UPL9: Shepherding livestock on moorland (remove stock for at least 6 months)
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
£45 per hectare (ha) per year
Action’s aim
This action’s aim is that livestock grazing on moorland is managed to avoid impacting habitats which are sensitive to damage from grazing, wherever possible.
The purpose of this is to:
- protect and improve habitats for birds, mammals and insects
- reduce bare ground and soil erosion
- improve water quality
- protect historic and archaeological features
Where you can do this action
You can do this action on land located above the moorland line that’s:
- an eligible land type (as defined in section 5.1 ‘Eligible land types for SFI’ in the SFI scheme information)
- registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
- declared with a land use code which is compatible with the eligible land cover
If a land parcel is located above and below the moorland line, you can enter it into this action if:
- most of the area is above the moorland line
- it’s managed as one grazing unit with adjacent land parcels located above the moorland line
Farmyards or land used for turf or peat production are not eligible for this action.
Eligible land
| Eligible land type | Eligible land cover | Compatible land use code |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent grassland | Permanent grassland | PG01 |
| Non-agricultural areas, such as scrub, scree, bracken or bog | Relevant non-agricultural land cover, such as scrub, scree, bracken or bog | Relevant non-agricultural land use code to match land cover |
Eligibility of protected land
| Land or features with protection | Eligibility |
|---|---|
| Sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) | Eligible – you must get SSSI consent before you do this action. Read section 10.3 ‘SSSI consent’ in the SFI scheme information to find out about: - what it’s advisable for you to do before you apply for this action on SSSI land - how to give notice to Natural England to get SSSI consent - what stocking and shepherding information you need to provide with your SSSI notice |
| Historic and archaeological features | Eligible – you must get a SFI HEFER before you do this action (read section 5.6 ‘Land with historic or archaeological features’ in the SFI scheme information to find out how to do this) |
Available area you enter into this action
Total available area in a land parcel.
Rotational or static action
This action is static. This means you must do it at the same location each year of this action’s duration.
What to do
You must remove all livestock, except resident ponies, from land entered into this action for at least 6 consecutive calendar months.
‘Resident ponies’ means ponies which are traditionally kept on the moorland, such as Dartmoor and Exmoor ponies.
When the livestock are on the moorland, you must take reasonable steps to minimise their access to ‘sensitive features’ by:
- shepherding or herding them away
- using temporary fencing if that’s possible
Sensitive features are areas on the moorland that can easily be damaged by grazing or poaching caused by livestock. They include:
- bare ground, peat soils, gullies and steep slopes
- vegetation on wet peaty areas – such as blanket bog, wet heath, upland flushes, fens and swamps
- woody vegetation – such as fragmented heath, mountain heath and willow scrub, dry heath, long degenerate heather, deciduous woodland, and scrub
- grassy vegetation – such as upland calcareous grassland, limestone pavement, purple moor-grass, rush pasture and Calaminarian grassland
- historic or archaeological features, including scheduled monuments – these are identified on your SFI HEFER
You must not carry out supplementary feeding of livestock on land entered into this action, apart from mineral licks. If you provide mineral licks, you must locate them on areas away from sensitive features.
At the start of each year of this action’s duration, you must produce a written stocking and shepherding calendar for each land parcel entered into this action.
The stocking and shepherding calendar must show how you plan to meet this action’s requirements, including:
- land parcel reference number and hectarage
- all the sensitive features you’ve identified in each land parcel – you can use the moorland survey completed for MOR1 or CMOR1 to show this, if it identifies sensitive features
- monthly numbers of livestock which will graze the land parcel, including their type and age bracket
- dates you plan to remove livestock and return them to the moorland
- shepherding or herding activities you plan to carry out when the livestock are on the moorland to avoid damaging the identified sensitive features
If you manage several adjacent land parcels as one grazing unit, you can keep one stocking and shepherding calendar for that grazing unit. You must include all the land parcel reference numbers which comprise that grazing unit.
