AB16: Autumn sown bumblebird mix
Find out about eligibility and requirements for the autumn sown bumblebird mix option.
How much will be paid
£747 per hectare (ha).
Where to use this option
It’s available for Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier and Higher Tier, on whole or part parcels in rotation on:
- arable land
- temporary grassland
- bush orchards
Related Mid Tier options
You can locate the following options and supplements on the same area as this option.
- OR3 – Organic conversion – rotational land
- OR4 – Organic conversion – horticulture
- OR5 – Organic conversion – top fruit
- OT3 – Organic land management – rotational land
- OT4 – Organic land management – horticulture
- OT5 – Organic land management – top fruit
How this option will benefit the environment
It provides important food resources for farmland birds, such as tree sparrow and corn bunting, and a range of nectar feeding insects, including butterflies, solitary bees, hoverflies and bumblebees, on arable and mixed farms.
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.
In late summer, after harvest, a seed mix containing at least 6 flower species and 6 seed-bearing crops (with seed mixes containing a maximum of 3 cereal crops from barley, oats, rye, triticale and wheat) will be establishing. The blocks or strips will be at least 6 metres (m) wide and between 0.4ha and 5ha in size.
During the growing season there will be an abundant supply of pollen and nectar-rich flowers.
In the second spring after sowing, the plot will be topped before mid-March to promote further legume flowering. Retain the plot until mid-august in the second summer after sowing.
The mixture will be re-established every 2 years to maintain seed and flower provision.
Prohibited activities
To achieve the aims and deliver the environmental benefits, do not carry out any of the following activities:
- None
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.
We recommend that you:
- in year 1 and year 3 of your agreement, sow a seed mix containing a minimum of 6 flower species and 6 seed-bearing crops, as soon as possible after harvest and before 15 September
- re-sow autumn sown bumblebird mix plots that fail to establish
For advice on what to sow and re-sow refer to the Additional guidance and advice section.
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
- Photographs of the blocks or strips
Additional guidance and advice
The following advice is helpful but they are not requirements for this item.
Pick the right location
This option works well on most soil types and, as with conventional crops, there will be more seeds and flowers produced where you locate it on better ground. Ideally, pick sheltered sites that face south or west for maximum benefits to pollinators.
It also works on heavier soils where spring-sowing of winter bird food plots is difficult.
Avoid sites with high weed burdens to reduce competition from aggressive weeds such as thistles, blackgrass and sterile brome.
Size of blocks or plots
Sow larger plots as they are easier to manage and provide food for seed-eating farmland birds longer into the winter. Creating wider, bigger blocks also helps insects to move to safety when neighbouring crops are treated.
What to sow
Sow a mixture in the autumn based on the example below and keep for 2 years before re-establishment.
| Crop | kg/ha | Flower species | kg/ha |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter triticale | 20 | Alsike clover | 0.6 |
| Winter wheat | 20 | Bird’s-foot trefoil | 0.6 |
| Fodder radish | 1 | Common vetch | 4 |
| Gold of pleasure | 2 | Crimson clover | 3 |
| Kale | 2 | Lucerne | 0.6 |
| Winter linseed | 5 | Phacelia | 0.6 |
| Red clover | 0.6 | ||
| Total | 50kg/ha | Total | 10kg/ha |
When to sow
Establish the mixture as soon as possible after harvest in year 1 and year 3 of the agreement (ideally by 1 September).
Plots can receive 50kg per ha of nitrogen in the first spring after establishment to help increase seed production in the following winter.
When to cut
Cut a few centimetres below the tops of the flowering plants in the spring of the second year to remove any overwinter seed plants. This allows flowering plants to develop with less competition.
The aim of this option is to provide an abundant supply of small seeds and an abundant supply of pollen and nectar-rich flowers, and this cannot be achieved if the option area is grazed.
Return the area to crop rotation
The option area returns to the farm rotation on 15 August, which allows time to incorporate any legume biomass for healthier soils before drilling the next crop.
If a following spring crop is planned, the legume mix can be left in the ground until January, February or March of the crop sowing year to maximise the nutrient and soil conditioning benefits of the sown bumblebird plants.
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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New payment rate from 1 January 2022
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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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Option updated for agreements starting from 1 January 2022.
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The Requirements, Keeping records and Advice and suggestions for how to carry out this option sections were updated yesterday
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This page has been updated
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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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Information updated for applications in 2016.
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First published.