GRH7: Haymaking supplement
What you must do to get paid for this action and advice on how to do it.
This is an action in the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme: expanded offer for 2024. You must read the SFI scheme information to understand the scheme rules and how to apply.
Duration
3 years
How much you’ll be paid
£157 per hectare (ha) per year
Action’s aim
This action’s aim is that there’s a crop of field-dried hay, grown and harvested, with wildflowers and grasses allowed to flower and set seed.
The purpose of this is to:
- help to conserve plants in traditionally managed hay meadows
- provide pollen and nectar for bees and other insects
- improve water quality
- maintain traditional landscape character
Where you can do this action
You can only do this supplemental action on eligible land entered into the following base actions:
- CLIG3: Manage grassland with very low nutrient inputs (or LIG1 and LIG2 in the SFI 2023 offer)
- GRH6: Manage priority habitat species-rich grassland
You cannot do this supplemental action on land that’s already entered into the following equivalent base actions in a Countryside Stewardship agreement:
- GS2 (permanent grassland with very low inputs – outside SDAs)
- GS5 (permanent grassland with very low inputs – SDAs)
Eligibility of protected land
| Protected land | Eligibility |
|---|---|
| Sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) | Same as your selected base action |
| Historic and archaeological features | Same as your selected base action |
Available area you can enter into this action
Same or less than your selected base action.
Rotational or static action
This action is rotational or static. This this means that after the first year of this action’s duration you can either:
- move its location around the land entered into the relevant base action for subsequent years of this action’s duration
- do it at the same location each year
What to do
You must not graze or cut the sward for a continuous period of at least 8 weeks during the spring and summer months before you harvest the hay crop. This is to allow the sward to develop flowering grasses and wildflowers.
The minimum 8-week period required by this supplemental action replaces the minimum 7-week period in base action CLIG3. This applies to the area of land entered into this supplemental action.
You must allow the flowers and grasses to set seed. This will usually mean you must harvest the hay crop no earlier than:
- late June on land outside the severely disadvantaged areas (SDAs)
- mid-July on land in an SDA, where grass grows more slowly
When you harvest the hay crop, you must:
- in each land parcel, leave an uncut margin around at least half of the edge of the area entered into this action to provide shelter for invertebrates and small mammals
- leave the cut hay crop to field dry, turning it at least once
- remove the hay crop once it is field dry – it can be unwrapped or wrapped
After you’ve removed the hay crop, you must manage the sward in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve the relevant base action’s aim. This will usually be by aftermath grazing or taking a second cut.
When to do it
You must do this action each year of its 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 evidence to show what you’ve done to complete this action, such as:
- field operations at a land parcel level and associated invoices
- a grazing activity record if livestock are grazed on the area
- photographs and other documentation to show management undertaken
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.
| Scheme | Action or option codes |
|---|---|
| SFI actions | Same as your selected base action |
| CS options | Same as your selected base action |
| ES options | Same as your selected base action |
| SFI pilot standards | Same as your selected base action |
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.
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 to make field-dried hay
Check your field for signs of nesting birds before you harvest the hay crop. Birds, nests and eggs are protected by law, so if you see signs of nesting birds, delay cutting until the birds fledge.
If the weather is wet, you can harvest the hay crop later.
When you leave the cut hay crop to field dry, try to let the swath wilt (which may take around 48 hours, depending on the weather) and then turn it over. This will allow some wildflower seeds to return to the meadow.
Managing hay meadows
If you manage the grassland by only cutting it, there will be a consistent sward height and structure. Grazing with cattle can help maintain a range of vegetation heights.
You can use aftermath grazing (from late summer until autumn) to add variety to the sward and improve hay meadow biodiversity. This will usually start around 6 weeks after you’ve cut the hay crop, but this timing will depend on the:
- growing season
- ground conditions
You can also graze during the following spring, unless your meadow has early flowering plants (such as cowslips and bluebells).
To help prevent damage from poaching, you can remove the livestock when the:
- average sward height becomes very short (below around 5 centimetres)
- ground is too wet
Updates to this page
Last updated 5 August 2024 + show all updates
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Duration - 3 years instead of ‘same as base action’. Where you can do this action - added LIG1, LIG2 and GRH6 as base actions. You cannot do this supplemental action on land in GS2 and GS5. Eligibility of protected land - added ‘your selected’ in relation to the base action. Available area - added ‘your selected’ in relation to the base action. What to do - the minimum 8-week period required by this supplemental action replaces the minimum 7-week period in base action CLIG3. This applies to the area of land entered into this supplemental action. Removed requirement to graze with livestock or take a second cut after you’ve removed the hay crop. Instead, you must manage the sward in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve the relevant base action’s aim. This will usually be by aftermath grazing or taking a second cut. Other actions or options you can do on the same area - added ‘your selected’ in relation to the base action. Published voluntary advice to help you do this action, but it's not part of this action’s requirements.
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First published.