sw6 winter cover crops

[JumboUk]

sounds daft but how do i tell if a field would be eligible for sw6 on mid tier?

Option states:

Only on one of the following

• cultivated land that is vulnerable to nitrate leaching
• cultivated land, draining directly to a watercourse, that is identified on the Farm Environment Record (FER) as at risk of soil erosion or surface runoff

what is this in layman's terms?

 

[JumboUk]

in my mind it would be any field with a significant gradient or any field that has a watercourse in it?

 

[Brisel]

As part of your application, did you not mark any steep areas or watercourses on a map? I have some steep fields but the entire region around here is prone to nitrate leaching, so I can grow SW6 anywhere.

 

[JumboUk]

i haven't applied yet, if i can use sw6 it makes the difference between applying for mid tier or just having an arable offer, imo

how do you know your whole area is prone to nitrate leeching ? is there somewhere i can look it up for my area?

 

[Brisel]

i haven't applied yet, if i can use sw6 it makes the difference between applying for mid tier or just having an arable offer, imo

how do you know your whole area is prone to nitrate leeching ? is there somewhere i can look it up for my area?

I looked up the area priorities when putting together my Higher Tier application in 2017. Since then, administration has passed to the RPA. I'll have a look, but I think a search of stewardship and priorities in the .gov website may throw up a result.

 

[yellow belly]

If you are in an nvz and grow spring crops after a wheat crop then leaching is likely
eitherdown the drains or through the free draining soil

in 2018 /19this was evident by the size of the cover before drain flow in February
in 2019 20 the cover grew in January dueto the warm weather

if I was now applying I would use more overwinter cover and no overwinter stubbles
overwinter stubble after cereals is not environmentley sustainable
with a cover the n is scavenged and available to a future crop and has to be better
in the past an early planted crop captured this n
this was practiced in the 19 century when nitrogen in the soil was valued and hard to replace
i

 

[T Hectares]

I grow SW6, CSF were very helpful...

Catchment Sensitive Farming: advice for farmers and land managers

Get help to improve water and air quality, and reduce flood risk on agricultural land.

www.gov.uk

 

[Brisel]

I looked up the area priorities when putting together my Higher Tier application in 2017. Since then, administration has passed to the RPA. I'll have a look, but I think a search of stewardship and priorities in the .gov website may throw up a result.

Here we go: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/countryside-stewardship-statements-of-priorities

Choose you area. There's an interactive map you can select that will show what they are concerned about e.g. nitrates or phosphates. This can be used to justify the SW6 option for your farm even if you don't have steep land or land leading down to a watercourse. The interactive map is 40Mb for my area so will take a while to load even with good broadband.

@T Hectares is right - your local CSF officer will be very helpful. I'm not in a sensitive catchment but thanks to the new area priorities I did fall within their remit. CSF will need to be involved if you want capital grants for things like sprayer filling areas, roofs for cattle yards etc.

 

[Neddy flanders]

do you think a SW6 payment of 114/ha and a spring crop could produce a better GM than a winter crop???

 

[Brisel]

That depends on what you’re comparing it to. Say you have a GM of £70/ha on the cover crop allowing for establishment costs and seed that’s not a bad head start on a spring barley crop vs a second wheat plus you’re improving your soil and will have better weed control.

 

[JumboUk]

thank you all