GovWire

We have introduced temporary adjustments where you have had difficulty carrying out the requirements of your Countryside Stewardship (CS), Environmental Stewardship (ES), Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and SFI pilot agreements due to wet weather.

The start of these temporary adjustments take effect from 1 October 2023 and will be reviewed on 31 July 2024.

These temporary adjustments are for live agreements. They apply to options and actions to give you more time to establish or defer some activity.

The tables at annex 1 list the CS, ES options, and SFI and SFI pilot actions that have temporary adjustments. The current requirement is shown, together with the temporary requirement adjustment.

We also recognise that some of you may have already attempted to meet agreement requirements which have been unsuccessful. The temporary adjustments will give you more time to re-establish options and actions.

You should also keep any evidence in case we need to see it. Evidence can include:

• farm records showing field operations at a land parcel level
• associated invoices and photographs of how you attempted the options and actions, and have been affected by the weather conditions

When you might need to contact us

You will need to request an adjustment to your agreement, if:

• you do not believe you can meet the aims of the option or action within the temporary adjustments and extended timeframes in Annex 1
• the option or action affected is not listed in Annex 1

For CS and ES you can do this through the Minor and Temporary Adjustment process. For SFI let us know about a change of circumstance, you can use the SFI query form to do this.

Annex 1: temporary adjustments to options and actions

Countryside Stewardship

CS code	Title	Prescription	Adjustment
AB1	Nectar flower mix	Rotationally cut 50% of the plot area each year between 15 April and 31 May. Do not cut the same area in successive years.	Rotationally cut 50% of the plot area during the year when able to do so.
AB4	Skylark plots	Create cultivated plots by 20 March.	Dates changed to between 20 March to end of May. Added Ensure you do not disturb any nesting birds in the process.
AB5	Nesting plots for lapwing and stone curlew	Create cultivated plots by 20 March.	Date changed from 20 March to end of May. Ensure you do not disturb any nesting birds in the process.
AB7	Whole crop cereals	Establish a cereal crop (but not maize) every year in the spring between February and April.	between February and April removed.
AB9	Winter bird food	Establish a seed mix of cereals, brassicas and other plants producing small edible seeds between 01 March and 15 June to meet the autumn, winter and spring food needs of the following farmland birds if they are targeted in your area: grey partridge, tree sparrow, corn bunting, turtle dove, cirl bunting.	Date changed from 15 June to 31 July, where you are unable to establish the seed mix as a result of waterlogged ground.
AB10	Unharvested cereal headland.	establish a cereal crop between 1 Feb and 30 April.	Date changed from 30 April to 15 June.
AB11	Cultivated areas for arable plants	Cultivate in spring between Feb and April	Date changed from April to the end of May, or where the ground is still wet, to the middle of June.
AB12	Supplementary feeding for farmland birds	Spread the winter supplementary feeding mix at a rate of 25kg once a week for 20 weeks between 1 December and 30 April at each of the 2 separate feeding locations.	Where weather allows.
AB13	Brassica fodder crop	Establish a whole field or part field of fodder brassica or fodder root crop, before 31 July.	Date removed and establish when possible.
AB14	Harvested low input cereal	Establish a winter crop between 1 Oct and 30 April.	Date changed from 30 April to end of May.
AB15	Two year sown legume fallow	In the second year after establishment, cut once before end of March if blackgrass is present.	Changed to the end of May if blackgrass is present.
AB16	Autumn sown bumblebird mix	Top the established mixture between mid-February and mid-March in the second spring after sowing to promote legume flowering during early and mid-summer.	Changed to mid-March to end of May.
GS2	Permanent grassland with very low inputs outside SDAs	Do not use supplementary feed except for mineral blocks.	Supplementary feeding is temporarily permitted (including hay, silage & energy blocks) where this is necessary to prevent animal welfare issues and while grass is recovering. However, Agreement holders must ensure they minimise any damage to the sward as a result of the supplementary feeding. For example, if ring feeders or racks are used, they should be re-located regularly to prevent damage to the surrounding area. If feeding loose hay, this should be spread in different locations across the parcels.
