SFI: Winter bird food on improved grassland

[Grass And Grain]

£474/ha. Leave to go to seed and leave over winter.

Only on improved grassland.

Slippers on, feet up, move to south of France.

As per the poll,would you use this option?

I worry DEFRA don't realise how their subsidy schemes will affect some people and their businesses. I suspect the days of the £60/acre grass let are numbered.

 

[AndrewM]

When's the latest you could cut or graze it and still get it to set seed before winter?

 

[redsloe]

Could you combine it with GS4?

 

[beardface]

How do you take a decent cut in the second year?

 

[Grass And Grain]

How do you take a decent cut in the second year?

Graze it in early spring?

In reality I'd say grass entered into this option won't have much productive capacity. More the case of just leaving it and taking the £474/ha and maybe graze it in spring before closing up by say mid May.

 

[Grass And Grain]

How do you take a decent cut in the second year?

Graze it in early spring?

In reality I'd say grass entered into this option won't have much productive capacity. More the case of just leaving it and taking the £474/ha and maybe graze it in spring before closing up by say mid May

 

[David.]

How long commitment, term or annual? Might work for people who let folks graze it to keep it tidy.. I wonder if your own sheep will leave £474/ha clear profit especially if you owned "problem" fields with dog walkers, etc.

 

[AndrewM]

It needs to provide seed for birds during autumn and winter. Elsewhere in the document they describe autumn as September,October,November. Winter December,jannuary, February. So you would be free to top or graze it on 1st of march.

Could get two cuts? may and july then leave it to set seed.

Is a third cut worth £474ha? Worth thinking about

 

[AndrewM]

How long commitment, term or annual? Might work for people who let folks graze it to keep it tidy..

3 year agreement. Either all of it, or you can just do some fields and rotate it every year

 

[Jackov Altraids]

It needs to provide seed for birds during autumn and winter. Elsewhere in the document they describe autumn as September,October,November. Winter December,jannuary, February. So you would be free to top or graze it on 1st of march.

Could get two cuts? may and july then leave it to set seed.

Is a third cut worth £474ha? Worth thinking about

Does anything set seed after July?

 

[Vader]

So you just leave the grass to seed?

 

[AndrewM]

Could you combine it with GS4?

No

 

[AndrewM]

So you just leave the grass to seed?

And then do nothing to it between 1st September till end of feb, so birds can eat seeds

 

[Vader]

What code is this?
Save me looking through 150 pages lol

 

[AndrewM]

Igl2 page78

 

[Goweresque]

Does anything set seed after July?

The whole concept seems daft, particularly when applied to older (but improved) permanent pasture. I have permanent grass fields that get both sprayed and fertilised so would qualify as improved grassland (I assume?). If I wait until they have gone to seed to cut them (say mid July, like the old CSS date) then the seed will either be taken away in the hay, or fall out onto the ground. If the latter they usually germinate if you have some half decent rain in July/August/Sept. And what regrows after a July hay cut doesn't really set seed at all, you just get a lush sward of leafy grass. So nothing for winter birds at all. So it seems to me that I could get £180/acre to make late hay and leave the grass to grow on ungrazed through the winter. And still fertilise and spray the ground. Or am I missing something?

 

[Grass And Grain]

I've some low lying grassland. Going to shove it in this option.

If can't make £474/ha from sheep/cattle or hay, and DEFRA want things like this, then let them have it.

 

[Hampton]

So basically, you shut the gate on it end of July and leave until March 1st?

 

[Grass And Grain]

The whole concept seems daft, particularly when applied to older (but improved) permanent pasture. I have permanent grass fields that get both sprayed and fertilised so would qualify as improved grassland (I assume?). If I wait until they have gone to seed to cut them (say mid July, like the old CSS date) then the seed will either be taken away in the hay, or fall out onto the ground. If the latter they usually germinate if you have some half decent rain in July/August/Sept. And what regrows after a July hay cut doesn't really set seed at all, you just get a lush sward of leafy grass. So nothing for winter birds at all. So it seems to me that I could get £180/acre to make late hay and leave the grass to grow on ungrazed through the winter. And still fertilise and spray the ground. Or am I missing something?

Suppose you need to create conditions whereby it sets seed.

Our grass is late getting going, by time we get a cut, then if we leave it, it doesn't set seed. So we'd really just have to leave the grass the full season to set seed. But we'd get £474/ha for doing nothing.

 

[Grass And Grain]

So basically, you shut the gate on it end of July and leave until March 1st?

If you think your grass will set seed doing that. Ryegrass would wouldn't it?