Cocksfoot:
This is a very persistent grass that grows relatively slowly during the sowing year, in the second and the years after it is very vigorous. Cocksfoot begins to grow early on in the spring, regrowth once cut consists mostly of leafy palatable shoots. Summertime growth is important. Cocksfoot is winter hardy and drought tolerant, early types are used for conservation whereas late types are fantastic for grazing.

Smooth Stalked Meadowgrass:
One of the greenest grasses found growing in the early spring. Palatable, and nutritional to livestock, often called one of the traditional 'sweet grasses'. Used for grazing and as a bottom grass component of a traditional sward. A long term persistent perennial species. This is one of the most nutritious meadow grasses, with early spring growth and persisting on thinner, dry land. Good frost tolerance.

Ideal Sowing Time:   Sow from May to June.              

Flowers:  May - August.

Management:  Generally, it can tolerate moderate to heavy grazing.
It varies in height from 10-90cm.

Provides a useful base to traditional grass mixtures. Smooth stalk meadow grass can be combined with other reasonably nonaggressive species, to create a traditional long term grass pasture. It may also be included in more productive traditional mixtures with robust species like Timothy and meadow fescue as a sward filling 'bottom grass'.

Strong Creeping Red Fescue:
Often known as Strong Red Fescue, this common grass, as its name implies, has creeping rhizomes. It has a more vigorous creeping habit than some similar species which can help to create a dense, hardwearing turf or sward. These shallow creeping roots help it to remain green even in drier soils.

Meadow Fescue:
Very persistent grass. It does not require a high temperature to actively grow and is very winter hardy. It works well with a high soil moisture content. Meadow Fescue can grow in a wide range of soils and has a early spring growth with the regrowth consisting of mainly leafy shoots. Suitable for cutting and grazing.

Timothy:
Grows well in wet and peaty soils and has superior winter hardness.

What is a Riparian Buffer Zone?
It is an area adjacent to a body of water where there must be no chemical and organic fertilisers, cultivation and spraying can take place. these zones can have a varieties of width and are needed to protect the waters rom diffuse losses of nutrients, sediment and chemicals.

Objective:
To help protect water quality by intercepting the loss of sediment and nutrients from soil surfaces after they have been mobilised. This measure also takes small areas out of production, thereby reducing the nutrient load while also supporting biodiversity. This action has options for linear buffer strips and area-based buffer zones.

Site suitability
1. Riparian buffer strips or zones - Arable can only be created adjacent to small streams, surface drains, rivers, lakes or ponds.
2. The riparian buffer strip and zone - Arable can only be selected on LPIS parcels declared as an arable crop (except for temporary grassland, grass seed and grass meal) and Riparian Zone on 2022 BPS application.
 

When choosing locations for Riparian Buffers, it is recommended that they are targeted to areas on the farm identified in the EPA Pollution Impact Potential-Phosphorus (PIP-P) maps as high risk (Rank 1-3) and verified on the ground as a flow delivery point or pathway for surface runoff to an adjacent watercourse. The Riparian Buffer Zones are particularly important here to create a targeted wide buffer in these high-risk areas.

Note 1: Where a Riparian buffer strip or Riparian Buffer zone Split parcel (SP) is being created in a parcel, bovines are not permitted to access any OSI Water line or single stream line watercourse at other locations in the parcel (drinking points are not permitted). 

Riparian buffer strips
Actions that can be selected on the same LPIS or split of parcel are:
Barn Owl nest box, Coppicing of hedgerows, Grass margins arable, Laying of hedgerows, Planting a new hedgerow, Planting a traditional orchard, Protection and maintenance of archaeological monuments arable, Traditional dry stone wall maintenance, Tree planting, Unharvested cereal headlands, Winter bird food strip.

Riparian buffer zones
The only other actions that can be selected on the chosen area for this action (full LPIS or split of parcel) are:
Barn Owl nest box, Coppicing of hedgerows, Laying of hedgerows, Planting trees in riparian buffer zones, Traditional dry stone wall maintenance.

Requirements
Riparian buffer strip - Linear
1. Establish a 3, 4, 6 or 8 metre grass riparian buffer strip(s) by sowing a seed mix from Table 1 below by 31 August 2023.
2. The location and length (metres) must be identified on the LPIS parcel(s) and marked on the map submitted. Participants can choose different strip widths within the same LPIS.
3. To be eligible for this action, the minimum continuous length to be delivered is 10m. The Riparian buffer strip width is measured from the top of the bank or from the edge of an existing boundary (ie. hedgerow, treeline, stone wall or earthen bank) into the field. Where scrub is present, the margin width can be inclusive of scrub. 

Riparian buffer zone - Area
4. Establish a riparian buffer zone area by sowing a seed mix from Table 1 below by 31 August 2023.
5. This action can be delivered on a full or split LPIS parcel. Where the action is selected on a split LPIS, it must be digitised and marked on the map submitted.
6. To be eligible for this action, the minimum area to deliver is 0.04 hectares and the maximum area for payment is 2 hectares.
7. When creating a Riparian Buffer Zone - Split parcel, it must extend at least 20 metres out from the watercourse or boundary feature at the widest point along the zone.
8. Hedgerow requirement, as outlined on page 22, applies to this action.

Requirements which apply to both options
9. The Riparian buffer is in addition to any mandatory baseline requirements for applicable watercourses on the holding.
10. The buffer must be established using non-inversion techniques (ploughing is not permitted).
11. Soil cultivation cannot be carried out within the buffer once established.
12. Livestock are not permitted to graze the buffer.
13. The seed mix must contain at least three grass species, of which Cocksfoot must make up a minimum of 40%. Seed labels and receipts must be kept forthe duration of the contract.
14. Chemical or organic fertilisers cannot be applied to the buffer.
15. Pesticides and herbicides are not permitted, except for the spot treatment of noxious/invasive weeds.
16. Cutting is permitted but cannot take place between 1 March and the 31 August annually. Offtakes can be removed.
17. Riparian Buffer strips established under the former GLAS Arable Grass margins action can continue to be managed under the new ACRES scheme. These should not be ploughed to re-establish a new margin as they already benefit from a significant reduction in nutrients and increased botanical diversity. After cutting in year one, these can be over-sown with the grass mix and managed as above for Riparian Buffer Strip/Zone action. 

Additional guidance

• Grass should be cut in the first two years to encourage a dense sward.
• As a build-up of nutrients can occur over time, some buffers will require more frequent management to maintain functionality. In spatially targeted buffers where there is a high risk of overland flow, cutting and removal of vegetation at least once annually will be necessary.
• The use of heavy machinery should be avoided within 2 metres of the bank.
• Riparian areas are very susceptible to non-native invasive species e.g. Himalayan balsam, Giant hogweed. Monitor the riparian buffer and carry out appropriate management/removal of non-native invasive species where necessary.