Establishing and Maintaining Agri-environment Options

On Tuesday 11th February, we gathered at Plashett Park farm to discuss Agri-environment scheme options currently on farm and the practicalities of establishing and maintaining options. We also spent some time looking at aspects of the farm where South East Water had offered financial assistance for water quality and soil improvements. The farmer explained that they established many of the Agri-environment options to generate income out of the non-profitable sections of the farm situated on more clayey soils with poor fertility and high water retention.

We began our walk by the South east water Funded Settlement ponds that had been put in to help clean the water draining from the farm yard. With the ponds in place, the water from the yard drains into the first of the three ponds. As the water flows slowly through the three ponds it allows sediment to settle at the base. The water subsequently flows out of the third pond and into the local water ways much cleaner than when it entered.

We continued on to investigate the wildflower and wild bird seed plots. The wildflower plots were planted a number of years ago under the early version of Agri-environment schemes. These have now become species rich, and are under a countryside stewardship scheme. One of fundamental lessons learnt from the wildflower plots was the significant amounts of time it takes to see any successes in species diversity. This highlighted the importance of maintaining continuity in the options you apply for across different schemes to allow them to reach their full potential.

The wild birdseed plots were sown as a two year mix, and were about to enter their second year. The first year had seen lots of sunflower come through, but it is common for these plots to look completely different in their second year compared to their first. The expectation was that lots of kale would establish in the second year. The plot was established through the purchase of individual seeds which were mixed together including Sunflower, Millet, Kale, Barley and Linnet among other seeds. This plot too had gone through various schemes, but was in its 12th/13th year overall of being established in this part of the farm. So far, it had seen a number of visitors in increasingly higher numbers including Goldfinch and Chaffinch.

Next we came to a pond at the bottom of a sloped arable field, that was separated from the crop by a large buffer. The pond and buffer was established in the most unproductive part of the field that only produced successful crops once every ten years. The buffer was intended to help combat the wettest part of the field, and while this has worked, they have found that it also tended to push the wet zone further up the hill as well. Despite this the field drains naturally quite well and the pond is in good condition with a number of key species observed including some nesting lapwings present last year.

The final option we walked by was a field of legume and herb rich swards or herbal leys under SFI. The field was in quite a wet condition but the seed mix was chosen specifically to suit heavy clay soils, and the ley had been a success overall. As a cattle farm, they spoke of their decision to exclude chicory form the seed mix as cattle tend to avoid it when grazing.  Sout East Water spoke of funding available for soil improvements which could include the establishment of RPA like options such as Herbal leys. They mentioned they could engage with ideas on wanting to do things a little differently for example, mixing up seed mixes. However, they did also mention that, they were currently shifting into a new business cycle, so it was better to wait until April at the earliest to engage on acquiring any financial help on farm.

To finish up, I have noted below the payment rates for each of the options we passed on this walk under the current sustainable farming incentive. Please head to https://www.gov.uk/find-funding-for-land-or-farms to find out more.

CIPM2 (Flower-rich grass margins, blocks or in-field strips) - £798/hectare/year

CAHL2: Winter bird food on arable and horticultural land - £853/hectare/year

CSAM3: Herbal leys - £382/hectare/year

WBD1: Manage ponds – £257/hectare/year