AHW6

Do not apply pre-harvest desiccants. After harvesting a cereal, oilseed rape, or linseed crop, you must leave the stubble in place until mid-February. During this period, you must not top, graze, or apply post-harvest herbicides, fertilisers, manures, or lime to the stubble area.

This action must be performed annually for the 3-year duration. If the agreement starts too late in the season, you have up to 12 months to begin. The stubble must be maintained until mid-February each year.

You can choose your own methods for this action, provided you adhere to all the mandatory requirements and work towards achieving the action's aim.

You must keep written evidence that land entered into this action is not at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff. You can use the soil management plan produced for CSAM1 or SAM1 to identify this.

You must also 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.

Select land not at risk of soil erosion and avoid fields with persistent weed problems. Spring-sown crops often produce the best stubbles. To maximize environmental benefits, locate stubbles near other habitats, vary stubble height, and consider broadcasting beneficial seeds after harvest.