188体育

Duration

3 years

How much you鈥檒l be paid

拢596 per hectare (ha) per year

Action鈥檚 aim

This action鈥檚 aim is that:

• a spring cereal crop is harvested as whole crop silage (grain and straw together)
• the stubble is left over the autumn and winter months

The purpose of this is to provide:

• late summer, autumn and winter foraging sites for declining and localised farmland birds, small mammals and pollinator species
• overwinter habitat for insects and seed-eating farmland birds

Where you can do this action

You can do this action on agricultural land located below the moorland line that鈥檚:

• identified by you as not being a risk of soil erosion or runoff 鈥� you must keep evidence of this
• an eligible land type (as defined in section 5.1 鈥楨ligible land types for SFI鈥� in the SFI scheme information)
• registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
• declared with a which is compatible with the eligible land cover

Eligible land

Eligible land type	Eligible land cover	Compatible land use code
Arable land used to grow crops	Arable land	Land use codes for arable crops or leguminous and nitrogen-fixing crops
Temporary grassland	Arable land	TG01
Arable land lying fallow	Arable land	FA01

Eligibility of protected land

Protected land	Eligibility
Sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs)	Eligible 鈥� you must get SSSI consent before you do this action (read section 10.3 鈥�SSSI 肠辞苍蝉别苍迟鈥� in the SFI scheme information to find out how to do this)
Historic and archaeological features	Eligible 鈥� you must get a SFI HEFER before you do this action (read section 5.6聽鈥楲and with historic or archaeological features鈥� in the SFI scheme information to find out how to do this)

Available area you can enter into this action

Total or part of the available area in a land parcel.

Rotational or static action

This action is rotational or static. This means you can either:

• move its location for the second and third years of this action鈥檚 duration
• do it at the same location each year of this action鈥檚 duration

What to do

You must:

• establish a spring cereal crop (not maize or sorghum)
• harvest the cereal crop as whole crop silage
• remove the grain and straw from the land
• after harvest, leave the stubble over the autumn and winter months

As long as this action鈥檚 aim can reasonably be expected to be achieved, you can:

• undersow a seed mix into the spring cereal crop
• use a blend or mix of cereals

You must not apply insecticides to the spring cereal crop after around mid-March, until it鈥檚 harvested.

You must not do the following on the stubble area:

• top or graze it
• apply any fertilisers, manures or lime

You must not apply herbicides to the area entered into this action, apart from those containing the following permitted active ingredients:

• amidosulfuron
• clodinafop-propargyl
• fenoxaprop-P-ethyl
• pinoxaden
• tri-allate

It may not be possible for you to use these permitted active ingredients on all eligible crops. It鈥檚 your responsibility to confirm whether herbicides are approved for use on the affected crop.

You can use an existing spring cereal crop to get paid for this action if it:

• meets this action鈥檚 requirements
• is not already being paid for under another environmental land management scheme action or option, such as Countryside Stewardship (CS) option AB7 (whole crop cereals)

When to do it

You must do this action each year of its 3-year duration.

If this action鈥檚 start date means it鈥檚 too late to establish the cereal crop, you must sow it within 12 months of this action鈥檚 start date.

In the final year of this action鈥檚 duration, you must do this action until the end of the winter months or this action鈥檚 end date, whichever is earlier.

How to do it

It鈥檚 up to you how you do this action, as long as you:

• follow this action鈥檚 requirements 鈥� these are identified by a 鈥榤ust鈥�
• do the action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve this action鈥檚 aim

You may find it helpful to read the 鈥榓dvice to help you do this action鈥�, but it鈥檚 not part of this action鈥檚 requirements.

Evidence to keep

You must keep written evidence that land entered into this action is not at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff. You can use the soil management plan produced for CSAM1 or SAM1 to identify this.

You must also keep evidence to show what you鈥檝e done to complete this action, such as:

• field operations at a land parcel level and associated invoices
• photographs or other documentation

If it鈥檚 not clear that you鈥檝e 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.

Other actions or options you can do on the same area as this action

You can do the following actions or options on the same area in a land parcel as this action.

Some actions or options can only be done on the same area if they鈥檙e done at a different time of year to this action. For example, winter cover followed by a summer companion crop. Read 鈥榃hat to do鈥� and 鈥榃hen to do it鈥� to find out when this action must be done.

Scheme	Action or option codes
SFI 2024 actions	OFC3, OFM4, AGF1, AGF2, PRF1, PRF2, PRF3, PRF4, SOH1, CIPM1, CNUM1, CSAM1
SFI 2023 actions	IPM1, NUM1, SAM1
CS options	HS3, HS9, SW5, OR3, OT3
ES options	No ES revenue options
SFI pilot standards	No area-based SFI pilot standards

If an action or option cannot be located on the same area, you may be able to do it on a different area in the same land parcel. Read section 6 鈥楨ligible land in other funding schemes鈥� in the SFI scheme information for more details.

You can do the following actions or options on the eligible boundaries of a land parcel entered into this action:

• SFI 2024 actions: CHRW1, CHRW2, CHRW3, BND1, BND2 and WBD2
• SFI 2023 actions: HRW1, HRW2, HRW3
• CS option BE3 (management of hedgerows)
• the introductory level of the SFI pilot hedgerows standard

Advice to help you do this action

The following advice may help you to do this action, but it鈥檚 not part of this action鈥檚 requirements.

Choosing a spring cereal crop

It鈥檚 up to you which spring cereal crop (not maize or sorghum) to use for this action.

If you鈥檙e undersowing a seed mix into the spring cereal crop, you can sow it either:

• at the same time as the spring cereal crop, using a mix of cereal and companion crops (including pulse crops, such as field beans, lupins and combining peas)
• as a separate pass into the spring cereal crop

Undersowing the spring cereal crop with a flowering companion crop mix can provide flower and insect-rich foraging habitat for farmland birds and pollinator species.

If you鈥檙e using a blend or mix of cereals, it can include crops such as:

• barley
• oats
• red millet
• rye
• triticale
• wheat
• white millet

Choosing the right location

When you establish the spring cereal crop, by law you cannot cultivate or apply fertilisers or pesticides to land within 2m of the centre of a hedgerow. Read the guidance on Hedgerow management rules; buffer strips to understand how these rules apply to you.

You can do this action on most soil types, but it will usually work best on lighter, chalky and sandy free-draining soils that support spring cropping.

You can leave unmanaged overwinter stubbles across a whole field or a strip, if the land has been identified by you as not being at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff. You can do CSAM1 (assess soil, produce a soil management plan and test soil organic matter) to help you identify this.

You can have several areas of stubbles spread across your farm to link non-crop habitats (such as hedgerows, ponds and field margins). This can help wildlife to move between these habitats, especially in large fields (for example, over 20 hectares (ha)).

How to increase environmental benefits from the stubbles

You can manage your stubbles to deliver enhanced outcomes for soil health, water quality and wildlife.

Sowing a herbal ley or mix of flowering plants and grasses before (by undersowing) or after harvest can deliver:

• late season pollen and nectar for wild pollinators
• food and shelter for farmland birds聽over winter
• soil health and water quality benefits by reducing the risk of erosion and run-off

Try not to sow herbal leys, cover crops and other seed mixes in areas of fields known to support rare arable plants.

Other ways to enhance stubbles for farm wildlife include:

• carrying out winter supplementary feeding for farmland birds next to areas of winter bird food
• managing your preceding crop with less inorganic nitrogen fertiliser and fewer herbicides
• varying the height of the stubble by raising and lowering the combine header at harvest