CHS9: Restrict crop establishment depth on historic and archaeological features
Source: gov.uk (2025-09-10)

What you must do to get paid for this CSHT action and advice on how to do it.

This action is part of Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT). You must read the CSHT guidance (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/countryside-stewardship-higher-tier-csht) before you apply.

Duration

5 years

How much you’ll be paid

£257 per hectare (ha) per year

Action’s aim

This action’s aim is to prevent damage to historic and archaeological features under cultivation. You can do this by using shallower cultivation depths and direct drilling where subtle earthwork survive, combined with cover crops to improve the resilience of soil structure to compaction, erosion and weed burdens.

The purpose of this is to:
- prevent damage to below-ground historic and archaeological features
- improve soil health
Where you can do this action

You can do this action on eligible land that’s either:
- is identified as containing a historic or archaeological feature on your Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (HEFER)
- contains an historic or archaeological feature identified by you, and agreed with a Natural England adviser
You cannot use this action on parcels at risk of soil erosion or runoff. Your Natural England or Historic England adviser will confirm which areas are suitable.

Eligible land

You can do this action on land that’s:
- an eligible land type
- registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
- declared with a land use code (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/land-use-codes-rural-payments) which is compatible with the eligible land cover
Available area you can enter into this action

Total or part of the available area in the land parcel.

Rotational or static action

This action is static. This means you must do it on the same location each year of the action’s duration.

What to do

Your Natural England or Historic England adviser will assess your land. They’ll work with you to adapt and agree the activities you must do to achieve this action’s aim. All mandatory activities will be set out in your agreement document.

To get paid for this action, you must:
- ensure all work involving tillage, soil management, planting and harvesting does not go deeper than 15cm
- use a direct drill system where historic or archaeological earthworks are known to survive
- plant a cover crop for at least one of the 5 years of your agreement
- locate vehicle or stock access routes at least 6m away from the historic and archaeological feature
You must not:
- use equipment trains that are longer than 6m
- carry out drainage works, including modifying existing drainage, without written permission from your Natural England adviser
You must not grow the following crops on the action area:
- maize
- lucerne
- root and tuber crops (excluding non-harvestable root crops such as grazed fodder beet and forage turnips)
- short rotation coppice
- miscanthus
When to do it

You must do this action each year of its duration.

Evidence to keep

You must keep evidence to show what you have done to complete this action. If it’s not clear that you have done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) may ask for this evidence.

You must supply the evidence if they ask for it, including:
- field operations at a land parcel level
- associated invoices
- photographs
Other actions or options you can do on the same area as this action

You can do the following actions or options on the same area in a land parcel as this action.

Some actions or options can only be done on the same area if they’re done at a different time of year to this action.

You can do the following actions or options on the eligible boundaries of a land parcel entered into this action:
- CSHT actions: CWT3, CHRW4
- SFI 2024 actions: CHRW1, CHRW2, CHRW3, BND1, BND2, WBD10
- SFI 2023 actions: HRW1, HRW2, HRW3
- CS option BE3 (management of hedgerows)
Consents, permissions and licensing requirements

To apply for this action, you’ll need:
- consent from Natural England for any activity on land designated as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/protected-areas-sites-of-special-scientific-interest#get-consent-to-carry-out-operations-on-your-land)
You may need to:
- agree an implementation plan or feasibility study with your Natural England adviser
- get advice from your Historic England, Natural England adviser or local authority if you have other historic or archaeological features on your agreement land
- get a wildlife licence (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wildlife-licences) from Natural England if your activities affect a protected species or their habitat
All historic and archaeological features (including scheduled monuments) are identified in your Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (HEFER).

You can manage any historic and archaeological features you identify that are not listed on your Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (HEFER) under this action (if agreed with your Natural England).

If you’re a tenant, it’s your responsibility to check whether your tenancy agreement allows you to complete what’s required in the actions you choose. You may need your landlord’s consent.

Capital grants to support this action

If you need to complete an implementation plan or a feasibility study before you apply, you can apply for capital grants plans funding (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/capital-items-guidance-for-applicants-and-agreement-holders#capital-grants-plans).

You can also apply for capital items (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/capital-items-guidance-for-applicants-and-agreement-holders) to help you achieve the action’s aims. Your Natural England adviser will discuss eligible capital items with you.

Advice to help you do this action

The following optional advice may help you to do this action. Your agreement document will set out all the activities you must do.

Restricting crop establishment depths

You can reduce crop establishment depth through:
- direct drilling
- raising the height of the chisel
- using depth control chains or gauges
- using a GPS depth controller
- increasing the number of discs (14 discs for a 3m width instead of the usual 9)
- using depth wheels with parallelogram mounting
You must use a direct drill system on sites where there are historic or archaeological earthworks.

Managing cover crops and soil on your land

Cover crops are more likely to succeed if they’re:
- established quickly
- use mixes with good frost tolerance
- have a good ground cover
You can establish the cover crop quickly by including it in the preceding crop at harvest time or sowing it immediately following harvest.

You can reduce soil compaction by:
- not working in wet soil conditions
- reducing tyre pressure of vehicles travelling on the site – this will help spread the load more evenly