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introduction
map
application
objectives
the agreement
management of land
lowland pasture with hay making
grassland supplement
old orchards
6m arable margin
buffer strips
all mapped boundaries
boundaries to be restored
annual payments 1
annual payments 2
capital work specifications
hedge restoration
hedgerow planting
livestock control
ditch and rhyne restoration
tree planting
standards of good farming practice
grassland management
The objectives of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme for Lackham Farm & Estate are described below. The management requirements of the Agreement are intended to achieve these stated objectives.
Landscape:
Retain mature field, hedgerow and pollard trees and plant new willow trees as future pollards to maintain and enhance the landscape.
Restore the farm orchard to maintain it as an important landscape feature and cultural/ educational resource.
Extensively graze the grassland in fields 0324(L1), 9702(L45), 6982(L26) and 4182(henfield) to maintain and enhance the riverside landscape.
Maintain and restore hedges by coppicing, laying and gapping up as necessary to maintain the historic hedgerow pattern.
Wildlife:
Create a network of 6 metre tussocky grass margins around cultivated fields to provide hunting habitat for barn owls; nesting habitat for farmland birds such as grey partridge, and skylarks; over-wintering habitat for beneficial invertebrates such as ground beetles and small mammals and to buffer hedges and adjacent habitats.
Maintain and sympathetically manage mature and veteran hedgerow and field trees and their associated wildlife [e.g. specialist deadwood invertebrates and fungi].
Buffer veteran and mature field trees by sowing six metre grass margins around the base of the tree to protect the tree roots from cultivation and trees from herbicide and fertiliser spray drift.
Create buffer strips in intensive grass fields 5491(L30), 7786(L31), 6149(L10), 2027(L4), 6735(L2) and 2691(L36) to protect the River Avon candidate Special Area of Conservation, streams, species rich hedges and their associated wildlife from fertiliser and herbicide applications.
Maintain and restore hedgerows and hedgerow trees for the benefit of wildlife, aiming for tall, thick, bushy hedges across the farm with a good range of wild plants at their base. This will provide a wide range of habitats for a variety of plants and animals.
Manage hedges by rotational trimming in late winter to ensure that there is always some untrimmed habitat for over-wintering insects and other wildlife, and fruit, berries and nectar plants available for birds, insects and small mammals in winter.
Maintain and where possible enhance the botanical interest of the grassland in fields 6982(L26), 4182(Henfield), 9702(L45) and 0324(L1) by extensive cattle grazing without the use of artificial fertilisers or sprays. Manage fields 0324(L1) and 9702(L45) to benefit wintering wildfowl and waders such as snipe and to maintain tussocky waterside habitat for water voles.
History/archaeology:
To protect and maintain any features of historic and archaeological interest on the farm.
Maintaining and restoring ancient hedges to retain the historic field boundary pattern.
Access:
Maintain existing public rights of way which enable walkers to enjoy the local landscape and wildlife
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