Defra

EF1 Field corner management

Taking field corners out of management provides valuable habitat for insects and birds

The provision of a grassy area will greatly increase the wildlife interest of an arable field. These areas are often awkward to reach with machinery and are of lower productivity. However, the provision of a natural grassy corner, containing some grassland flowering plants and scrub, will benefit wildlife including invertebrates, birds, reptiles and amphibians (if located near a water feature). This option must not be located on archaeological sites.

Although this option is designed for field corners, if you have small areas within the field which would be beneficial to take out of production, you may do so.

Patch size must be no more than 1 ha and there must be a maximum of one paid patch per 20 ha of arable land to ensure that patches are well distributed across the land.

For this option you must:

• Establish or maintain by natural regeneration or by sowing. Regular cutting in the first 12 months may be needed to control annual weeds and encourage grass to tiller.
• After establishment, cut no more that one year in five to allow the development of tussocky grass and low scrub.
• Do not apply fertilisers or manures.
• Apply herbicides only to spot treat or weed-wipe for the control of injurious grass weeds, (i.e. creeping or spear thistle, curled or broadleaved dock, or common ragwort), or invasive alien species (e.g. Himalayan balsam, rhododendron or Japanese knotweed). If the weed burden becomes unmanageable, you may surface seed these patches with a tussocky grass mix.

If you wish to, you may establish all or part of the field corner area by sowing a mix of fine-leaved grasses and flowers (e.g. knapweed, bird's-foot-trefoil, selfheal, oxeye daisy, yarrow). If you decide to do this, it is recommended that you cut each year the following August or September and, if excess vegetation threatens to suppress the flowers, cut again the following March or April. This will maintain the flowers in this sward, or others resulting from natural regeneration. You may remove cuttings, which will further benefit flow ers.

EF1, 400 points per ha

Kale flowering in a wild bird seed mix provides food for farmland birds

EF2 Wild bird seed mixture

This type of crop will feed seed-eating birds in arable landscapes, where there is little remaining food source. The aim is to provide a year-round supply of food.

Strips or blocks may periodically be relocated within the same field to avoid the build up of weeds or soil borne disease.

For this option you must:

• Sow a combination (either as a mixture or in alternate rows) of at least three small-seed bearing crops (e.g. cereal, kale, quinoa, linseed, millet, mustard, fodder radish, borage), with no single species making up more than 70% by weight of the mix.
• Sow in strips at least 6 m wide at the edges of fields and/or in blocks. Blocks or strips must not exceed 0.5 ha and you must have no more than one block or strip per 20 ha. This is to ensure that blocks and strips are well distributed across the land.
• Re-establish as necessary to maintain seed production, and re-sow at least every other year.
• Apply herbicides only to spot treat or weed wipe for the control of injurious weeds (i.e. creeping or spear thistle, curled or broadleaved dock, or common ragwort), or invasive alien species (e.g. Himalayan balsam, rhododendron or Japanese knotweed). However, contact, non-residual, products may be used prior to spring re-sowing to facilitate re-establishment.
• Seed treatment to control seedling pests and diseases is permitted where essential for successful establishment.
• Do not apply any other pesticides.
• Only apply fertiliser or manure if necessary for establishment.
• The area should not be used for access, turning or storage.
• Do not graze.

EF2, 450 points per ha

EF3 Wild bird seed mixture on set-aside land

You can only locate this option on set-aside land if you do not already have an obligation to sow a green cover (e.g. following maize). Refer to set-aside instructions to check this before you decide where to put your ELS option.

For this option you must follow the management requirements above for option EF2 , but in addition:

• For EF3 only (on set-aside land) you must make sure the seed mixture is sown as a mix rather than in alternate rows.

EF3, 85 points per ha

EF4 Pollen and nectar flower mixture

Pollen and nectar mixtures increase numbers of beneficial insects such as bees

Incorporating flowering plants in a plot will boost the numbers of pollen and nectar feeding insects, including butterflies and bumblebees.

