HS7 is an action under the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme. It pays £863 per year for management of historic water meadows through traditional irrigation.

* Float or drown the meadow for an agreed period each year

* Maintain gutters, carriers, or channels to ensure an even 25mm water flow over the sward

float or drown the meadow for an agreed period of time each year

maintain the gutters, carriers or channels to encourage an even film of water approximately 25mm deep to flow over the sward

* maintain and repair the water control structures such as sluices, weirs and hatches, keeping a record of the work

* Manage the meadow by grazing or hay cutting once dry

* Use very little or no manures, fertilisers, pesticides, or supplementary feed

* Control undesirable plants

* Do not harrow, roll, plough, cultivate, re-seed, or remove/replace/relocate historic structures

* Do not work on gutters, carriers, or channels during late spring and summer

HS7 pays £863 per year.

It is available for Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier only: on functioning water meadows that are managed using traditional practices, that is where irrigation is achieved through a system of inlet and outlet channels where management has written support from the Environment Agency On meadows: that flood naturally and do not have control structures such as sluices and hatches to regulate water levels where water cannot be controlled - water needs to flow evenly across the meadow at up

This information is provided by Farmwalk based on published government guidance. Always check the latest guidance on GOV.UK.