SW4: 12m to 24m watercourse buffer strip on cultivated land
Find out about eligibility and requirements for the 12m to 24m watercourse buffer strip on cultivated land option.
How much will be paid
£707 per hectare (ha)
Where to use this option
Available for Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier and Higher Tier:
- only on cultivated land identified on the Farm Environment Record (FER) as at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff
- only on land next to ditches, rivers or streams
- to buffer terrestrial sites which are sensitive to atmospheric nitrogen such as priority habitat grassland, heathland, wetland or woodland (as identified on Magic)
Where this option cannot be used
- Overlapping a public right of way (such as a footpath or bridleway)
Related Mid Tier options
The following options can be located on the same area as this option.
- OR3 - Organic conversion - rotational land
- OR4 - Organic conversion - horticulture
- OT3 - Organic land management - rotational land
- OT4 – Organic land management - horticulture
How this option will benefit the environment
It establishes a grass buffer to help reduce the risk of potential pollutants, such as sediment, pesticides and nutrients (mainly phosphate), being transported to watercourses in surface water runoff. It may also provide habitat for wildlife, and form links between other habitats.
Reducing the use of fertilisers close to sensitive habitats will help to reduce concentrations in atmospheric nitrogen and dry deposition at the habitat.
Aims
If you’re selected for a site visit, we will check that delivery of the aims is being met and the prohibited activities have not been carried out. This will ensure the environmental benefits are being delivered.
Throughout the year there will be a 12 to 24 metre (m) wide grass strip. Establish this during the first year and maintain for the period of the agreement. There will be an intact grass sward with no evidence of damage from vehicle or stock access routes.
During late summer, after the bird breeding season, cut the 6m of the buffer strip next to the crop to provide some shorter vegetation.
Prohibited activities
To achieve the aims and deliver the environmental benefits, do not carry out any of the following activities.
- Apply any fertilisers or manures
- Use pesticides, except for herbicides to weed wipe or spot treat injurious weeds, invasive non-native species, nettles or bracken
- Allow livestock access to the strip
- Cut the remainder of the strip (except to control woody growth)
On your annual claim you will be asked to declare that you have not carried out any prohibited activities.
Recommended management
To assist you in achieving the aims and deliver the environmental benefits for this option, we recommend that you use best practice.
- Please refer to Aims, Prohibited activities and Additional guidance and advice
Keeping records
Where there is uncertainty about whether the aims of the options have been delivered, we will take into account any records or evidence you may have kept demonstrating delivery of the aims of the option. This will include any steps you’ve taken to follow the recommended management set out above. It’s your responsibility to keep such records if you want to rely on these to support your claim.
- Field operations at the parcel level, including associated invoices
Additional guidance and advice
The following advice is helpful, but they are not requirements for this item.
How to choose a site
Create the buffer strip adjacent to a watercourse across a long, steep slope, to intercept and slow runoff water before it builds to a damaging flow. Care should be taken to minimise the amount of water that is channelled along the edge of the buffer strip.
For nitrogen sensitive habitats create the buffer strip on farmland adjacent to the sensitive habitat. This will help to reduce build-up of atmospheric nitrogen, which has a negative impact on biodiversity.
How to manage the buffer strip
- Remove any subsoil compaction where required to prepare a seedbed, except on archaeological features
- Control weeds and cut regularly in the first 12 to 24 months of establishment to encourage grasses to tiller
- Avoid cutting when the soil is wet, to prevent compaction
- The buffer strip should remain in place and not be re-sown for the duration of the agreement The buffer strip can be partly covered by a hedge, as long as the hedge is located on land that is eligible for this option.
Using this option on existing buffer strips
This option can be used on buffer strips that are already established, unless they are required or being paid for through another scheme. The buffer strip should be on land that can be cultivated (for example, it cannot be on a very steeply banked strip alongside a boundary). Buffer strips established under Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) can continue to be managed under a new Countryside Stewardship agreement.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
This option can form part of an IPM approach to prevent the establishment of pests, weeds and diseases. If successful, appropriate and within proximity of cropped areas, these may limit the need for the use of Plant Protection Products and enhance wildlife and biodiversity on your holding. Read information on IPM at AHDB (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board) Integrated Pest Management and LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming).
Biodiversity
This option has been identified as being beneficial for biodiversity. All Countryside Stewardship habitat creation, restoration and management options are of great significance for biodiversity recovery, as are the wide range of arable options in the scheme. Capital items and supplements can support this habitat work depending on the holding’s situation and potential.
The connectivity of habitats is also very important and habitat options should be linked wherever possible. Better connectivity will allow wildlife to move/colonise freely to access water, food, shelter and breeding habitat, and will allow natural communities of both animals and plants to adapt in response to environmental and climate change.
Further information
Read Countryside Stewardship: get funding to protect and improve the land you manage to find out more information about Mid Tier and Higher Tier including how to apply.
Updates to this page
Last updated 4 January 2024 + show all updates
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Update to How Much Is Paid
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'How to choose a site' section updated for cover nitrogen sensitive habitats.
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New payment rate from 1 January 2022.
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'Where to use this option' and 'How this option will benefit the environment' sections have been updated. 'Additional guidance and advice' section updated - this option can form part of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to prevent the establishment of pests, weeds and diseases.
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'Air quality' added to Land use.
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Option updated for agreements starting 1 January 2022
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From 1 January 2019, this option cannot be used on land already receiving funding for Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs) declared for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).
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Updated for 2017 applications.
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Information updated for applications in 2016.
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First published.