AB3: Beetle banks
Find out about eligibility and requirements for the beetle banks option.
How much will be paid
£764 per hectare (ha).
Where to use this option
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Available for Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier and Higher Tier
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Whole or part parcel
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Only on:
- arable land
- temporary grassland
Where this option cannot be used
- On historic or archaeological features identified in your HEFER or FER
Related Mid Tier options
The following options and supplements can be located on the same area as this option:
- 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 provides nesting and foraging habitats for:
- pollinators
- small mammals
- some farmland birds
- beneficial insects which feed on crop pests
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.
Throughout the year there will be a raised bank, measuring between 3m to 5m wide and at least 0.4m high, with a dense grass cover. This will be established during the first year and maintained for the duration of the agreement.
Prohibited activities
To achieve the aims and deliver the environmental benefits, do not carry out any of the following activities:
- apply any fertilisers, manures or lime
- use any pesticides, except for herbicides to weed-wipe or spot-treat for the control of injurious weeds, invasive non-natives, nettles or bracken
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:
- create or maintain an earth ridge, measuring between 3m to 5m wide and at least 0.4m high
- leave gaps no more than 25m wide at each end of the ridge to allow access for machinery
- establish or maintain a tussocky grass mixture in year 1 of the agreement
- cut the established mixture to control woody growth and suckering species - cut after 1 August to protect nesting invertebrates
Keeping records
Where there’s 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.
- Field operation records at parcel level, including associated invoices
Additional guidance and advice
The following advice is helpful, but they are not requirements for this item.
Pick the right location
This option is suitable for most soil types but especially where it is possible to form a free-draining raised bank. This will leave the upper bank area dry for insects to hibernate securely. It works best on larger fields as it is designed to provide the most benefit in more open landscapes. It can also help to slow down or stop soil erosion.
Blocks and plot sizes
Spread beetle banks widely across the farm to help connect farmland wildlife with other farm habitats.
What to sow
Sow a mixture of fine-leaved grasses such as red fescue together with some tussock-forming varieties like tall fescue, timothy and cocksfoot.
Establish the bank
Plough in 2 directions towards each furrow to create the required size, followed by shallow cultivation of the bank to produce a firm, fine seedbed if needed.
Broadcast the grass seed mixture on to the seedbed and roll. This will keep moisture in the soil. Do not overwork the bank, as this can cause a loss in overall height.
When to cut
Cut the grass several times during the first summer to help it establish, but avoid cutting when the bank is wet to stop the soil compacting.
After year 1 only cut:
- after 1 August to protect any nesting invertebrates and beneficial insects
- to control parts of the bank where woody species or invasive perennial weeds such as creeping or spear thistle are growing
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
This option can form part of an IPM approach to prevent the establishment of pests, weeds and diseases. If successful, appropriate and within proximity of cropped areas, these may limit the need for the use of Plant Protection Products and enhance wildlife and biodiversity on your holding. Read information on IPM at AHDB (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board) Integrated Pest Management and LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming).
Biodiversity
This option has been identified as being beneficial for biodiversity. All Countryside Stewardship habitat creation, restoration and management options are of great significance for biodiversity recovery, as are the wide range of arable options in the scheme. Capital items and supplements can support this habitat work depending on the holding’s situation and potential.
The connectivity of habitats is also very important and habitat options should be linked wherever possible. Better connectivity will allow wildlife to move/colonise freely to access water, food, shelter and breeding habitat, and will allow natural communities of both animals and plants to adapt in response to environmental and climate change.
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.
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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'How this option will benefit the environment' section updated - pollinators replaces bumblebees 'Additional guidance and advice' section updated - this option can form part of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to prevent the establishment of pests, weeds and diseases.
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'Air quality' added to Land use.
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Option updated for agreements starting from 1 January 2021.
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From 1 January 2019, this option cannot be used on land already receiving funding for Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs) declared for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).
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Updated for 2017 applications.
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Information updated for applications in 2016.
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First published.