GS9: Management of wet grassland for breeding waders

Find out about eligibility and requirements for the management of wet grassland for breeding waders option.

From:
Rural Payments Agency and Natural England
Published
2 April 2015
Last updated
4 January 2024 — See all updates
Grant type:
Option
Land use:
Biodiversity, Grassland, Uplands
Tiers or standalone items:
Higher Tier, Mid Tier
Funding (per unit per year):
More than £500

How much will be paid

£676 per hectare (ha)

Where to use this option

It’s available for Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier and Higher Tier on whole or part parcels on permanent grassland that is one of the following.

  • Coastal or floodplain grazing marsh identified as priority habitat
  • Other grassland identified as habitat for breeding waders

The grassland must already support breeding waders (curlew, lapwing, redshank or snipe) or have high potential for being restored for them. You must also meet one of the following conditions.

  • You are currently following a recommended fertiliser management system to plan nutrient inputs across the farm
  • You will adopt a recommended fertiliser management system within 18 months of the start of the agreement
  • You qualify as a low intensity farmer

In Mid Tier you can only use this option if it meets the relevant criteria and you have written approval from the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). The parcel must be mapped as priority habitat and be included within one of the 4 species layers, to show the species is present. The land must be mapped on the Priority Habitat Inventory as coastal flood plain grazing marsh or purple moor grass and rush pasture or lowland meadow (see the MAGIC website).

Features that can be included in this option

You can include the following features if they are part of the land, even if they are not eligible for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).

  • Ditches, dykes, drains, rivers or streams that are less than 4 metres (m) wide for the majority of their length in the parcel
  • Permanent water less than or equal to 0.1ha (larger areas may be eligible at the discretion of Natural England)
  • Temporary water
  • Natural unsurfaced roads, tracks, paths and bridleways (as long as you still able to carry out the requirements of the option)
  • Small areas of other types of habitat, such as reedbeds and scrub (at the discretion of Natural England)

You can locate the following options and supplements on the same area as this option:

You can also use the following supplements with this option, but only in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of Natural England:

How this option will benefit the environment

It will provide habitat in wet grassland for breeding wading birds (curlew, redshank, lapwing or snipe). Fields will have wet areas and suitable sward conditions throughout the winter and spring and into the early summer. Waders will be able to nest and, in most years, successfully fledge their young.

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.

During the spring and early summer, the correct sward conditions for the target wader species will be maintained, usually by grazing as per the agreed stocking calendar. Waders will be able to nest undisturbed.

Management of ditch water levels will ensure that soils are wet and/or there are areas of surface water and bare, wet mud during the breeding season for waders to feed. The appropriate sward conditions and in-field wetness for the target wader species will be explained in the additional aims within your agreement.

By autumn, grazing will have removed the year’s grass growth so that the appropriate sward conditions can be achieved the following spring.

During the autumn and winter, there will be areas of surface water and wet features. Wintering wildfowl and waders will be able to feed and roost undisturbed.

Management will ensure that cover of soft and hard rush is no more than 10 to 20% (as described in the additional aims) and cover of trees, scrub and other undesirable species (listed in the recommended management) is low. Any archaeological or historic features will be protected under a grass cover, with a low cover of bare ground, no increase in scrub cover and no damage incurred as a result of machinery use.

Prohibited activities

To achieve the aims and deliver the environmental benefits, do not carry out any of the following activities:

  • plough, cultivate or reseed the grassland, unless agreed in writing with the RPA
  • use pesticides, except for herbicides to spot-treat or weed-wipe to control nettles, bracken, soft and hard rush, injurious weeds or invasive non-native species (weed wiping may not be allowed on some sites – this will be specified in your agreement)
  • harrow or roll, supplementary feed or allow additional scrub to encroach on historic or archaeological features
  • cut silage/hay/haylage or rushes before 15 July (or the date specified in the additional aims and prohibited activities)
  • operate machinery or carry out other activities during the bird breeding season that may disturb birds or damage nests
  • carry out activities which may disturb non-breeding birds from November to March
  • carry out drainage works, including modifying existing drainage, without the RPA’s written permission before work starts.
  • apply any inorganic fertiliser
  • apply more than 12 tonnes per ha of farmyard manure (or the amounts stated in the additional prohibited activities) or increase the application rate if it is currently less than this
  • apply farmyard manure in years when the field is not cut for hay/haylage
  • work on ditches between 1 April and 31 August
  • use supplementary feed except for mineral blocks (hay/haylage may be scattered in autumn/winter, but only if this is required to extend the grazing season in order to provide the correct spring sward conditions)

On your annual claim you will be asked to declare that you have not carried out any prohibited activities.

