CIGL2: Winter bird food on improved grassland - GOV.UK

Contents

1. Duration
2. How much you’ll be paid
3. Action’s aim
4. Where you can do this action
5. Eligible land
6. Eligibility of protected land
7. Available area you can enter into this action
8. Rotational or static action
9. What to do
10. When to do it
11. How to do it
12. Evidence to keep
13. Other actions or options you can do with this action
14. Advice to help you do this action
15. Maintaining improved grassland to provide winter bird food
16. Where to locate the winter bird food
17. Managing improved grassland to provide winter bird food

This is an action in the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme: expanded offer for 2024. You must read the SFI scheme information to understand the scheme rules and how to apply.

Duration

3 years

How much you’ll be paid

£515 per hectare (ha) per year

Action’s aim

This action’s aim is that there’s improved grassland, which is maintained so it’s left to go to seed during the autumn and winter months.

The purpose of this is to provide winter food for farmland birds.

Where you can do this action

You can do this action on agricultural land located below the moorland line that’s:

• an eligible land type (as defined in section 5.1 ‘Eligible land types for SFI’ in the SFI scheme information)
• registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
• declared with a land use code which is compatible with the eligible land cover

This is a ‘limited area’ action. The total eligible area you enter into any combination of one or more of the ‘limited area’ actions must not be more than 25% of the total agricultural area of your farm. Read section 1.3 ‘SFI actions with a limited area’ in the SFI scheme information for more details (including a list of the ‘limited area’ actions).

Eligible land

Eligibility of protected land

• Land or features with protection: Sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs)
• Eligibility: Eligible – you must get SSSI consent before you do this action (read section 10.3 ‘SSSI consent’ in the SFI scheme information to find out how to do this)
• Land or features with protection: Historic and archaeological features
• Eligibility: Eligible – you must get a SFI HEFER before you do this action (read section 5.6 ‘Land with historic or archaeological features’ in the SFI scheme information to find out how to do this)

Available area you can enter into this action

Part of the available area in a land parcel.

Rotational or static action

This action is rotational or static. This means you can either:

• move its location for the second and third years of this action’s duration
• do it at the same location each year of this action’s duration

What to do

You must maintain improved grassland entered into this action.

To maintain the improved grassland, you must manage it in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim. This includes:

• cutting it for silage or hay in a way that allows it to go to seed
• leaving it un-grazed after the final cut for silage and hay

If you’re already maintaining improved grassland, you can use it 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 (CS) option GS3 (ryegrass seed-set as winter food for birds)

When to do it

If you’re doing this action on the same area of land for its 3-year duration, you must:

• start maintaining the improved grassland within 12 months of this action’s start date
• continue to maintain the area of improved grassland in each subsequent year of this action’s duration

If you’re rotating this action around your farm, each year of this action’s duration you must do the actions for a period of time that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim.

How to do it

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.

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 or 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 with 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.

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

Advice to help you do this action

The following advice may help you to do this action, but it’s not part of this action’s requirements.

Maintaining improved grassland to provide winter bird food

To maintain the improved grassland, this action requires you to manage it in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim. This includes:

• cutting it for silage or hay in a way that allows it to go to seed
• leaving it un-grazed after the final cut for silage and hay

Where to locate the winter bird food

To provide winter bird food, it will help if you use sits with a high cover (for example, at least 50% of the area) of perennial, Italian or hybrid ryegrass.

It will benefit more birds if you have a number of winter bird food areas spaced as evenly as possible across your land. For example, you could space 5 blocks of, for example, at least 0.5 hectares (ha) across 100ha.

You can use a range of locations to provide winter bird food for a wider range of bird species. For example:

• near hedgerows for birds, such as tree sparrows and yellowhammers
• away from hedgerows for open-country birds such as skylarks, corn buntings and grey partridges

If you’re using field edge strips, it’ll usually help if those are at least 10 metres (m) wide and located away from busy roads.

Managing improved grassland to provide winter bird food

Leaving the improved grassland uncut and un-grazed in the summer will help to produce adequate seed during the autumn and winter months.

The timing of when to do this will depend on which ryegrass species dominates the sward. You can usually cut and graze:

• perennial ryegrass until late May
• Italian and hybrid ryegrass until late June

Once cutting or grazing has stopped, try to minimise access by people, animals and vehicles. This will help to avoid the grass being trampled and producing a grass mat, which can make it difficult for the birds to access the seeds.

If you’re leaving the ryegrass in place, you can improve next year’s yield by either:

• harrowing the field, providing it does not contain historic or archaeological features
• cutting the field and removing the cuttings

You can also continue to use fertiliser (where necessary) to help produce a good growth of grass.

Published 21 May 2024 Last updated 5 August 2024 + show all updates

1. 30 July 2024

Where you can do this action - an eligible land type is defined in section 5.1 ‘Eligible land types for SFI’ in the SFI scheme information. Eligibility of protected land - updated link to section 10.3 ‘SSSI consent’ in the SFI scheme information. Other actions or options you can do on the same area - SOH1 added to SFI 2024 actions. Published voluntary advice to help you do this action, but it's not part of this action’s requirements.

1. 21 May 2024

First published.