For this option you must:

• Sow a mixture of at least three pollen and nectar rich plants (e.g. red clover, alsike clover, bird's-foot-trefoil), with no single species making up more than 70% of the mix. The inclusion of non-aggressive grasses (e.g. meadow fescue, sheep's fescue, smooth stalked meadow grass) can help reduce the impact of annual weeds.
• Sow in strips at least 6 m wide at the edges of fields and/or in blocks during July to August or mid-March to mid-April.
• Blocks or strips must not exceed 0.5 ha and you must have no more than one block or strip per 20 ha. This is to ensure that blocks and strips are well distributed across the land.
• Re-establish the mix as necessary to maintain a sustained pollen and nectar supply.
• Apply herbicides only to spot treat or weed wipe for the control of injurious weeds (i.e. creeping or spear thistle, curled or broadleaved dock, or common ragwort), or invasive alien species (e.g. Himalayan balsam, rhododendron or Japanese knotweed). However, contact, non-residual, products may be applied prior to re-establishment.
• Do not apply any other pesticides, fertiliser, manure or lime.
• To stimulate late flowering, cut half the area to 20 cm in June and the whole area to 10 cm between 15 September and 31 October, ideally removing cuttings.
• The area must not be used for access, turning or storage.
• Winter/autumn grazing benefits legumes and is allowed, but do not graze in the spring or summer and avoid poaching.

EF4, 450 points per ha

EF5 Pollen and nectar flower mixture on set-aside land

You can only locate this option on set-aside land if you do not already have an obligation to sow a green cover (e.g. following maize). Refer to set-aside instructions to check this before you decide where to put your ELS option.

For this option you must follow the management requirements above for option EF4 , but in addition :

• Do not use any fertiliser or manures.

EF5, 85 points per ha

EF6 Over-wintered stubbles

Over-wintered stubbles provide an important winter food source for seed-eating birds, from spilt grain and the seeds of broad-leaved weeds. They are also a beneficial habitat for brown hare. This option concerns the management of land following the harvesting of a combinable crop such as oilseed rape, linseed, cereals or field beans (but not maize) until 14 February the following year.

For this option you must:

• Bale or chop and spread straw after harvest.
• A light surface cultivation to encourage weed germination and loosen any surface compaction or capping is allowed before the end of September or within the first month following harvest, if later. Otherwise, do not cultivate or apply manure.
• You may subsoil tramlines following harvest to remove compaction, except where there are archaeological remains. This is recommended when there is a risk of soil run-off.
• Do not apply pre-harvest dessicants or post-harvest herbicides.
• Do not apply any pesticides, fertilisers, manure or lime to the stubble.
• Do not top or graze.
• The stubble must be followed by a spring sown crop.
• This option is a 'rotational option'. This means that it can move around the farm within the normal arable rotation, but the same total hectarage must be maintained.

EF6, 120 points per ha

EF7 Beetle banks

Beetle banks are tussocky grass ridges, generally about 2 m wide, that run from one side of a field to the other whilst still allowing the field to be farmed. They provide habitat for ground nesting birds, small mammals and insects (including those which feed on crop pests). When carefully placed across the slope such banks can help reduce run-off and erosion but you must ensure they do not channel water and make any existing problems worse.

For this option you must:

• Create an earth ridge at least 2 m wide and about 0.4 m high. This can be created during cultivation by careful two-directional ploughing. Alternatively, bed forming equipment can be used where available.
• You may leave working gaps at each end of not more than 25 m.
• Sow with a mixture of perennial grasses, including some tussock forming varieties such as cocksfoot or timothy.
• You may need to cut the grass several times during the first summer to aid establishment. Thereafter, only cut as necessary to prevent the encroachment of woody and suckering species.
• Do not apply any pesticides, fertilisers or manure.
• Apply herbicide only to spot treat or weed wipe for the control of injurious weeds (i.e. creeping or spear thistle, curled or broadleaved dock, or common ragwort), or invasive alien species (e.g. Himalayan balsam, rhododendron or Japanese knotweed).

EF7, 580 points per ha

EF8 Skylark plots

The UK skylark population has declined severely. This is due largely to the move from spring to winter cereals and the intensification of grassland management. Skylarks occupy open fields to avoid predators. They nest on the ground between April and August (two to three nesting attempts are made) in open vegetation of no more than about 50 cm high. The aim of this option is to provide suitable habitat in arable fields.

