GS6: Management of species-rich grassland

Find out about eligibility and requirements for the management of species-rich grassland option.

From:
Rural Payments Agency and Natural England
Published
2 April 2015
Last updated
4 January 2024 — See all updates
Grant type:
Option
Land use:
Air quality, Grassland and Priority habitats
Tiers or standalone items:
Higher Tier and Mid Tier
Funding (per unit per year):
More than £500

How much will be paid

£646 per hectare (ha)

Where to use this option

It’s available for Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier and Higher Tier on whole and part parcels on grassland priority habitat.

In Mid Tier you can only use this option if it meets the relevant criteria and you have written approval from the Rural Payments Agency (RPA).

The land must also be mapped on the Priority Habitat Inventory (see the MAGIC website) as one of the following.

  • Lowland calcareous grassland
  • Lowland dry acid grassland
  • Lowland meadows
  • Upland hay meadow
  • Purple moor grass
  • Rush pasture

Features that can be included in this option

You can include the following features if they are part of the land, even if they are permanently ineligible for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).

  • Ditches, dykes, drains, rivers or streams that are less than 4 metres (m) wide for the majority of their length in the parcel
  • Temporary water
  • Permanent water less than or equal to 0.1ha (at the discretion of Natural England)
  • Natural unsurfaced roads, tracks, paths and bridleways (as long as you can still carry out the requirements of the option)
  • Bracken
  • Scree, rock outcrops and boulders up to 0.1ha
  • Grazed woodland and scrub that has grass underneath it and that livestock can access (at the discretion of Natural England)
  • Small areas of other habitat types, such as reedbeds, at the discretion of Natural England

These options and supplements can be located on the same area as this option.

How this option will benefit the environment

It will maintain and improve priority grasslands. It will increase the number and frequency of important plant species, with most wildflowers in bloom over the summer. Many other priority species, such as bumblebees, butterflies, birds or bats, will benefit, and buried archaeological features will not be disturbed.

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.

During the spring and early summer, the grassland will have a good cover of flowering grass and wildflower species, including at least 4 high value plants typical of the priority grassland type. The grassland may also contain scattered areas of scrub and/or rushes. Grazing and/or cutting will ensure a variety of plant heights, appropriate for the priority grassland type. Bare ground will be very limited.

By autumn, the sward will vary in height, appropriate for the priority grassland type, with some grasses and wildflowers allowed to go to seed.

Any archaeological or historic features will be protected under a grass and wildflower cover, with a low cover of scrub, bracken or bare ground, and no damage incurred due to machinery use.

Prohibited Activities

To achieve the aims and deliver the environmental benefits, do not carry out any of the following activities:

  • plough, cultivate or re-seed
  • cut between 15 March and 30 June
  • use pesticides, except for herbicides to spot-treat or weed-wipe to control nettles, bracken, injurious weeds or invasive non-native species (weed wiping may not be allowed on some sites – this will be specified in your agreement)
  • harrow, roll, supplementary feed or allow additional scrub or bracken to encroach on historic or archaeological features
  • operate machinery or carry out other activities during the bird breeding season that may disturb breeding birds or damage nests
  • supplementary feed except for the provision of mineral blocks (non-energy based)
  • carry out drainage works, including modifying existing drainage, without the RPA’s written permission before work starts.
  • apply any inorganic fertiliser
  • apply farmyard manure in years when the field is not cut for hay/haylage
  • apply more than 12 tonnes per ha of farmyard manure, or increase the application rate if it is currently less than this

On your annual claim you will be asked to declare that you have not carried out any prohibited activities.

In Mid Tier you can only use this option if it meets the relevant criteria and you have written approval from RPA. Additional aims and prohibited activities may be added to refine the standard requirements, as part of the approval process.

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:

  • manage the grassland by grazing, hay/haylage cutting, or a mixture of both, to maintain or increase the presence and abundance of high value plant species
  • maintain the appropriate plant heights for the priority grassland type, as stated in the additional aims within your agreement
  • exclude livestock for at least 7 weeks before cutting for hay/haylage, and graze the aftermath
  • maintain a continuous grass and wildflower cover, particularly over historic features
  • graze or cut areas of dense rush growth so that stands of soft or hard rush cover 20% or less of the parcel area and are less than 20 centimetres (cm) high by 30 September
  • control undesirable plants, such as nettles, bracken, injurious weeds or invasive non-native species
  • agree all drainage works, including modification to existing drainage, in writing with Natural England before you carry out any work
  • check for breeding birds before operating machinery or carrying out other activities which may disturb breeding birds or damage their nests. The breeding season tends to run from mid-March until mid-July, but it can start earlier and finish later, depending on the species and the weather

You should not:

  • top more than 50% of the total area in any one year

Keeping records

You must send the following with your application.

  • Map of species rich grassland - this can be marked on any map including the Farm Environment Record (FER)

Where there’s 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.

  • Receipted invoices, consents or permissions connected with the work
  • Field operations at the parcel level, including associated invoices
  • a standard soil analysis carried out in the last 5 years, including analysis of organic matter by loss on ignition. The rules for farmers and land managers to prevent water pollution already require farmers and land managers to carry out soil testing on cultivated agricultural land and such test results may be used to meet the record-keeping requirements for this option.
  • A grazing record for any sites grazed
  • Permanent grassland eligibility assessment form (You do not have to use this form. You can use your own document if it gives enough information to meet the requirements.)
  • Photographs showing the extent of scrub or bracken on the site, and on historic or archaeological features
  • Bag returns, if an agreed wildfowl strategy is in place
  • Photographs of the management undertaken

Additional guidance and advice

The following advice is helpful, but they are not requirements for this item.

For successful management, in most cases you will need the following.

  • Appropriate livestock (which will often be cattle), over which you have full control
  • Machinery to carry out management requirements such as hay cutting
  • Consideration of how best to manage associated features such as ditches and scrub

Upland calcareous and other very extensively managed grassland, especially in large parcels, may not be accepted for this option. Such grassland may be eligible for other Higher Tier options, such as GS13 - Management of grassland for target features.

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).

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

Published 2 April 2015
Last updated 4 January 2024 + show all updates

  1. Update to How Much Is Paid

  2. Removed WT3 from the Related Options section.

  3. 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.

  4. 'Air quality' added to Land use.

  5. Option updated for agreements starting 1 January 2022

  6. Same bullet as below also updated to standardise soil testing information.

  7. Under heading “Keeping records”, 3rd bullet about soil analysis corrected to remove “… including analysis of organic matter by loss on ignition.”

  8. The Keeping records section of this page have been updated

  9. The Keeping records section of this page has been updated

  10. Updated for 2017 applications.

  11. Information updated for applications in 2016.

  12. First published.

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