GRH1: Manage rough grazing for birds

This action’s aim is that there’s rough grassland with:

• a sward that has a range of heights
• areas of very short grass for bird feeding and nesting from the spring
• areas of surface water and wet features during the autumn and winter months
• minimal scrub, bracken and dense rush

The purpose of this is to provide habitats for upland breeding birds and other wildlife.

What you must do

You must manage the grassland by grazing or cutting it in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim.

You must not:

• graze or cut the grassland in a way that means this action’s aim cannot reasonably be achieved
• carry out mechanical activities in a way that may disturb breeding birds or damage nests, as birds, nests and eggs are protected by law
• apply digestate or any other industrial by-product, including paper waste
• apply any fertilisers and manures
• apply pesticides, except for herbicides to weed wipe or spot treat to control injurious weeds, invasive non-native species, or nettles
• carry out supplementary feeding, except for providing non-energy based mineral blocks
• allow areas of scrub to develop on land containing historic or archaeological features
• carry out drainage works or change existing drainage, without written permission before work starts

You can maintain an existing area of rough grazing 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 Countryside Stewardship option UP2 (manage rough grazing for birds)

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

You may find it helpful to read the ‘advice to help you do this action’, but it’s not part of this action’s requirements.

When to do it

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

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

SFI 2024 actions OFC2, OFM2, CIPM1, CNUM1, CSAM1

SFI 2023 actions IPM1, NUM1, SAM1

CS options OR2, OT2, OT6

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 one of the following supplemental actions on land entered into this base action:

• GRH11: Cattle grazing supplement (non-moorland)
• SPM4: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (50- 80%)
• SPM5: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (more than 80%)

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