Rural Payments and Services

The aim of this item is to benefit machair. This rare habitat supports a wide range of flowers, farmland birds and important insects such as bumblebees.

Seaweed is a valuable fertiliser, but importantly contains alginates which help to bind and protect the unique sandy soils of the machair.

Land that is ploughable machair is eligible.

You should not include areas of land covering rocks, scree, water, dense bracken etc. We will check this using the same approach we use to check land for the Basic Payment Scheme.

Assessing your land eligibility

You must combine this item with the Cropped Machair option. The eligible area is that due to be sown to an arable crop as part of the cropped machair rotation.

You must identify on a map the area over which the seaweed is to be spread.

• you must spread seaweed over the area to be cropped before it is ploughed or rotovated. You may also apply farmyard manure
• you must keep evidence of the application of seaweed such as photographs and / or a contractor’s invoice
• you must maintain a diary

You can claim £239.15 per hectare where you have spread seaweed.

The inspectors will check:

• the location and extent of the work
• you have spread seaweed over the area to be cropped before it is ploughed or rotovated. You may also apply farmyard manure
• you have kept evidence of the application of seaweed such as photographs and / or a contractor’s invoice
• you have maintained a diary

Supporting guidance is available for this item.

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