CAB6: Enhanced overwintered stubble
What you must do to get paid for this CSHT action and advice on how to do it.
This action is part of Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT). You must read the CSHT guidance before you apply.
Duration
5 years
How much you’ll be paid
£589 per hectare (ha) per year
Action’s aim
This action’s aim is that there’s a post-harvest stubble remaining during the autumn, winter, spring and summer months.
The purpose is to provide:
- a winter food source for seed-eating farmland birds
- spring and summer foraging and nesting habitats for other farmland birds, and habitats for other farmland wildlife
Where you can do this action
You can do this action on eligible land that’s located below the moorland line.
This action is only available on stubble following the harvest of cereals (not maize), oilseed rape and linseed.
The action must not be used:
- following the harvest of maize or sorghum
- on parcels at risk of soil erosion or run-off
Eligible land
You can do this action on land that’s:
- an eligible land type
- registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
- declared with a land use code which is compatible with the eligible land cover
| Eligible land type | Eligible land cover | Compatible land use code |
|---|---|---|
| Arable land used to grow crops | Arable land | Land use codes for arable crops |
Available area you can enter into this action
Total or part of the available area in the land parcel.
Rotational or static action
This action is rotational. This means you must move its location each year.
What to do
Your Natural England adviser will assess your land. They’ll work with you to adapt and agree the activities you must do to achieve this action’s aim. All mandatory activities will be set out in your agreement document.
To get paid for this action, you must:
- retain stubble and the following regeneration after harvest for an agreed amount of time
- return the stubble to the farm rotation
- submit an annual return to confirm that no stock grazed the stubble
You must not:
- apply pre-harvest crop desiccants
- apply pesticides to the stubble, except herbicides to control problem grass weeds by spraying the affected area from 15 May
- top or graze the stubble
- apply fertilisers, manures or lime
- remove, cut or allow livestock to graze areas in stubble areas where the straw and crown of a crop (stubble) is growing
In the final year of this action’s duration, you must do this action until the end of the winter months or this action’s end date, whichever is earlier.
When to do it
You must do this action each year of its duration.
Evidence to keep
You must keep evidence to show what you have done to complete this action. If it’s not clear that you have done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) may ask for this evidence.
You must supply the evidence if they ask for it, including:
- field operations at a land parcel level
- grazing records
- associated invoices
- photographs
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.
| Scheme | Action or option code |
|---|---|
| SFI 2024 actions | CSAM1, SOH1, AGF1, AGF2, OFC3, OFM4, AHW5, PRF1, PRF2, PRF3, PRF4, CIPM1, CNUM1 |
| SFI 2023 actions | SAM1, IPM1, NUM1 |
| CSHT actions | CSP13, CSP14, CSP15, CWS1, CWS3, CSP21, CSP20, CAGF1, CAGF3, CAGF2, CAGF4 |
| CS options | AB11, AB14, AB15, AB5, HS3, OR3, OT3, |
| ES options | N/A |
You can do the following actions or options on the eligible boundaries of a land parcel entered into this action:
- CSHT actions: CWT3, CHRW4
- SFI 2024 actions: CHRW1, CHRW2, CHRW3, BND1, BND2, WBD10
- SFI 2023 actions: HRW1, HRW2, HRW3
- CS option BE3 (management of hedgerows)
Consents, permissions and licensing requirements
To apply for this action, you’ll need:
- Scheduled Monument Consent from Historic England for any work on scheduled monuments
- consent from Natural England for any activity on land designated as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI)
You may need to:
- agree an implementation plan or feasibility study with your Natural England adviser
- get advice from your Natural England adviser if you have other historic or archaeological features on your agreement land
- get a wildlife licence from Natural England if your activities affect a protected species or their habitat
All historic and archaeological features (including scheduled monuments) are identified in your Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (HEFER).
If you’re a tenant, it’s your responsibility to check whether your tenancy agreement allows you to complete what’s required in the actions you choose. You may need your landlord’s consent.
Capital grants to support this action
If you need to complete an implementation plan or a feasibility study before you apply, you can apply for capital grants plans funding.
You can also apply for capital items to help you achieve the action’s aims. Your Natural England adviser will discuss eligible capital items with you.
Advice to help you do this action
The following optional advice may help you to do this action. Your agreement document will set out all the activities you must do.
