Blooming Crop Margins

Demonstrator Hub sites at Chesham (Bio Global Industries Ltd. (BGI)), North Wyke (Rothamsted Research) and Headley Hall (NIAB) have reported on the successful establishment of Sustainable Farming Initiative (SFI) compliant crop margins.

After the Defra announcement that bioenergy crops in England would be eligible for SFI payments for establishing flower-rich grass margins, these Biomass Connect demonstrator hubs established trial areas using complaint seed mixes to explore the outcomes landowners could expect.

At Chesham and Headley Hall margins were seeded around the outer perimeter of the experimental area, whilst at North Wyke a smaller demonstration field corner was sown.  Areas for seeding were power-harrowed and treated with herbicide before sowing. Seed mixes contained a mixture of 90% grasses with 10% wildflowers bought from commercial suppliers and sown at a rate of 20 kg per hectare.  The site manager at Chesham also topped one of their wetter margins in mid-March to reduce grass growth and encourage the flowers to establish.

Photos  from the sites (below) showed good establishment, with cornflowers, clover, oxeye-daisies, poppies, sainfoin and wild carrot visible flowering in amongst the grasses.  Levels of flowering vary within and between the sites, with flowers especially abundant in the drier margins at Chesham, and the site manager at the North Wyke site noting how the heavy clay there has favoured the grasses.

Whilst the flowers in these mixes will provide much-needed resources for pollinators, the grasses are also important for wildlife. The grasses being food plants for several butterfly species, and providing shelter for invertebrates and small mammals, all helping to support local biodiversity.

We will continue to monitor these margins to see how they perform over time and if any problematic weeds appear, but for now, we will enjoy the flowers!