What the action involves
This action’s aim is that there’s an established multi-annual mix of seed-bearing crops and flower species which:
- is growing in blocks or strips
- produces small seeds for farmland birds from late autumn until late winter
- produces areas of pollen and nectar-rich flowering plants during the growing season
The purpose of this is to:
- provide food resources for farmland birds and nectar feeding insects, such as bumble bees, solitary bees, butterflies and hoverflies
- increase biodiversity
- support an integrated pest management approach if located close to cropped areas
What you must do
Your Natural England adviser will assess your land. They’ll work with you to adapt and agree the activities you must do to achieve this action’s aim. All mandatory activities will be set out in your agreement document.
To get paid for this action, you must:
- maintain or establish, blocks or strips of bumblebird mix in the first year of your agreement
- use a seed mix agreed with your Natural England adviser
- re-establish the mixture, if it fails to establish
- maintain the same quantity of bumblebird mix each year of your action’s duration
- top the established mixture from the second spring after sowing (typically this will be mid-February to mid-March)
- re-establish the seed mix in future years to maintain seed and nectar provision (typically this is every two years)
You must not:
- destroy the established mix until mid to late August in the second summer after sowing
- apply pesticides – you may be able to use herbicides to spot-treat or weed-wipe for the control of injurious weeds, invasive non-native plant species, nettles or other plants if this has been agreed with your Natural England adviser
In the final year of this action’s duration, you must do this action until the agreement end date or this action’s end date, whichever is earlier.
When to do it
You must do this action each year of its duration.
It counts toward the 25% limit
This action has a 25% limit on the amount of land that can be entered into a CSHT agreement. The limit will apply to the area of land with limited area actions in CSHT and SFI agreements added together. For example, if you have 10% of land in an SFI limited area action, you can only have 15% of land in a CSHT limited area action.
Read section 3.4: ‘Actions with a limited area’ in the CSHT applicant’s guide for more information.
Evidence to keep
You must keep evidence to show what you have done to complete this action. If it’s not clear that you have done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) may ask for this evidence.
You must supply the evidence if they ask for it, including:
- field operations at a land parcel level
- associated invoices
- photographs
The same action appears in the other schemes under a different code. The work is broadly the same; the rate and the length of the commitment are not.
- SFI 2024 — AHW1: £747 per hectare (ha) per year, over 3 years
Where you can do it
You can do this action on eligible land that’s located below the moorland line.
Eligible land
You can do this action on land that’s:
- an eligible land type
- registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
- declared with a land use code which is compatible with the eligible land cover
Available area
Total or part of the available area in the land parcel.
Rotational or static
This action can be rotational or static. This means you can either:
- move the action when it’s re-established
- keep it at the same location when it’s re-established
Consents and permissions
To apply for this action, you’ll need:
- Scheduled Monument Consent from Historic England for any work on scheduled monuments
- consent from Natural England for any activity on land designated as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI)
You may need to:
- agree an implementation plan or feasibility study with your Natural England adviser
- get advice from your Natural England adviser if you have other historic or archaeological features on your agreement land
- get a wildlife licence from Natural England if your activities affect a protected species or their habitat
All historic and archaeological features (including scheduled monuments) are identified in your Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (HEFER).
If you’re a tenant, it’s your responsibility to check whether your tenancy agreement allows you to complete what’s required in the actions you choose. You may need your landlord’s consent.
Capital grants that support it
If you need to complete an implementation plan or a feasibility study before you apply, you can apply for capital grants plans funding.
You can also apply for capital items to help you achieve the action’s aims. Your Natural England adviser will discuss eligible capital items with you.