Choosing the best crop stubbles
The best crop stubbles for wildlife tend to be:
- spring sown crops such as barley
- crops managed with lower inputs (such as less nitrogen fertiliser, less herbicide and no insecticide after March)
Barley stubbles generally attract more birds than wheat stubbles (which can be very clean). Spring barley stubbles are generally better than winter barley stubbles.
Linseed and oilseed rape stubbles can also provide a rich source of seeds and shelter. Seeds may be less available compared to cereal crop stubbles, as the seeds of oilseed crops germinate more rapidly after rainfall.
Undersown crops can be less useful for seed-eating birds as the sown companion crop can make it harder for birds to find spilt grains. They can support overwintering insects such as sawflies which are an important food source for grey partridge chicks.
Choosing the right location
Overwinter stubbles are suitable for most soil types but are:
- best suited to lighter (chalky or sandy) free-draining soils that support rare arable plants and have a low grass-weed burden (such as black-grass, couch and wild oats)
- integrated most easily into crop rotations already growing spring sown crops
To maximise the benefits for wildlife, locate stubbles:
- close to areas of insect and seed-rich foraging habitat (such as winter bird food) or supplementary winter bird food feeding areas (or both)
- close to habitats such as hedgerows, scrub and woodland that provide year-round food and shelter (including nesting opportunities)
- on light, free-draining soils known to support ground-nesting birds such as corn bunting, lapwing and skylark
Plot size, shape and distribution
You can deliver enhanced overwinter stubbles as part or whole-field plots.
Distributing multiple, larger blocks of stubble across your farm can help farmland birds and other wildlife:
- find food and shelter
- move more easily and safely between complementary habitats (such as hedgerows, ponds and field margins)
Very small, isolated areas of whole crop cereal typically provide less benefits for wildlife.
Sowing a cover crop on your stubble
You can sow a diverse mix of fast-growing cover crops such as buckwheat, crimson clover, fodder radish, mustard and phacelia, before (by undersowing into a standing crop) or immediately after harvest. This will provide:
- late season pollen and nectar for wild pollinators
- food and shelter for farmland birds and other wildlife (such as hare) over winter
- cover to reduce the risk or erosion and run-off
To secure the right balance between outcomes for soil health, water quality and wildlife, you may need to:
- establish cover or companion crops on a maximum of 50% of the stubble area in each parcel
- avoid sowing mixes in areas of fields known to support rare arable plants
The following legume-based mix is suited to early planting after harvest:
- mix: buckwheat, crimson clover, linseed, red clover, serradella and phacelia
- sowing rate: 12kg/ha
Stubble height
Some seed-eating birds such as the yellowhammer prefer to forage in areas of open bare ground and very short vegetation that’s less than 6cm in height. They can find food more easily, see approaching danger and fly off.
Other farmland bird species such as grey partridge and skylark prefer areas of taller stubble and vegetation that’s more than 14cm in height.
Raise and lower the combine header height by 10 to 20 cm from time to time when harvesting:
- provide the optimal range of stubble and vegetation heights
- meet the foraging and cover requirements of different bird species
Supplementary feeding
You can also carry out supplementary feeding for:
- seed-eating farmland birds over winter
- turtle doves between April and September
This can be especially effective if stubbles are adjacent to winter bird food plots, hedgerows and other complementary habitat.
To help birds find the spread seed, you may need to cut designated feeding areas. This will help keep vegetation short (below 10 cm height) and maintain areas of bare ground.
Spring cultivation
Enhanced overwinter stubbles can be cultivated in the spring to provide:
- nesting opportunities for lapwing and skylark
- seed-rich foraging habitat later in the summer for turtle dove and other seed-eating birds – to maximise seed availability during the spring and summer for turtle dove, cultivate a maximum of 50% of each plot
- space for desirable range-restricted arable plants to germinate, flower and set seed
You’ll need to get approval for all spring cultivations from your Natural England adviser.
Keeping enhanced overwinter stubble
Provide extended year-round food and shelter for farmland birds, pollinators and other wildlife such as the brown hare, and allow arable plants to grow.
To do this, you must retain the stubble and any subsequent regeneration until 31 July of the following year after harvest.
At the end of the stubble retention period, you may need to flail areas of taller vegetation within your stubbles especially where a cover crop has been sown. This will make it easier to prepare a seed bed for following crops.
Getting extra funding
With approval from Natural England, you can sometimes use the CSP9: Support for threatened species supplement with this action to cover additional costs. These are costs you may incur when establishing or managing areas of enhanced overwinter stubble for priority species.