OFM3Organic land management – enclosed rough grazing

What it actually is

The upland member of the organic land management family, whose shared shape is on the OFM4 page. This version covers the intakes and allotments of organic hill farms: enclosed parcels smaller than 15 hectares of rough grazing or non-agricultural cover, scrub and bog included, inside a Severely Disadvantaged Area above the moorland line, registered fully organic. The requirement is the family's one requirement: keep the registration and comply with the control body's standards for the three years, certificate valid throughout. Static.

Source: GOV.UK, OFM3 action page, checked 23/08/2026.

What it pays, and what that comes to

The rate is in the panel at the top of this page. Multiplied out:

Source: arithmetic on the payment rate shown at the top of this page, which comes from Tilth's copy of the GOV.UK action catalogue and carries its own last-checked date. The 30 hectares is an illustration.

Is it worth it on your ground?

For an organic hill farm the intakes were meeting the standards anyway, and this collects on them at a rate above both grassland siblings, which recognises what upland organic certification costs relative to what rough ground returns. The parcel-size ceiling does the sorting: under 15 hectares enclosed qualifies here, and the bigger, opener ground is the moorland actions' territory, where the UPL pages and the native breeds supplement SPM5 carry the same farm's story onward.

Source: the payment rate at the top of this page; eligibility from GOV.UK, OFM3 action page, checked 23/08/2026. The judgements are Tilth's own reading rather than scheme guidance.

Does it work, and what makes it work better

This section is what we have found in published sources about the practice this action pays for. It is not scheme guidance, it is not Defra's or the RPA's view, and it adds no requirement beyond what the GOV.UK action page sets out.

The organic evidence, in full on the OFC3 page: one graded assessment, Trade-off between benefit and harms on 7 studies, 55 per cent effectiveness, 52 per cent certainty, 64 per cent harms, with soil life up and yields down, and ungraded catalogues finding organic farms richer in butterflies, moths and pest natural enemies in most comparisons. On rough upland ground with few inputs to remove, the same caveat as the family's other extensive pages applies: expect the measured differences smallest here.

Source: Conservation Evidence, action 895, Enhancing Soil Fertility synopsis, checked 23/08/2026. The fuller accounts are on the OFC3 and OFM4 pages; the caveat is Tilth's own reading.

What you actually have to do

Hold the fully organic registration, comply with the control body's standards throughout, and keep the valid certificate and classification records for the three years. Static: the same parcels each year.

Source: GOV.UK, OFM3 action page, checked 23/08/2026.

Where it can go

Enclosed land parcels of less than 15 hectares, in a severely disadvantaged area above the moorland line, registered fully organic. Two covers qualify: unimproved low input permanent grassland that is rough grazing, under PG01, and non-agricultural areas such as scrub, scree, bracken and bog, under their matching non-agricultural land covers and codes. SSSIs need consent, and a great deal of upland ground is designated: you must give notice to Natural England and get SSSI consent before the Rural Payments Agency offers you an SFI26 agreement. Historic features need an SFI HEFER before you do the action.

Source: GOV.UK, OFM3 action page, checked 24/08/2026.

Things worth watching

This section is Tilth's own reading of where this action is easy to get wrong. It is not scheme guidance, it is not sourced from Defra or the RPA, and none of it adds a requirement beyond what the GOV.UK action page sets out.

Fifteen hectares is per enclosed parcel. A large allotment over the line does not qualify here, and where it belongs instead is a mapping question worth settling with the RPA's parcel data rather than memory.

Enclosed means enclosed. The boundary that makes the parcel is part of the eligibility, and a broken wall that lets the parcel run into the open fell muddies more than the stock.

The moorland actions are neighbours, not rivals. The same organic hill farm can hold this on the intakes and the UPL grazing actions on the moor, with SPM5 riding where the breeds qualify. The whole-farm entry is the unit of design, as everywhere in this family.

Keeping the evidence

Source: evidence requirements, GOV.UK, OFM3 action page, checked 23/08/2026. The suggestion is Tilth's own.

The part only your own ground can answer

Which intakes fall under 15 hectares, and where the wall actually runs, are map questions your parcel data answers. Tilth draws them, which is where this action's eligibility becomes visible before the application is typed. Request an invite.