GRH10: Lenient grazing supplement

Changes made to this action for SFI26 (compared with the SFI24 version): You can only apply for this supplemental action in the same SFI26 application as base action CLIG3: Manage grassland with very low nutrient inputs.

This supplemental action’s aim is that there’s a sward with a range of shorter and taller grasses.

The purpose of this is to:

• create habitats for spiders and other insects (including grasshoppers and beetles)
• provide spring and summer invertebrate food for birds (such as yellowhammers, reed buntings and skylarks)

What you must do

During the growing season, you must manage the sward in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim. This includes lightly grazing it with cattle, or a combination of cattle and sheep.

You must not cut the area for hay or silage.

When to do it

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

Where you can do it

You can do this supplemental action on eligible land you enter into the base action CLIG3: Manage grassland with very low nutrient inputs. You can only apply for this supplemental action in the same SFI26 application as the base action.

The land parcel must meet one of the following conditions:

• have at least one boundary that’s a hedgerow
• there’s scrub cover close to the parcel (usually around 200 metres away)

Rotational or static

Same as the base action.

Evidence to keep

You must keep evidence to show what you’ve done to complete this action, such as:

• stocking records to show grazing activity at a land parcel level
• field operations at a land parcel level and associated invoices
• photographs or other documentation to show management undertaken

If it’s not clear that you’ve 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.