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Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) Behaviours and Practices

Protecting Watercourses

• Establish riparian buffer strips
• Trap silt and sediment
• Fence watercourses
• Provide fording / crossing points for livestock

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