Adjust your stubble management to support the CFE

Farmers and land managers are being urged to tweak how they manage their stubble to help the Campaign for the Farmed Environment (CFE) meet targets for Voluntary Measures.

In 2010/11, Englands farmers delivered over 40,000ha of stubble management meeting the essential management or red box requirements of the Campaigns Voluntary Measures. However, more must be done to increase the area of land managed voluntarily by June 2012 to help avoid more onerous management requirements in the future.

CFE local co-ordinator and Yorkshire farmer Fraser Hugill said: If farmers tweak their management in 2011/12, the CFE could easily eclipse its target. The Defra survey of voluntary measures earlier this year showed that farmers delivered 59,000ha of stubble land that could have met the essential requirements.

When you consider that over 320,000ha of spring barley alone was planted in 2010, there is huge potential for this option to support the Campaign. Last year I retained 8ha of stubble over and above ELS to support CFE.

Farmers and land managers can support the Campaign by leaving stubbles to green up over winter before applying glyphosate in spring and not ploughing before February 14.  As the dates for retaining voluntary stubbles now coincides with ELS options EF15 and EG4, management is far more practical and simplified. But land managed outside of an ELS agreement can still adopt either CFE option C6 over winter stubble followed by spring/summer fallow or C7a or C7b overwinter stubbles, voluntarily to support the Campaign and encourage farmland birds.

Chris Tomson, RSPB regional agricultural adviser for Yorkshire and Humber, said: Stubbles managed in ELS or CFE red box can act as a giant bird table providing weed seeds, insects, earthworms, spiders and spilled grain for farmland birds throughout the winter. Winter stubble also provides cover from predators and extreme weather for birds such as grey partridge and skylark. The spring crops following stubbles offer nesting sites for ground nesting birds such as lapwing, skylark and yellow wagtail particularly in areas dominated by winter cereals and rape.

In parts of Yorkshire, where farmers have maintained a mix of winter and spring cropping, we are seeing increases in skylark and tree sparrow numbers, which is great news. CFE has these red box management requirements to ensure stubble is providing a food source for birds deep into the winter.  

Farmers considering any post-harvest glyphosate and over wintering stubbles should stop and ask What can I do to ensure my stubble ground meets the requirements of the Campaign? Farmers can visit the CFE website (www.cfeonline.org.uk) to find the essential requirements for managing stubble in the Campaigns Guide to Voluntary Measures booklet and also record any voluntary measures using the CFEs Online Record. This is the industrys chance to prove to the Government they can deliver environmental benefits through a voluntary approach without the need for costly and bureaucratic regulation.

Nationally, the campaign is looking to achieve the following targets:

• Ensure that ELS agreements contain the right options in the right places to create important habitats for wildlife and protect soil and water resources on farms.
• Retain 179,000 hectares of uncropped land across England improve the management of at least a third of this land to support habitats for birds, insects and mammals.
• Increase the current national level of voluntary environmental management by at least 30,000 hectares.

CFE is an industry led initiative with NFU, CLA, CAAV, AIC, AICC working in partnership with Defra and its agencies, Natural England and the Environment Agency, as well as FWAG, LEAF, the RSPB and other wildlife organisations.

For further information logon to www.cfeonline.co.uk or call Campaign Co-ordinator Victoria Hicks on 02476 858536.