BFS2: Buffer in-field ponds on arable land

This action’s aim is that there’s a wide grass buffer strip around a pond that:

• has an intact grass sward throughout the year, without tracks and compacted areas
• is left to develop a mix of tussocky grasses, flowering plants and low scrub
• has minimal poaching by livestock

The purpose of this is to:

• protect ponds from nutrient leaching and sediment runoff
• help improve water quality
• provide a habitat for wildlife

What you must do

You must establish and maintain a grass strip around a pond that:

• is at least 10m wide along its entire length and up to 20m wide (on average in each land parcel) – it can be more than 20m wide, but you’ll only be paid for the 20m width
• extends between the pond edge and the edge of the arable land

The grass strip does not need to surround the entire pond. You can choose how much of the pond to buffer.

To establish the grass strip, you must either:

• allow the area to regenerate naturally
• sow the area

Once it’s established, you must manage it in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim.

You must make sure the grass strip is in addition to any regulatory requirements relating to buffer strips.

You must not:

• cut the grass strip, except to prevent scrub from developing on more than half of its area
• cut the strip during the bird breeding season, as birds, nests and eggs are protected by law
• apply fertilisers or manures
• apply pesticides, except for herbicides to weed wipe or spot treat to control injurious weeds, invasive non-native species, or nettles

You can maintain an existing grass strip to get paid for this action if it:

• meets this action’s requirements
• is not already being paid for under another environmental land management scheme option, such as CS option WT2 (buffering in-field ponds and ditches on arable land)

How to do this action

It’s up to you how you do this action, as long as you:

• follow this action’s requirements – these are identified by a ‘must’
• do the action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim

When to do it

You must:

• establish the grass strip within the first 12 months of this action’s duration
• maintain the grass strip throughout each subsequent year of this action’s duration

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
• photographs and other documentation

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.

Other actions or options you can do on the same area as this action You can do the following actions or options on the same area in a land parcel as this action.

Some actions or options can only be done on the same area if they’re done at a different time of year to this action. For example, winter cover followed by a summer companion crop. Read ‘What to do’ and ‘When to do it’ to find out when this action must be done.

Scheme Action or option codes

OFC3, OFC4, OFM4, OFM5, AGF1, AGF2, PRF2, CIPM1, SFI 2024 actions CNUM1, CSAM1

SFI 2023 actions IPM1, NUM1, SAM1

CS options OR3, OR4, OT3, OT4

ES options No ES revenue options

SFI pilot No area-based SFI pilot standards standards

If an action or option cannot be located on the same area, you may be able to do it on a different area in the same land parcel. Read section 6. ‘Eligible land in other funding schemes’ in the SFI scheme information for more details.

You can do the following actions or options on the eligible boundaries of a land parcel entered into this action:

• SFI 2024 actions: CHRW1, CHRW2, CHRW3, BND1, BND2 and WBD2
• SFI 2023 actions: HRW1, HRW2, HRW3
• CS option BE3 (management of hedgerows)
• the introductory level of the SFI pilot hedgerows standard