GS17: Lenient grazing supplement
Find out about eligibility and requirements for the lenient grazing supplement.
How much will be paid
£28 per hectare (ha)
Where to use this supplement
It’s available for Countryside Stewardship Mid-Tier and Higher Tier on whole or part parcels on:
- permanent grassland
- in combination with GS2 including as part of the Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife package
- in combination with GS5 permanent grassland with very low inputs in SDA’s
- on parcels where at least one boundary is a hedgerow and/or there is scrub cover within 200 metres (m) of the parcel
You can rotate this supplement between eligible parcels but you must maintain the same total area each year, and once applied to a parcel it must remain on it for at least 3 successive years.
How this supplement will benefit the environment
It will create habitat for spiders and other insects, including grasshoppers and beetles. This in turn provides critical spring and summer invertebrate food for birds such as yellowhammers, reed buntings and skylarks.
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 growing season lightly graze the fields, to ensure a diverse sward height, with a range of shorter and taller grasses.
Prohibited activities
To achieve the aims and deliver the environmental benefits, do not carry out any of the following activities.
- Cut for hay or silage
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:
- graze during the growing season to maintain a sward:
- that has an average height of 7 centimetres (cm) to 13cm
- where at least 20% is shorter than 10cm
- where at least 20% is over 10cm tall
- graze with cattle, or a mixture of cattle and sheep, in order to achieve the varied sward height
Keeping records
Where there is 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.
- Stock records to show grazing activity on parcels
- Photographs of the management undertaken
Additional guidance and advice
The following advice is helpful, but they are not requirements for this item.
Sward height importance
The option is usually used as part of a package to benefit declining farmland birds. It provides the critical spring and summer invertebrate food needed by species such as yellowhammers.
Most invertebrates are much more abundant in taller grass but birds find it difficult to access them if the whole sward is tall. Birds need shorter patches where they can land and check for danger. They can then dart into the taller patches to catch their prey, or wait for them to move to the edge of the tall grass or out into the shorter patches.
Option amount and location
Normally at least 1ha of this option per 100ha of the farm area is needed to provide sufficient invertebrates.
Place the supplement on part parcels next to hedges or scrub for yellowhammers and other buntings. For skylarks place away from trees, hedges or other tall structures.
The target birds do not generally feed more than 300 metres (m) from their nests, so parcels of this option should not be more than 500m apart.
This option is more effective on grassland including herbs and wildflowers, but you can also use it on grassland with few, if any, herbs or wildflowers.
Checking sward height
If a sward stick is not available, you can measure uncompressed sward height using a ruler or lines on boots. Ignore stems and seedheads – measure to the top green leaf.
How to achieve the right sward
Graze with cattle, rather than just sheep (which risks non-compliance with the requirements). That way it is much easier to achieve the correct diverse sward structure.
The grazing can be rotational or intermittent, but the stock should eat the sward down well during the grazing periods to avoid it becoming rank during the rest periods.
Biodiversity
This supplement 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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Option updated for agreements starting 1 January 2022
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The Keeping records section of this page has been updated
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Updated for 2017 applications.
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Information updated for applications in 2016.
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First published.