Duration

3 years

How much you’ll be paid

£707 per hectare (ha) per year – calculate the hectarage by:

• measuring the length of the buffer strip in metres (m)
• multiplying that length by the relevant width (12m to 24m) to give the area in m²
• dividing that area by 10,000 to convert it into ha

Action’s aim

This action’s aim is that there’s a grass buffer strip on land at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff, which:

• is alongside a watercourse or pond
• has an intact sward throughout the year, without tracks, compacted areas or poaching

The purpose of this is to:

• protect watercourses
• reduce the risk of potential pollutants, such as sediment, pesticides and nutrients, being transported to watercourses in surface water runoff
• provide habitats for wildlife and form links to other habitats
• support an integrated pest management approach if located close to cropped areas

Where you can do this action

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

• identified by you as being at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff – you must keep written evidence of this
• alongside a watercourse (ditch, pond, river or stream)
• 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

Eligible land

Eligibility of protected land

Available area you can enter into this action

Part of the available area in a land parcel.

Rotational or static action

This action is static. This means you must do it at the same location each year of this action’s duration.

What to do

You must establish and maintain a grass strip that’s:

• at least 12m wide and up to 24m wide (on average in each land parcel) – it can be more than 24m wide, but you’ll only be paid for the 24m width
• alongside a ditch, pond, river or stream, to create a buffer between the edge of the crop or fallow land and the watercourse

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

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

During late summer, after the bird breeding season, you must cut part of the grass strip’s width next to the edge of the crop or fallow land. You must do this along as much of the strip’s length as possible. This is to provide some shorter vegetation and a range of habitat types.

You must not do the following on the established grass strip:

• allow livestock to access it
• use it for regular vehicular access, turning or storage (for example, storing bales or machinery)
• 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 Countryside Stewardship (CS) option SW4 (12m to 24m watercourse buffer strip on cultivated land)

When to do it

You must:

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

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 written evidence that land entered into this action is 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.

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.

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.

How and where to establish the grass buffer strip

You can establish the grass buffer strip by either:

• sowing a seed mix
• using natural regeneration

If you’re sowing a seed mix, to help the grass buffer strip to establish you can:

• remove any subsoil compaction to prepare a seedbed (except on land with historic or archaeological features)
• cut regularly in the first 12 to 24 months to encourage the grasses to tiller – try to avoid cutting when the soil is wet as that may cause compaction

This action requires you to locate the grass buffer strip on land that’s:

• identified by you as being at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff – you may find it helpful to do CSAM1 (assess soil, produce a soil management plan and test soil organic matter) to do this
• alongside a watercourse (ditch, pond, river or stream)

To intercept and slow runoff water, you can establish the grass buffer strip across a long, steep slope. Try to minimise the amount of water that is channelled along the edge of the buffer strip.

Maintaining the established grass buffer strip

Once the grass buffer strip is established, this action requires you to maintain it by managing it in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim.

Cutting part of the grass buffer strip’s width

This action requires you to cut part of the grass strip’s width next to the edge of the crop or fallow land during late summer (after the bird breeding season).

It’s up to you how much of the buffer strip’s width you cut. Cutting up to half of the width from the edge of the crop or fallow land can help to provide:

• short grass for birds to forage in (such as grey partridge chicks)
• mid-length grass for species like brown hares
• long, rarely cut tussocky grass to give shelter and nesting places for birds and invertebrates

Remove the cut vegetation (where possible) to limit weeds and reduce the risk of it smothering the flower species. If this is impractical, you can finely chop the vegetation to spread it as thinly as possible.

Controlling weeds

You may need to control weeds when they appear. To control weeds like docks, nettles, thistles and common ragwort, you can cut the affected area, providing there’s still an intact grass sward. This action also allows you to use herbicides to weed wipe or spot treat weeds.