IPM2 - Flower-rich Grass Margins, Blocks, or In-field Strips

IPM2 - Flower-rich Grass Margins, Blocks, or In-field Strips

IPM2 - Flower-rich Grass Margins, Blocks, or In-field Strips

Payment

You’ll receive £798 per hectare per year.

Aim

This action aims to create grass margins, blocks, or in-field strips with flowering plants during the summer into early autumn. This is intended to:

• Encourage natural crop pest predators as part of an IPM approach, particularly if located near cropped areas.
• Provide habitat and foraging sites for invertebrates, including natural crop pest predators, wild pollinators (such as bumblebees, solitary bees, butterflies, and hoverflies), and farmland birds.

Where You Can Do This Action

You can do this action on eligible agricultural land located below the moorland line. The table below sets out what land is eligible for IPM2.

Table 15: Eligible land for IPM2

• Eligible land type: Arable land, including temporary grassland
• Eligible land use code: Arable crops
• Compatible land cover: Arable land
• Eligible land type:
• Eligible land use code: Leguminous and nitrogen-fixing crops
• Compatible land cover: Arable land
• Eligible land type:
• Eligible land use code: FA01
• Compatible land cover: Arable land
• Eligible land type:
• Eligible land use code: TG01
• Compatible land cover: Arable land
• Eligible land type: Permanent crops – horticultural and non-horticultural
• Eligible land use code: Permanent crops
• Compatible land cover: Permanent crops

The glossary (annex C) explains what we mean by land types, land use codes and compatible land covers.

The SFI application service will automatically calculate what area may be eligible for this action in each land parcel. This is called the ‘SFI available area’. You must check this area is an eligible land type. Find out how the SFI available area is calculated in the information on land that’s eligible for the SFI actions (section 4.1.2).

You can apply for this action on either the total SFI available area in each land parcel shown in your SFI application, or part of that area. However, this action is normally intended to be done on part of a land parcel as a margin, block or in-field strip.

For SFI applications submitted on or after 26 March 2024, 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 the guidance on ‘SFI actions with an area limit’ (at the start of section 2) for more information and a list of the ‘limited area’ SFI actions.

This action is rotational. You can do it on the same area of eligible land each year of your 3-year SFI agreement, or you can move the area each year.

You must not enter any area within a land parcel into this action if it contains historic or archaeological features identified in your SFI HEFER. Read the information about historic and archaeological features, including scheduled monuments (section 4.3.2) to find out more about the SFI HEFER.

Other Land Management Actions or Options You Can Do on the Same Area as IPM2

The table below sets out which other SFI actions, CS management options, ES revenue options and SFI pilot standards can be located on the same eligible area within a land parcel as IPM2.

Table 16: Actions or options that can be located on the same area within a land parcel as IPM2

Use the CS grant finder to search for the CS option codes shown above.

The SFI actions for hedgerows (HRW1, HRW2 and HRW3) CS option BE3, and the introductory level of the SFI pilot hedgerows standard can be done on the eligible boundaries of a land parcel entered into IPM2.

If an action or option cannot be located on the same area within a land parcel as IPM2, this is because it’s not an eligible land type, or the activities are incompatible, or you would be paid twice for doing the same activities on the same land. In this case, that area will be automatically removed from the affected land parcel’s SFI available area in your SFI application.

If this is the case, you may be able to do the action on a different area in the same land parcel if:

• it’s an eligible land type for the action or option
• it’s a part-parcel action or option
• the area used for the action or option does not overlap with the area used for IPM2

Read the information about eligibility of land used for other schemes and funding sources (section 4.2) to find out more.

What To Do

You must establish and maintain flower-rich grass margins, blocks or in-field strips on land entered into this action.

To establish the flower-rich grass margins, blocks or in-field strips, you must sow a seed mix containing at least:

• 4 grass species, which must not include ryegrass, with the grass component not exceeding 90% of the total seed mix by weight
• 10 wildflower species, with no individual flower species exceeding 25% of the total wildflower species component by weight

The flower-rich grass margins, blocks or in-field strips will usually be established from the second spring after sowing.

Once established, you must maintain the flower-rich grass margins, blocks or in-field strips, in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve throughout your SFI agreement, this action’s aim.

You must not do the following on the flower-rich margins, blocks or in-field strips once they’re established:

• cut or graze them with livestock in a way that means this action’s aim cannot reasonably be expected to be achieved
• mechanically apply any fertilisers and manures
• use pesticides, except for herbicides to weed wipe or spot treat for the control of injurious weeds, invasive non-native species, nettles or bracken

You can maintain existing flower-rich grass margins, blocks or in-field strips to meet this action, if they:

• meet the requirements explained above
• are not already being paid for under another environmental land management scheme option, such as CS option AB8 (flower rich margins and plots)

When to Do It

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

• establish the flower-rich grass margins, blocks or in-field strips during the first 12 months of your SFI agreement – this may involve a preparatory year to remove weeds before the flower-rich seed mix is sown
• maintain the area of flower-rich margins, blocks or in-field strips in each subsequent year of your 3-year SFI agreement

If you’re rotating this action around your farm, each year of your SFI agreement you must do it for a period of time that could reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim.

How to Do It

It’s up to you how you complete this action, as long as you do it in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim.

You may find it helpful to read the voluntary guidance on how to establish and maintain flower-rich grass margins, blocks, or in-field strips, but you do not have to follow it.

What Evidence to Keep

You should keep evidence to show what you’ve done to complete this action. This will help if it’s not clear that you’ve completed the action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim. You must supply this evidence if we ask for it.

This evidence could include photographs and other documentation to show what you’ve done to complete this action. It could also include field operations at a land parcel level and associated invoices. If you choose to take photographs, read the guidance on how to take photographic evidence (annex A).

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: SFI Handbook for the SFI 2023 Offer