Countryside Stewardship
Countryside Stewardship is a government funded scheme that supports farmers and land managers to protect and enhance the natural environment. It provides payments for managing land in ways that improve wildlife habitats, water quality, soil health and landscape character, while also supporting sustainable food production and climate resilience.
Countryside Stewardship
Countryside Stewardship is a government funded scheme that supports farmers and land managers to protect and enhance the natural environment. It provides payments for managing land in ways that improve wildlife habitats, water quality, soil health and landscape character, while also supporting sustainable food production and climate resilience.
AB1 Nectar Flower Mix
AB1 Nectar Flower Mix is an agri environment option designed to provide pollen and nectar for bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects. It establishes a long flowering habitat from spring to autumn, helping support pollinators and improve farm biodiversity while fitting easily into field margins or less productive areas.
AB2
AB2 Winter Bird Food is an agri environment option designed to provide a reliable source of seed for farmland birds through autumn and winter. It helps support declining bird species by supplying energy rich food during the hungry gap while also offering valuable habitat and cover on the farm.
AB3
AB3 Beetle Banks is an agri environment option that creates raised grassy strips within arable fields. These provide year round habitat for predatory beetles and other beneficial insects that help control crop pests naturally, supporting integrated pest management and farm biodiversity.
AB7
AB7 Wild Bird Seed Mix is an agri environment option designed to provide seed rich crops that support farmland birds throughout autumn and winter. It helps boost food availability for declining species while also offering shelter and foraging habitat within the farmed landscape.
AB8
AB8 Flower Rich Margins is an agri environment option that creates perennial wildflower strips along field edges. These margins provide long lasting pollen and nectar for pollinators while also offering habitat for beneficial insects, birds and small mammals, helping to enhance biodiversity across the farm.
AB9
AB9 Winter Bird Food Supplement is an agri environment option that provides additional seed through supplementary feeding areas or retained crops. It supports farmland birds during periods of food shortage in late winter and early spring, helping improve survival rates of vulnerable species.
AB14
AB14 Harvested Low Input Cereal is an agri environment option that involves growing a cereal crop with reduced inputs and leaving it unharvested or lightly harvested over winter. It provides a valuable food source and habitat for farmland birds and small mammals while supporting biodiversity across the farm.
AB15
AB15 Two Year Sown Legume Fallow is an agri environment option where a legume rich mix is established and left in place for two years. It improves soil structure and fertility through nitrogen fixation while providing pollen, nectar and habitat for pollinators and other wildlife.
AB16
AB16 Autumn Sown Bicolor Legume Mix is an agri environment option designed to establish a winter hardy legume crop that provides early season pollen and nectar for insects. It also improves soil fertility through nitrogen fixation and offers valuable habitat for wildlife while fitting well into arable rotations.
GS3
Ryegrass set-seed as winter food for birds
GS4
Legume & herb rich swards
GS7
Restoration towards species rich grassland
GS8
Creation of species rich grassland
GS11
Creation of wet grassland for breeding waders
GS12
Creation of wet grassland for wintering waders and wildfowl
GS14
Creation of grassland for target features
SW3
In-field grass strips
SW4
12-24m watercourse buffer strip on cultivated land
SW6
Winter cover crops
SW7
Arable reversion to grassland with low fertiliser inputs
SW8
Management of intensive grassland adjacent to a watercourse
