GRH7: Haymaking 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 action’s aim is that there’s a crop of field-dried hay, grown and harvested, with wildflowers and grasses allowed to flower and set seed.

The purpose of this is to:

• help to conserve plants in traditionally managed hay meadows
• provide pollen and nectar for bees and other insects
• improve water quality
• maintain traditional landscape character

What you must do

You must not graze or cut the sward for a continuous period of at least 8 weeks during the spring and summer months before you harvest the hay crop. This is to allow the sward to develop flowering grasses and wildflowers.

The minimum 8-week period required by this supplemental action replaces the minimum 7-week period in base action CLIG3. This applies to the area of land entered into this supplemental action.

You must allow the flowers and grasses to set seed. This will usually mean you must harvest the hay crop no earlier than:

• late June on land outside the severely disadvantaged areas (SDAs)
• mid-July on land in an SDA, where grass grows more slowly

When you harvest the hay crop, you must:

• in each land parcel, leave an uncut margin around at least half of the edge of the area entered into this action to provide shelter for invertebrates and small mammals
• leave the cut hay crop to field dry, turning it at least once
• remove the hay crop once it is field dry – it can be unwrapped or wrapped

After you’ve removed the hay crop, you must manage the sward in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve the relevant base action’s aim. This will usually be by aftermath grazing or taking a second cut.

When to do it

You must do this action each year of its duration.

Where you can do it

You can do this supplemental action on eligible land you enter into 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.

Rotational or static

This action is rotational or static. This this means that after the first year of this action’s duration you can either:

• move its location around the land entered into the relevant base action for subsequent years of this action’s duration
• do it at the same location each year

Evidence to keep

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

• field operations at a land parcel level and associated invoices
• a grazing activity record if livestock are grazed on the area
• photographs and 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.