When to do it
You must do this action from its start date, throughout each year of its 3-year 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 the required written stocking and shepherding record and supply this evidence if we ask for it. It can be recorded on paper or electronically.
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 2024 actions | HEF5, UPL1, UPL2, UPL3, CMOR1 |
| SFI 2023 actions | MOR1 |
| CS options | HS4 |
| ES options | No ES revenue options |
| SFI pilot standards | No area-based SFI pilot standards |
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.
You can do one of the following supplemental actions on land entered into this action:
- SPM4: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (50-80%)
- SPM5: Keep native breeds on extensively managed habitats supplement (more than 80%)
You can do the following actions or options on the eligible boundaries of a land parcel entered into this action:
- SFI 2024 actions: CHRW1, CHRW2, CHRW3, BND1, BND2 and WBD2
- SFI 2023 actions: HRW1, HRW2, HRW3
- CS option BE3 (management of hedgerows)
- the introductory level of the SFI pilot hedgerows standard
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 plan your shepherding or herding activities
This action requires you to take reasonable steps to minimise your livestock’s access to ‘sensitive features’ when they’re on the moorland. Livestock includes sheep, cattle and ponies, as relevant.
You can shepherd or herd your livestock to:
- distribute them more widely across the moorland area
- encourage them to access areas which need to be grazed
- direct them away from sensitive features that can easily be damaged by grazing or poaching
The frequency and timing of your shepherding or herding activities will depend on:
- the species and behaviour of your livestock
- the success of your shepherding or herding activities
- the type of sensitive features on your moorland
Carrying out shepherding or herding activities
When you carry out the shepherding or herding activities, try to avoid them causing damage to your moorland. For example, if you use a vehicle, try to avoid:
- damaging water flow, which is an important component of blanket bog and wet heath hydrology
- crossing areas that are particularly wet and boggy, and other areas containing sensitive features
- causing rutting, soil compaction or damage to surface vegetation
During the bird breeding season (usually March to early July), try to minimise the number of vehicles you use off established routes and tracks. This is to avoid bird disturbance and damage to nest sites.
Planning livestock removal from your moorland
Some sensitive features moorland features can benefit from removing stock at certain times of the year.
The following features may benefit from you removing stock during the winter months:
- scrub and woody vegetation – you can reduce trampling damage and allow the previous season’s growth to remain because dwarf shrubs are more vulnerable to damage from grazing when there’s little grass available
- wet and peaty soils – removing stock can reduce poaching and compaction damage to the soil surface
- historic or archaeological features – removing stock can reduce poaching and compaction damage to the soil surface
The following features may benefit from you removing stock in the spring or summer:
- upland calcareous grassland – grazing in winter rather than in summer reduces the dominance of vigorous grasses and allows plants to flower and set seed in the summer
- ground nesting birds – removing stock allows birds to fledge and reduces disturbance
This action does not require you to remove resident ponies, so they can overwinter on the moorland. This can help to:
- allow youngstock to learn from more mature animals
- maintain the herd structure
- allow the ponies to exhibit their natural behaviours
Neighbouring livestock
If the area of moorland you enter into this action is unfenced and adjacent land is grazed by other farmers or land managers, you may need to:
- consider the potential impact of neighbouring livestock straying on your ability to meet this action’s requirements, particularly the livestock removal period
- talk to neighbouring farmers or land managers about removing stray livestock from your area of moorland
Updates to this page
Last updated 5 August 2024 + show all updates
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Where you can do this action - an eligible land type is defined in section 5.1 ‘Eligible land types for SFI’ in the SFI scheme information. Eligibility of protected land - updated link to section 10.3 ‘SSSI consent’ in the SFI scheme information. Added wording to explain you need to read section 10.3 to find out about: - what it’s advisable for you to do before you apply for this action on SSSI land - how to give notice to Natural England to get SSSI consent - what stocking information you need to provide with your SSSI notice Other actions or options you can do on the same area - added supplemental actions SPM4 and SPM5. 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.