What the action involves
This action’s 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 is to provide:
- late summer, autumn and winter foraging sites for declining and localised farmland birds, small mammals and pollinator species such as bees and other beneficial insects
- overwinter habitat for insects and seed-eating farmland birds
- summer foraging for declining and localised farmland birds, small mammals and pollinator species such as bees and other beneficial insects
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:
- establish a cereal crop (but not maize or sorghum) each year of your agreement during the spring season between February and April
- retain stubble from harvest until mid-February
- harvest the cereal crop as whole grain silage
- submit an annual return to confirm no stock have grazed the land
You must not apply herbicides, apart from those containing:
- 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’s your responsibility to confirm whether herbicides are approved for use on the affected crop.
You must not:
- top or graze
- apply any insecticides from mid-March until the following harvest
- apply fertiliser, manures or lime to the stubble
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
Where you can do it
You can do this action on eligible land that’s located below the moorland line and identified by you as not being at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff – you must keep evidence of this.
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 or static. This means you can either:
- move the action every year
- keep it at the same 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
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.
