HS9: Restricted depth crop establishment to protect archaeology under an arable rotation
Find out about eligibility and requirements for the restricted depth crop establishment to protect archaeology under an arable rotation option.
How much will be paid
£257 per hectare (ha)
Where to use this option
It’s available for Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier and Higher Tier.
In Mid Tier you can use this option only:
- on Scheduled Monuments on arable land or temporary grassland
- with the written approval of Historic England as confirmed on your Historic Environment FER (HEFER) consultation response
In Higher Tier you can use this option:
- on Scheduled Monuments where approved by Historic England and on historic or archaeological features identified in your HEFER.
Where this option cannot be used
On parcels at risk of soil erosion or runoff, as identified in the Farm Environment Record (FER)
Related Mid Tier options
You can locate these options and supplements on the same area as these.
- AB4 – Skylark plots
- AB7 - Whole crop cereals
- AB10 - Unharvested cereal headland
- AB11 – Cultivated areas for arable plants
- AB14 - Harvested low input cereal
- OP5 - Undersown cereal
- 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 reduces the risk of damage to historic and archaeological features on arable land, particularly where subtle earthwork remains survive.
Maintaining archaeological and historic features will conserve the character of the farm and protect England’s heritage for future generations.
Arable cultivation damages archaeological remains by:
- levelling out earthworks
- cutting through and churning up remains below ground
- eroding protective layers of soil
Using direct drill machinery across earthwork remains reduces the risk of damage to archaeological features.
Cover-cropping techniques can help to avoid damage to soil structure and weed problems which might otherwise build up under a direct drilling regime, by:
- reducing compaction
- limiting erosion
- suppressing weeds
If successful there will be a soil surface with no evidence of:
- erosion
- subsoil (which indicates a deeper cultivation depth)
- freshly disturbed archaeological remains, such as pottery, burnt flint, flint tools, animal and human bone and building stone and tile
There will also be improved soil structure and fewer weeds.
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.
All work involving tillage, soil management, planting and harvesting will go no deeper than 15 centimetres (cm). A direct drill system will used where historic or archaeological earthworks are known to survive.
A sown cover crop will be used for at least one year of the five in agreement.
Prohibited activities
To achieve the aims and deliver the environmental benefits, do not carry out any of the following activities.
- Use equipment trains that are longer than 6 metres (m)
- Grow the following crops on the option area:
- maize
- lucerne
- root and tuber crops (excluding non-harvestable root crops such as grazed fodder beet and forage turnips)
- short rotation coppice
- miscanthus
- Carry out drainage works, including modifying existing drainage, without written permission before work starts
- Locate vehicle or stock access routes within 6m of the feature (existing surfaced tracks can be used)
- Carry out the following field operations to deeper than 15cm:
- tillage
- soil management
- planting
- Harvesting
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:
- one year in every 5 include a sown cover as part of the crop rotation, based on the ‘What to sow’ section below
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.
- A map of existing tracks - you can mark these on any map, including your Farm Environment Record (FER)
- Field operations at the parcel level, including associated invoices
- Consents or permissions connected with the work
- Written approval for the use of this option from Historic England
- Photographs of the management undertaken
Additional guidance and advice
The following advice is helpful, but they are not requirements for this item.
Reduce cultivation depth and compaction
You can reduce cultivation depth through:
- direct drilling
- raising the height of the chisel
- using depth control chains or gauges
- using a GPS depth controller
- increasing the number of discs (14 discs for a 3m width instead of the usual 9)
- using depth wheels with parallelogram mounting
You can reduce compaction by:
- not working in wet soil conditions
- reducing tyre pressure of vehicles travelling on the site to spread the load more evenly
Cover crop: what to sow
A mixture based on the following species will supply overwinter cover and cover into the next year.
- Ryegrass
- Millet
- Triticale
- Red clover
- Crimson clover
- Birdsfoot trefoil
- Phacelia
- Common vetch
- Mustard
Shallow rooting species are preferable. This will prevent damage from plants with a deeper, penetrating root structure like sweet clover.
Cover crop: when to sow
Establish the cover crop quickly to get the most environmental benefits. You can do this by:
- including the cover crop in the preceding crop at harvest time using auto-casting equipment
- sowing the cover crop immediately following harvest in the autumn
Depending on the seed mixture, the cover crop can be broadcast on to the surface and rolled afterwards.
Sow in the autumn and keep until 31 July the following year.
Cover crop: sowing
You are more likely to succeed if you:
- establish the cover crop quickly
- sow mixtures with good frost tolerance
- have good ground cover
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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HS9 option updated
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The Keeping records section has been updated
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Information updated for applications in 2016.
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First published.