IPM3 - Companion Crop on Arable and Horticultural Land

Payment

You’ll receive £55 per hectare per year.

Aim

This action aims to ensure you establish a companion crop for one or more of the following purposes:

• Support an IPM approach by acting as a trap crop or suppressing weeds.
• Provide habitat for birds and invertebrates, including pollinators and natural crop pest predators.
• Manage nutrient efficiency.
• Protect soil and improve its condition.

Where You Can Do This Action

You can do this action on eligible agricultural land located below the moorland line. The table below sets out what land is eligible for IPM3.

Table 17: Eligible land for IPM3

Eligible land type	Eligible land use code	Compatible land cover
Arable land, including temporary grassland	Arable crops	Arable land
	Leguminous and nitrogen-fixing crops	Arable land
	FA01	Arable land
	TG01	Arable land
Permanent crops – horticultural	TC01	Permanent crops

The glossary (annex C) explains what we mean by land types, land use codes and compatible land covers.

The SFI application service will automatically calculate what area may be eligible for this action in each land parcel. This is called the ‘SFI available area’. You must check this area is an eligible land type. Find out how the SFI available area is calculated in the information on land that’s eligible for the SFI actions (section 4.1.2).

You can apply for this action on either the total SFI available area in each land parcel shown in your SFI application, or part of that area.

This action is rotational. You can do it on the same area of eligible land each year of your 3-year SFI agreement, or you can move the area each year.

Other Land Management Actions or Options You Can Do on the Same Area as IPM3

The table below sets out which other SFI actions, CS management options, ES revenue options and SFI pilot standards can be located on the same eligible area within a land parcel as IPM3.

Table 18: Actions or options that can be located on the same area within a land parcel as IPM3

Scheme	Action or option codes that can be located on the same area as IPM3
SFI 2023	SAM1, SAM2 (only if IPM3 is done during the summer months), IPM1, IPM4, NUM1, AHL2 (only if IPM3 is done during the summer months)
CS	HS3, HS9, OP1, OR3, OR4, OR5, OT3, OT4, OT5, SW17
ES	No ES revenue options
SFI pilot	SFI pilot arable and horticultural soils standard – all levels

Use the CS grant finder to search for the CS option codes shown above.

The SFI actions for hedgerows (HRW1, HRW2 and HRW3), CS option BE3 and the introductory level of the hedgerows standard can be done on the eligible boundaries of a land parcel entered into IPM3.

If an action or option cannot be located on the same area within a land parcel as IPM3, this is because it’s not an eligible land type, or the activities are incompatible, or you would be paid twice for doing the same activities on the same land. In this case, that area will be automatically removed from the affected land parcel’s SFI available area in your SFI application.

If this is the case, you may be able to do the action on a different area in the same land parcel if:

• it’s an eligible land type for the action or option
• it’s a part-parcel action or option
• the area used for the action or option does not overlap with the area used for IPM3

Read the information about eligibility of land used for other schemes and funding sources (section 4.2) to find out more.

What To Do

You must establish the companion crop on land entered into this action, so it’s growing with the main arable or horticultural crop.

The companion crop does not have to be present for the full growing period of the arable or horticultural crop, as long as it’s managed in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve the action’s aim and its intended purpose.

You can establish the companion crop by:

• trap cropping – sowing a trap crop to attract crop pests away from the main arable or horticultural crop
• inter-cropping – sowing the companion crop with the main arable or horticultural crop
• undersowing – sowing a companion crop to form a living mulch beneath the arable or horticultural crop

You must avoid growing deep rooted species of companion crop on any area within a land parcel that contains historic or archaeological features identified in your SFI HEFER. Read the information about historic and archaeological features, including scheduled monuments (section 4.3.2) to find out more about the SFI HEFER.

If you’re doing this action on land with peaty soil, you should not use legumes as the companion crop, because this could damage the peat. Peaty soil means there’s around 20% or more organic matter to a depth of 40cm or more. The SOM test results from completing SAM1 will tell you if this is the case.

If you’ve already established a companion crop, so it’s growing with the main arable or horticultural crop, you can use it to meet this action. This is only possible if it meets the requirements explained above.

When to Do It

You must do this action each year of your 3-year SFI agreement.

If your SFI agreement starts too late for you to complete this action, you can complete it within 12 months of your agreement’s start date.

For example, if you’ve already sown the main arable or horticultural crop before your SFI agreement starts, you can establish the companion crop within the first 12 months of your agreement.

How to Do It

It’s up to you how you complete this action, as long as you do it in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim.

You may find it helpful to read the voluntary guidance on how to establish a companion crop on arable and horticultural land, but you do not have to follow it.

What Evidence to Keep

You should keep evidence to show what you’ve done to complete this action. This will help if it’s not clear that you’ve completed the action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim. You must supply this evidence if we ask for it.

This evidence could include photographs and other documentation to show what you’ve done to complete this action. It could also include field operations at a land parcel level and associated invoices. If you choose to take photographs, read the guidance on how to take photographic evidence (annex A).

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: SFI Handbook for the SFI 2023 Offer