More Information:
Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) Behaviours and Practices
Protecting Watercourses
Livestock Management
- Reduce stocking densities
- Reduce grazing intensity
- Avoid poaching
- Move feeders and troughs at regular intervals
- Reduce N and P in livestock diets
- Provide access to drinking water through pasture pumps and troughs
Manure Management
- Adopt recognised manure management plan
- Export surplus manure
- Adopt batch storage of slurry and of solid manure
- Compost solid manure
- Change from slurry to solid manure handling system
- Site solid manure heaps away from watercourses and field drains
- Site solid manure heaps on concrete and collect the effluent
- Do not apply manure to high risk areas
- Do not spread farmyard manure, slurry or poultry manure to fields at high-risk times
- Incorporate into soil quickly or inject
- Test manure spreaders and re-calibrate as necessary
Nutrient Management
- Adopt nutrient management plan
- Use recognised fertiliser recommendation system
- Test soils
- Keep records of applications
- Seek advice from FACTS qualified agronomists
- Integrate fertiliser and manure supply
- Do not apply P fertilisers to high P index soils
- Do not apply fertiliser to high risk areas
- Avoid spreading fertilisers at high risk times
- Test manure spreaders and re-calibrate as necessary
Land use / Soil Management
- Convert arable land to grassland
- Adopt recognised soil management plan
- Establish autumn cover crops
- Cultivate in spring rather than autumn
- Adopt minimal cultivation systems
- Check for and deal with sub-surface capping and compaction
- Cultivate and drill across the slope and along contours
- Avoid winter tramlines
- Leave autumn seedbeds rough
- Establish in-field grass buffer strips
- Reduce field size with new hedges and beetle banks
- Introduce grass leys into arable rotations
- Avoid high risk crops on high risk fields
- Use forestry and set aside schemes to good effect
Crop Protection
- Adopt recognised crop protection management plan
- Test sprayers
- Use registered operators
- Spray under optimum conditions
- Handle and dispose of pesticides responsibly
Other
- Adopt phase feeding of livestock
- Maintain and enhance soil organic matter levels
- Incinerate poultry litter
- Relocate gates
- Provide adequate slurry and manure storage
- Separate clean from dirty water
- Manage / treat dirty water
- Allow field drainage to deteriorate
- Establish wetland