Harvest not over yet!

Cereals safely harvested? All straw saved? But don’t think that ‘harvest’ is complete.  Long after the combines have finished their work cereal stubbles will continue to be ‘harvested’ by birds and other wildlife.

Skylark, yellowhammer, linnet and tree sparrow are just some of the birds that feed on the cereal grains and weed seeds found in stubbles over winter.  As Northern Ireland’s arable sector has declined so have the populations of these farmland birds.  Fortunately, however, the switch from spring to winter sowing, that has been so much a feature of cropping in Great Britain, has been less pronounced here.  This means that many cereal growers can still retain large areas of unploughed stubble over winter.

More than 600 farmers in Northern Ireland receive payments through agri-environment schemes for retaining over 4500ha of stubbles to provide as much benefit to wildlife as possible.

Stubbles are retained only on fields where perennial weeds are not a problem, as the crop should not be sprayed with glyphosate pre-or post- harvest. Following harvest, the stubble is left unploughed for as long as possible through the winter. No slurry, farmyard manure or other materials are spread on the stubble during the winter. Grazing is permissible, but any supplementary feeding sites are rotated frequently to prevent poaching.

To find out how you can improve the biodiversity on your farm contact Countryside Management Staff at your local DARD Office.