Growers have just five weeks to incorporate skylark plots into cereal crops if they wish to gain the ELS points this season and help the Campaign for the Farmed Environment.

The aim of the plots, which need to be established by 31 December to qualify, is to help skylarks forage for food once crops grow and become more dense as they allow the birds to land in the field and feed on insects in the crop.

According to the RSPB, introducing just two skylark plots/ha, measuring a minimum area of 16sq m (for example 4m x 4m or 3m x 6m), can increase skylark productivity by as much as 50%. This is important as skylark numbers have decline in recent years.

Skylark plots are also one of the best paying options under ELS for the area of land they occupy (five points per plot) and they are also counted as a key target option in the Campaign for the Farmed Environment, says campaign project coordinator Corrina Gibbs.

For example, putting 14 skylark plots (Option C4/EF8) in a 10ha field of winter wheat attracts £5 per plot, £70 in total, under ELS.

Ms Gibbs advised creating two plots/ha in fields greater than 5ha in size with an open aspect. Fields bounded by trees or adjacent woods are not suitable unless they are greater than 10ha.

Plots can be managed in the same way as the rest of the field; they can be over-sprayed and fertilised and growers are not required to keep plots weed-free. But there must be no mechanical weeding.

Chris Bailey, farm manager at Hope Farm, in Knapwell, Cambridgeshire, first tried skylark plots in 2001 and he has been amazed by the recovery of bird populations on his farm. The latest farm bird survey results showed skylark numbers have jumped from 10 to 41 pairs since patches were first introduced on the farm.

“The plots have worked really well and we have seen no difference in terms of weed burden,” Mr Bailey says. “To maximise the benefits, plots must be created at least 50m away from boundaries and hedges to minimise nest predation.

“The later you can spray them out towards the December deadline under ELS, the better.”

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• For more on the Campaign for the Farmed Environment click here