In Mid Tier you can only use this option if it meets the relevant criteria and you have written approval from RPA. Additional aims and prohibited activities may be added to refine the standard requirements, as part of the approval process.

To assist you in achieving the aims and deliver the environmental benefits for this option, we recommend that you employ best practice.

We recommend that you:

  • provide the correct sward conditions for the target species, usually by grazing with cattle in accordance with the stocking calendar.
  • manage livestock during the breeding season to reduce the risk of them trampling nests (appropriate stocking rates will be set out in the stocking calendar)
  • maintain wet features (such as footdrains, gutters and scrapes) every 2-4 years to provide muddy areas for waders to feed
  • keep these features wet into May or June by holding high ditch water levels and allow them to dry out gradually in July or August
  • keep the vegetation around wet features short by grazing or rotational cutting
  • control and manage trees, scrub, and undesirable species (which may include injurious weeds, nettles, bracken and invasive, non-native species) so that their cover is less than 5%
  • control and manage soft and hard rushes so that their cover is less than 10 to 20% (as described in the additional aims)
  • if present, maintain hedges so they are shorter than 2 metres (m)
  • where spring grazing of hay meadows is a traditional practice, exclude livestock for at least 7 weeks before cutting and by 7 May at the latest
  • check for breeding birds before operating machinery or carrying out other activities which may disturb breeding birds or damage their nests. The breeding season tends to run from mid-March until mid-July, but it can start earlier and finish later, depending on the species and the weather.

You should not:

  • close fields up for silage, hay or haylage if this will not achieve the appropriate sward conditions
  • top more than 50% of the total area in any one year
  • supplementary feed on historic features, areas of species-rich grassland or within 5m of ditches or wet features, or on any other areas specified in your agreement

Keeping records

Where there’s uncertainty about whether or not the aims of the options have been delivered, we will take into account any records or evidence you may have kept to demonstrate 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.

  • Receipted invoices, consents or permissions connected with the work
  • Field operations at the parcel level, including associated invoices
  • A grazing activity record for any sites grazed
  • Evidence that you are following a recommended fertiliser management system or that you qualify as a low intensity farmer
  • Stocking calendar
  • Photographs of the management undertaken

On your annual payment claim you must declare that you have not carried out any activities prohibited by the option requirements.

Additional guidance and advice

The following advice is helpful, but they are not requirements for this item. For best results:

  • use this option as part of a suite of wet grassland and target features options, over a wide area, potentially linking with other landowners
  • use this option within, next to or linking Special Protection Areas (SPAs) or Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) containing wading birds
  • use this option within, next to or linking non-designated areas with good wader populations
  • make sure this option does not conflict with Environment Agency, internal drainage Board or local authority policies on flood storage, ditch and river management, water resources and fish migration
  • apply for land drainage consent if necessary
  • discuss the location of capital works with the Environment Agency, internal drainage boards and local authorities
  • discuss the location of capital works with Historic England (designated sites) / local authority historic environmental officer (non-designated sites) if historic and archaeological features are present.

Sites which may be unsuitable for this option include:

  • sites with botanical interest, where hydrological changes could damage plant communities
  • washlands and other areas that flood during the wader breeding season

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.

Published 2 April 2015
Last updated 4 January 2024 + show all updates

  1. Update to How Much Is Paid

  2. The 'Where to use this item' section has been updated to explain that the parcel must be mapped as priority habitat and be included within one of the 4 species layers, to show the species is present.

  3. New payment rate from 1 January 2022.

  4. Option updated for agreements starting 1 January 2022

  5. The Keeping records section of this page has been updated

  6. Updated for 2017 applications.

  7. Information updated for applications in 2016.

  8. First published.

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