A sensible short phone conversation Friday morning with The Rural Payments Agency - not that I'm going to be bestowed by coffers of funding from the Common Agricultural Policy (the plot size mostly precludes this), but I was pointed in the direction of downloadable form CReg 01 to ensure the land remains on the Rural Land Register (over and above Land registry now it has it's own Title Number after being divested from a larger farming enterprise.
Registration is also necessary if I explore opportunities for planting under the Forestry Commission's English Woodland Grant Scheme.
A couple of 'paper exercises' for planting schemes and some notes scribbled for odd jobs over the next couple of months and deliberating over a small topper or finishing mower for behind a compact tractor.
Main focus so far for 2010/2011 with the land is to:
Make the boundaries stock-proof
Mow and maintain +50% of the area as traditional meadow with an alternating mowing / grazing strategy over future years
Recover the hedgerows by layering and maintain species diversity
Plant a few specimen black poplars in the meadow area
Finalise a planting plan for the shadier narrow side with native local provenance trees
Plan and partially plant an informal 'traditional' orchard, including a nursery stock of experimental hybrids and a few specimen mulberry trees.
Liaise with interested parties for Biodiversity Action Plan targets.
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