Avoid summer hedge cutting as it is harmful to nesting birds, and removes flowers and fruit. Avoid annual cutting except where required for road safety reasons.

Bracken - second cut or crush six weeks from the first in June. Bracken can be controlled by spraying with a specific herbicide from mid July (do not spray if rare ferns are present). Consult Environment Agency before spraying near watercourses.

Apply for any tree felling licences (may be applicable to hedgerow management) and Woodland Grant Schemes now. Retain ivy-clad and old trees, and protect veteran trees (100+ years old) from operations such as ploughing.

Allow wildflowers to set seed before cutting for hay.

Leave some grassland areas and field margins uncut every other year to provide overwintering habitats for insects.

Use water wisely and think seriously about building a winter storage reservoir to avoid need for summer abstraction (obtain abstraction licence and planning permission) as the long term forecast is for much dryer conditions.

Take care with silage liquor and check the level of effluent in the tank.

Identify and tag some saplings in hedgerows for promotion to trees.

Plan any scrub removal necessary to maintain flower-rich grassland. Scrub can be cut over autumn/winter and treated with herbicide to prevent re-growth. Ensure herbicide does not damage grassland.

Note that slurry, poultry manures or liquid digested sludge should not be applied to sandy or shallow soils between 1 August and 1 November for fields not in grass without autumn sown crop and that a maximum of 170k N per hectare applies from December 2006.

AUGUST

Bird nesting season largely over, although some species, such as stone-curlew and corn bunting, still breeding.

Graze unimproved and herb-rich grassland extensively to remove coarse growth leave a varied sward and to help the finer species flourish next season.

Cut alternate sides of grass verges and woodland rides this month every other year so some vegetation cover is left for overwintering insects. For access, cut only centres of rides and roadside strips annually.

Top linear grass banks/beetle banks but leave grass tussocks to provide winter shelter for wildlife. Cut tussocky banks and field margins on a rotation every 3-4 years (to prevent scrub encroachment).

Where possible, consider introducing grass into arable rotations to improve structure of soils.

Set-aside - leave uncut margins next to woodland and hedgerows. 25% of set aside can be left uncut for up to 3 years, and 10% can be left permanently uncut. When cutting non-rotational set-aside, mow in strips to create a range of grass heights.

Plan rotational coppicing of scrub (November-early March). Rotational cutting, with adjacent sections cut in subsequent years, will produce a variety of age range and structure which suits a range of species. Cut scrub in rotations of 10-20 years, and coppice on 7-14 year cycles. On flower-rich grassland sites, aim for c20% scrub to c80% open grassland.

Leave odd corners, field margins and strips of rough grass uncut until end of summer to provide areas for bumblebees, butterflies and small mammals, and feeding sites for barn owls.

If possible, leave stubbles over winter to provide food for farmland birds such as skylarks, corn buntings, linnets, tree sparrows, yellowhammers and grey partridges and to provide some protection against soil erosion.

Note that slurry, poultry manures or liquid digested sludge should not be applied to sandy or shallow soils between 1 September and 1 November on grassland or autumn sown crops or 1 August and 1 November for fields not in grass without autumn sown crop. and that a maximum of 170k N per hectare applies from December 2006.

Ensure you have sufficient storage to carry through the winter, bearing in mind possible spreading difficulties in wet springs, especially as the climate changes. With increasing rainfall over winter, it is even more important to separate off rain and roof water.

SEPTEMBER

Some birds, such as stone-curlews in Wessex, still raising broods, so care is required with agricultural operations.

Growing a cover crop (grass, rye or a green manure crop such as mustard or phacelia) over winter in maize stubble will reduce the risk of soil erosion, take up surplus nitrate and provide an early bite or first cut silage.

Cultivate arable margins (natural regeneration) on appropriate sites to encourage autumn-germinating rare wildflowers such as shepherd's needle, cornflower and Venus's looking glass. Take advice re species present and suitable cultivation timing being careful to avoid creating an erosion risk.

Sow grass margins around arable fields (can also be done in spring). Create linear grass banks (beetle banks) to control crop pests in large fields during normal autumn cultivation by turning two furrows towards each other and then drilling with a native tussocky grass mix or a wild flower mix. The Countryside Stewardship Scheme can fund this (for example £533/ha for six-metre arable margins).

Leave 1m grass margins adjacent to hedges and ditches when ploughing ley grassland. The Countryside Stewardship Scheme funds wider buffer and wildlife strips against improved grassland.

Where there is a low weed burden or on soils susceptible to capping, consider cultivating using tines or discs instead of ploughing after harvest to protect the ground with chopped straw and other residues and increase organic matter near the soil surface. Seek advice from an agronomist. Such minimum tillage practices will help protect against soil erosion and improve soil structure generally.

Order stock from tree nurseries to ensure good quality trees of uniform size. Plant a mix of native trees that already occur in your area, and do not plant on habitat of greater wildlife value (eg, rough grassland where hunting habitat for barn owls and kestrels should be retained, archaeological sites or species rich grassland).

On sandy soils prone to water erosion, try to drill winter cereals or other row combinable crops as early as possible, preferably along the contour, to ensure green cover is established to minimise the potential for erosion.

Regularly check soil for compaction and plan remedial cultivation when it is needed. Break up compaction in tramlines and harvest tracks. Changing climate, with wetter winters, will increase the risk of compaction and decrease the opportunities for sub-soiling, so careful attention to the timing of land work and trafficking will be increasingly important – try to complete drilling earlier in the month.

Avoid excessive tillage, particularly with powered cultivators, if this produces a very fine smooth seedbed on sandy and silty soils increasing the risk of capping and erosion.