WBD2: Manage ditches
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
£4 per 100 metres (m) for both sides
Action’s aim
This action’s aim is that there are ditches with:
- varied bankside and aquatic vegetation
- undisturbed wildlife habitat
The purpose of this is to:
- maintain vegetation that’s typical of wet ditches
- provide habitats for wildlife
Where you can do this action
An eligible ditch for this action must:
- form part of the boundary of a land parcel that’s located below the moorland line
- be a man-made, long and narrow linear channel that’s cut into the ground for the purpose of draining the land or managing water levels
- have vegetated banks
- regularly contain standing or flowing water
You can only do this action on both sides of the entire length of an eligible ditch. This means you must have management control of both sides of the ditch. You can choose what length to enter.
You can enter both sides of a ditch that borders a neighbour’s land if you meet both of the following conditions:
- you have a legal right or obligation to manage the ditch
- you can meet this action’s requirements
You cannot do this action on ditches managed by third parties, such as Internal Drainage Boards.
The following features are not eligible for this action:
- ditches located in a severely disadvantaged area (SDA) below the moorland line
- culverts or underground drains
- natural watercourses, such as streams
- non-linear water features, such as ponds, lakes or reservoirs
- grips, gutters and foot drains
Eligibility of protected land
| Protected land | Eligibility |
|---|---|
| Sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) | Ineligible – you must not enter any area that’s designated as an SSSI into this action |
| Historic and archaeological features | Eligible – you must get a 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 can enter into this action
Not applicable, as this is a linear action.
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 manage the ditch in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim, including:
- cutting vegetation at the top of the ditch bank in rotation, so you only cut up to half the length of the ditch bank in any year of this action’s 3-year duration
- carrying out in-channel management on any section of the ditch no more than once during this action’s 3-year duration – this includes cleaning out silt or vegetation and cutting vegetation in the ditch channel
To minimise disturbance to wildlife, you must only manage the ditch during the autumn, winter and early spring (usually September to late March).
You must not re-profile or increase the width or depth of the ditch.
When to do it
You must do this action from its start date, throughout each year of its 3-year duration.
If this action’s start date means it’s too late for you to do this action, you must start doing it within 12 months of the action’s start date.
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
Keep evidence to show what you’ve done to complete this action, such as:
- ditch management operations at a land parcel level and associated invoices
- photographs and other documentation
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 2024 actions | All SFI 2024 actions, except BND1 |
| SFI 2023 actions | All SFI 2023 actions |
| CS options | All CS management options, including BE3 (management of hedgerows) |
| ES options | All ES revenue options, except boundary options |
| SFI pilot standards | All SFI pilot standards, including all levels of the SFI pilot hedgerows standard |
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.
Managing ditches
To help you achieve this action’s aim, you can:
- cut vegetation at the top of the ditch bank (where needed) with cutters set high, to leave vegetation that’s around 10 centimetres (cm) to 15cm high
- carry out bankside cutting (where needed) during late summer or early autumn
- carry out in-channel management using appropriate machinery and without affecting the banks
- work from one bank only, leaving short stretches (for example, around 10m to 20m) undisturbed to provide a refuge for wildlife
- progress work upstream to allow dislodged pieces of plant and invertebrates to float downstream to live in the ditch again
- leave around at least one third of the overall ditch area undisturbed each year – managing your ditches less frequently will provide undisturbed habitat for wildlife (including the water vole)
Make sure you follow the farming rules for water. These require you to take steps to stop manure, fertiliser or soil getting into waterbodies and watercourses. Maintaining good water quality in your ditches will help to protect insects or plants that live in them.
Before you carry out work on your ditches, check if you need to get consents or permissions. Read section 10 ‘Get all necessary regulatory consents, permissions and licences in place’ in the SFI scheme information.
You may find it helpful to read Farm Wildlife’s guidance on managing ditches.
Cutting vegetation
To cut vegetation at the top of the ditch bank in rotation, you can either:
- cut one side of the ditch and leaving the other side uncut as a wildlife corridor
- leave alternate sections uncut
You can control weeds on the ditch banks by cutting or hand pulling. If you need to use herbicides:
- follow the label recommendations
- get permission from the Environment Agency before you use herbicides to control weeds and unwanted vegetation in or close to a river or watercourse
Carrying out in-channel management
Carrying out in-channel management of your ditches on a rotation will help to provide a range of different conditions to benefit many species. For example:
- insects, that need shallow water, muddy areas and flower-rich bankside vegetation
- birds like warblers, that need tall vegetation and reeds
If you carry out in-channel management on the ditch, you can deposit the silt and vegetation (known as ‘spoil’) on the field adjacent to the ditch. When you do this, try to avoid:
- spreading the spoil on areas of grassland that are rich in wildflowers
- using the spoil to infill low lying areas
- spreading the spoil on the ditch’s bank face
- spreading the spoil on land with historic or archaeological features
- creating spoil banks in wet grassland and wetland areas, as they stop water movement on and off the field
Controlling invasive, non-native species
Invasive, non-native species (such as Himalayan balsam and Japanese knotweed) can shade out or out-complete native plants in your ditch.
You may need to:
- monitor and control invasive, non-native plant species to stop them spreading
- get advice if your ditch contains invasive water plants like crassula (New Zealand pygmyweed) or floating pennywort
- dispose of ditch spoil that contains invasive, non-native species safely, instead of spreading it on the adjacent field
Updates to this page
Last updated 5 August 2024 + show all updates
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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.