Eligible types are:
- Arable land used to grow crops (arable or leguminous and nitrogen-fixing crop codes)
- Temporary grassland (TG01)
- Arable land lying fallow (FA01)
- Horticultural permanent crops (TC01)
SSSIs are eligible, provided you have given notice to Natural England and received consent before you do the action. Historic and archaeological features are eligible once you have an SFI HEFER, but deep-rooted species must be kept off any area with features identified in it. You can enter all or part of a parcel’s available area, and the action can rotate around the farm or stay in one place.
The requirements
- Sow a mix with at least 2 species drawn from 2 or more of these families: brassicas, legumes, cereals or grasses, and herbs
- Establish it early enough that it can reasonably achieve the aim
- Keep it well established through winter: leafy growth protecting the soil, usually from early December until late February, with minimal bare soil
- Grazing is allowed, as long as the cover stays well established
- Do not mechanically apply fertiliser or manure on the established cover
- Do not destroy it before the end of winter, unless you are drilling an early-sown spring crop, and then no more than 6 weeks before that crop goes in
An existing cover can count if it meets the rules and is not paid under another scheme. A cover paid under SOH3 (multi-species summer-sown cover crop) can only be used for CSAM2 if you overseed it. If prolonged bad weather stops the crop establishing, tell the payments agency in writing as soon as possible.
Timing and evidence
The action runs every year of its 3-year term. Where the start date falls too late for that first autumn, you must begin within 12 months. In the final year, keep the cover until the end of winter or the action’s end date, whichever comes first. Under the SFI26 rotational rule, the area you enter in year one is the maximum for years two and three.
Keep parcel-level records of field operations and invoices including the seed mix, plus photographs or other documents, ready to supply on request.
Actions that can go on the same area
CSAM2 can be stacked with more actions than CSAM3 herbal leys can. In SFI26 it includes SOH1 (no-till farming), SOH3, PRF1 (variable rate application of nutrients), PRF2, PRF4, CIPM3, CIPM4 (no use of insecticide on arable and permanent crops), AHW10 (low input harvested cereal crop), AHW5, AHW11, AGF1, AGF2 and several organic actions. SFI24 actions such as CSAM1, CNUM1, CIPM1 and SOH2, and SFI 2023 actions SAM1, NUM1, IPM1, IPM3 and IPM4, are also listed, along with Countryside Stewardship options including AB5, AB11 and AB14.
Hedgerow and boundary actions, for example CHRW2, BND1, BND2 and WBD2, can sit on the field boundaries.
Species and sowing advice
GOV.UK’s optional advice lists example species by family:
- Brassicas: yellow and brown mustard, oil radish, tillage radish, stubble turnip, kale
- Legumes: common and hairy vetch, red, white, alsike, sweet and crimson clover, lucerne, black medick, peas and beans
- Cereals or grasses: Italian ryegrass, festulolium, black oats, forage rye, barley, winter triticale
- Herbs: phacelia, buckwheat, linseed
A varied mix with several families normally does more for the soil. In areas with a shorter growing season, choose species that germinate and grow in cooler weather. Sow into warm soil, usually late summer or early autumn. Drilling is generally more reliable than broadcasting, though broadcasting is cheaper, and rolling a dry seedbed improves seed-to-soil contact, holds moisture and reduces slug risk. How you destroy the cover after winter is up to you, but aim to avoid compaction, poaching, runoff and erosion.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CSAM2 in SFI?
CSAM2 is the multi-species winter cover crop action. It pays you to grow a cover of at least 2 species from 2 or more plant families between cash crops so the soil is protected over winter.
How much does CSAM2 pay under SFI26?
It pays £129 per hectare per year for 3 years. GOV.UK says there were no substantive changes to the action for SFI26.
Is SAM2 the same as CSAM2?
SAM2 was the winter cover action in the SFI 2023 offer and CSAM2 is the SFI24 code used again in SFI26. The rate was £129 per hectare in both cases.
Can I graze a CSAM2 cover crop?
Yes, livestock can graze it, but the cover must still be well established through the winter months with minimal bare soil.
When can I destroy a CSAM2 cover crop?
Not before the end of winter, usually late February, unless you are establishing an early-sown spring crop. In that case you can destroy it no more than 6 weeks before drilling.
Can I put fertiliser or manure on CSAM2?
You must not mechanically apply fertilisers or manures to the established cover crop.
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Source: GOV.UK: CSAM2 Multi-species winter cover crop
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