For this option you must:

• Each year, select a field that is to be sown with a winter cereal, more than 5 ha in area and of an open aspect. A good guide is the presence of skylarks singing over the field in previous years.
• Avoid fields bounded by tree lines or adjacent to woods unless the field is greater than 10 ha.
• To create the plot, turn off the drill during sowing in order to leave an unsown area. This area should be no less than 3 m in length or width and no more than 12 m in length or width. The precise size and shape within these limits depends on what is practical with the drill. After drilling, there is no requirement to manage the plots differently to the remainder of the field (i.e. they can be over-sprayed, receive fertiliser applications, etc).
• Do not create the plots so that they are connected to tramlines and make sure they are well away from field boundaries.
• Space the plots across the field, creating no more than two plots per hectare.
• There must be no mechanical weeding of the plots between 1 April and harvest.
• You are not required to keep the plots weed-free.
• This option is a 'rotational option'. This means that the plots may move around the farm with the normal arable rotation, but the same total number of plots must be maintained.

EF8, 5 points per plot

EF9 Conservation headlands in cereal fields

Poppies provide habitat for insects, which in turn provide food for many farmland bird species

Conservation headlands are headlands of cereal crops where the careful use of sprays allows populations of broadleaved weeds and their associated insects to develop. This provides feeding habitat for several farmland birds, such as the grey partridge, tree sparrow and corn bunting. Rare arable plant communities will also benefit. Conservation headlands can be difficult to manage where grass weeds are a problem, particularly where herbicide resistance has been recorded. If an unexpected weed infestation occurs, select a more appropriate location in following years.

For this option you must:

• Manage a 6 to 24 m wide headland along the edge of a cereal crop.
• Do not apply insecticides between 15 March and the following harvest.
• Only the following herbicides can be applied to control problem grass and broad-leaved weeds. For broad-leaved weeds use only amidosulfuron and only between 1 February and 31 March. For grass weeds use only the following active ingredients: tri-allate, fenoxaprop-P-ethyl, dicloflop-methyl + fenoxaprop-P-ethyl, tralkoxydim or clodinafop-propargyl.
• Where weed growth threatens harvest, you may use a pre-harvest dessicant.
• This option is a 'rotational option'. This means that the headlands may move around the farm with the normal arable rotation, but the same total hectarage must be maintained.

EF9, 100 points per ha

Uncropped cultivated field margins help conserve rare arable plants

EF10 Conservation headlands in cereal fields with no fertilisers or manure

Not applying fertilisers or manures on the headlands creates an open crop structure, which will provide greater potential for rare arable plants and more beneficial habitat for insects and birds. You may not have this option on the same land as option EF9.

For this option in addition to EF9 management you must:

• Do not apply fertiliser or manure to the headland between harvest of the previous crop and harvest of the headland.
• This option is a 'rotational option'. This means that the headlands may move around the farm with the normal arable rotation, but the same total hectarage must be maintained.

EF10, 330 points per ha

EF11 6 m uncropped, cultivated margins on arable land

These margins will provide beneficial management for rare arable plants, insects and foraging sites for seed-eating birds. It is better to avoid locating these margins where you have a grass weed problem. The option will provide greatest benefits on sandy, shallow, chalky or stony soils.

A yellowhammer - one of a number of farmland birds that will benefit from these options

For this option you must:

• Cultivate an arable field margin annually in spring or autumn to a depth of about 15 cm (6 inches). Varying the depth and season may prevent the build up of undesirable weeds.
• These strips should not receive any fertiliser or manure.
• Apply herbicides only to spot treat or weed wipe for the control of injurious weeds (i.e. creeping or spear thistle, curled or broadleaved dock, or common ragwort), or invasive alien species (e.g. Himalayan balsam, rhododendron or Japanese knotweed).

If the weed burden becomes unmanageable, you may develop these strips into 6 m grass buffer strips (see option EE3) and adopt the required management. Alternatively you may relocate the option within the same field.

EF11, 400 points per ha