188体育

Duration

3 years

How much you鈥檒l be paid

拢382 per hectare (ha) per year

Action鈥檚 aim

This action鈥檚 aim is that there鈥檚 an established herbal ley with:

• a mixture of grasses, legumes and herbs or wildflowers to provide varied root structures
• areas of flowering plants from late spring and during summer months

The purpose of this is to:

• produce a high volume of forage with minimal use of inorganic fertiliser
• improve resilience to drought
• help improve and maintain the soil鈥檚 structure, carbon, biology and fertility

Where you can do this action

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

• 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 land use code 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
Improved permanent grassland	Permanent grassland	PG01

Eligibility of protected land

Protected land	Eligibility
Sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs)	Ineligible 鈥� you must not enter any area that鈥檚 designated as an SSSI into this action
Historic and archaeological features	Ineligible 鈥� you must not enter any area with an historic or archaeological feature into this action. This only affects the area where the feature is located in a land parcel. You can apply for this action on the remaining area in the land parcel if it鈥檚 eligible.

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 year of this action鈥檚 rotation
• do it at the same location each year of this action鈥檚 duration

What to do

You must establish an herbal ley with a mixture of grass, legumes and herbs on land entered into this action.

You must use a seed mix which includes all of the following (as a minimum):

• 1 grass species
• 2 legume species
• 2 herb or wildflower species

If you鈥檙e establishing an herbal ley on land identified by you as being at risk of soil erosion or runoff, you must use establishment techniques which minimise the risk of soil erosion or runoff. You can use the soil management plan produced for CSAM1 (or SAM1) to identify this land. See action CSAM1 for more information.

Once the herbal ley is established, you must maintain it. To do this you must manage it in a way, and for a period of time, that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action鈥檚 aim.

You must minimise use of inorganic fertilisers containing nitrogen. Usually, this will be no more than around 40 kilograms (kg) of nitrogen per ha per year.

You must not use the established herbal ley for storage or apply pesticides on it, except:

• for herbicides to weed wipe or spot treat to control injurious weeds, invasive non-native species, or nettles
• to destroy the existing ley to establish a new herbal ley

You can maintain an existing herbal ley to get paid for this action if it:

• meets this action鈥檚 requirements 鈥� you may need to re-sow it to make sure it can reasonably be expected to achieve this action鈥檚 aim
• is not already being paid for under another environmental land management scheme option, such as Countryside Stewardship (CS) option GS4 (legume and herb-rich swards)

When to do it

You must:

• establish the herbal ley by early autumn, within 12 months of this action鈥檚 start date
• maintain the herbal ley at the same location for a period of time that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action鈥檚 aim 鈥� this will usually be until the end of the second summer after sowing
• re-establish the herbal ley by early autumn (either at the same location or a different location) and maintain it until this action鈥檚 end date

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 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, including details of the seed mix used
• 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	OFC1, OFC3, OFM1, OFM4, AGF1, AGF2, CIPM1, CNUM1, PRF1, PRF2, PRF3, CSAM1
SFI 2023 actions	IPM1, NUM1, SAM1
CS options	OR1, OR3, OT1, 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 seed mix聽

This action explains the minimum requirement for species in the seed mix (under 鈥榃hat to do鈥�).

If you want to grow a high-quality herbal ley (which goes beyond the basic requirements of this action), the seed mix will usually include at least:

• 5 grass species, such as cocksfoot, festulolium, meadow fescue, perennial ryegrass, smooth-stalked meadow grass, tall fescue and timothy
• 4 legume species, such as alsike clover, bird鈥檚-foot-trefoil, lucerne, red clover, sainfoin winter vetch and common vetch, and black medickand white cover
• 4 herb species, such as burnet, chicory, ribwort plantain, salad burnet, sheep鈥檚 parsley and yarrow

Try to avoid a mix of festulolium and perennial ryegrass making up more than 70% by weight of the total seed mix.

Your seed supplier can help you choose a seed mix that is the best match for your land, local conditions and how you鈥檒l manage the ley.

Where to establish the herbal leys

When you establish the herbal leys, 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.

How to maintain herbal leys聽

You can maintain herbal leys by grazing them with livestock or cutting them (or both).

To help achieve this action鈥檚 aim, you can rest the herbal leys from grazing or cutting for around at least 5 consecutive weeks between early May and late July. This will allow flowers to open and provide a source of pollen and nectar for insects.

It can take up to 4 years for the roots to grow enough to improve soil structure and fertility.

You may find it helpful to read the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) .