GS4	Legume and herb rich swards	In the first 12 months of the agreement, establish a mixed sward of grasses, legumes, herbs and wildflowers.The sward must contain a minimum cover of 10% red clover and an additional 10% combined cover of other legumes, plus herbs, plus wildflowers. This 10% must not include white clover, creeping buttercup or injurious weeds. The sward must include at least 5 species of grass, 3 species of legume (including birds-foot trefoil) and 5 species of herb or wildflower.Manage by cutting or grazing between 1 April and 15 May but rest for at least 5 weeks between 1 May and 31 July so that the majority of red clover flowers are open and available for pollinators.	If attempted but failed, establish in year 2. If no attempt possible, do not claim in year 1. If established, change to allow for fewer species to be present. Keep records to show you have tried to establish the sward to account for this. Removed dates for cutting or grazing, changed to where possible between 1 May and 31 July.
GS5	Permanent grassland with very low inputs inSDAs	Do not use supplementary feed except for mineral blocks.	Supplementary feeding is temporarily permitted (including hay, silage & energy blocks) where this is necessary to prevent animal welfare issues and while grass is recovering. However, Agreement holders must ensure they minimise any damage to the sward as a result of the supplementary feeding. For example, if ring feeders or racks are used, they should be re-located regularly to prevent damage to the surrounding area. If feeding loose hay, this should be spread in different locations across the parcels.
OP2	Wild bird seed mixture	Establish by sowing a seed mix containing at least 6 seed bearing crops between 15 February and 15 June.	Date changed from 15 June to 31 July, where you are unable to establish the seed mix as a result of waterlogged ground.
OP3	Supplementary feeding for farmland birds	Spread the winter supplementary feeding mix at a rate of 25kg once a week for 20 weeks between 1 December and 30 April at each of the 2 separate feeding locations.	added where weather allows.<  View the original news story Related Articles Scroll Back To Top 📄More Articles Guidance: Wet weather: temporary support for farmers in 2024Wednesday, 19 Jun Wet weather leads to flood risk this weekendFriday, 19 Feb Press release: Support for farmers on dry weather impactsWednesday, 17 Aug GS9: Management of wet grassland for breeding wadersMonday, 13 Mar Open consultation: Wet wipes containing plastic: proposed ban on the manufacture, supply and saleSaturday, 14 Oct Comments Scroll Back To Top ✎Write Comment We don't have any comments for this article yet. Why not join in and start a discussion. Write a Comment Scroll Back To Top Your name: Your email: Comments: Post my comment  Sponsored Advert   Ministerial Departmental News   PM's Office, 10 Downing Street   Cabinet Office   Department for Business, Innovation and Skills   Department for Communities and Local Government   Department for Culture, Media and Sport   Department for Education   Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs   Department for International Development   Department for Transport   Department for Work and Pensions   Department of Energy and Climate Change   Department of Health   Foreign and Commonwealth Office   HM Treasury   Home Office   Ministry of Defence   Ministry of Justice   Northern Ireland Office   Scotland Office   Wales Office   See all departments News Calendar Recent Comments  Sponsored Advert   Follow Us on Twitter Tweets by @gov_wire  Latest Government News Guidance: Medium combustion plant and specified generators: environmental permits Guidance: Specified generator: apply for an environmental permit Guidance: Medium combustion plant: apply for an environmental permit Serviced apartments Rating Manual section 5a: valuation of all property classes Guidance: France: tuberculosis test clinic for a UK visa Guidance: Information booklet for asylum applications Promotional material: Bowel cancer screening: benefits and risks Guidance: Ministry of Justice: Data First Guidance: SFE: Current application timescales    Business Climate Crime Defence Economy Environment Housing Immigration NHS Overseas Schools Tax Transport Work ALL ❯ © 2024 Copyright CliqTo Media Ltd. Registered in England, company number 7575287. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Copyright Notice Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Share This Enjoyed this? Why not share it with others if you've found it useful by using one of the tools below: