What the action involves
This action’s aim is that there’s a post-harvest stubble remaining during the autumn, winter, spring and summer months.
The purpose is to provide:
- a winter food source for seed-eating farmland birds
- spring and summer foraging and nesting habitats for other farmland birds, and habitats for other farmland wildlife
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:
- retain stubble and the following regeneration after harvest for an agreed amount of time
- return the stubble to the farm rotation
- submit an annual return to confirm that no stock grazed the stubble
You must not:
- apply pre-harvest crop desiccants
- apply pesticides to the stubble, except herbicides to control problem grass weeds by spraying the affected area from 15 May
- top or graze the stubble
- apply fertilisers, manures or lime
- remove, cut or allow livestock to graze areas in stubble areas where the straw and crown of a crop (stubble) is growing
In the final year of this action’s duration, you must do this action until the end of the winter months or this action’s end date, whichever is earlier.
When to do it
You must do this action each year of its duration.
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
- grazing records
- 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.
- SFI26 — AHW7: £589 per hectare per year, over 3 years
- SFI26 pays the same rate and commits you for 3 years rather than 5.
Where you can do it
You can do this action on eligible land that’s located below the moorland line.
This action is only available on stubble following the harvest of cereals (not maize), oilseed rape and linseed.
The action must not be used:
- following the harvest of maize or sorghum
- on parcels at risk of soil erosion or run-off
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 is rotational. This means you must move its location each year
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.
