Key Dates for your Diary - ACRES Edition

 Riparian buffer zone – Area: management (which includes mowing or mulching) is permitted after 31 August and before 15 January.

Riparian buffer strip/zone: cutting (offtake removal or topping) is not permitted between 1 March and 31 August annually.

Brassica fodder stubble: sown by 15^th of September each year

Catch crops: sown by 15^th of September each year

Environmental Management of Arable Fallow: 31^st of March (cultivation), 15^th September (catch crop)

Low Input Grassland Scorecards: scoring from 1^st of June till 30^th of August. To qualify for a Low Input Grassland Bonus, the earliest date for cutting hay/silage and qualifying for the bonus is 1 July. The latest date to cut and still qualify for the bonus is 31 August.

Low Input Grassland & Extensively Grazed Pasture: Control of rushes (a common weed) can be done via topping, grazing or weed-wiping/spot-spraying — but only after 1 July in that field.  

Geese and Swans: livestock must be removed from 1^st of October till 31^st of March

Winter Bird Food Strip or Plot: sown by 15^th of May each year, harvesting is not permitted until 1^st of March the following year

Extensively Grazed Pasture: mowing or topping (which can be part of weed control) cannot occur between 15 March and 1 July

Management of Intensive Grassland next to a Watercourse: grazing is not permitted from 1^st October to 15^th of March, can only be cut for hay/silage after 1^st of July.