Project funded
by theEU–DGEnvironment
L
and
surfacerelevant
forapplication
Artificial surface
Agriculture land
Forest and semi-natural areas
Wetlands
F
inancialcosts
(C
apital
,
operation
&
maintenance
)
The measure in itself does
not incur costs
. But there may be capital or main-
tenance costs associated with changes in tillage and other practices that are used
to implement early sowing. Early sowing can be associated with different pest and
disease risks which may require different management to conventional practices,
but might not incur additional costs. It may also help to spread on-farm workload.
D
esign
Early sowing of spring crops requires an appropriate seedbed. This might require
the use of
reduced tillage
methods such as direct drilling. In northern countries
where soils may be saturated, the use of early sowing in combination with methods
including reduced or no-tillage and controlled traffic farming may be desirable
to avoid soil compaction.
S
cale
This measure acts at the field level and
operations at larger scales such as whole
farms may be constrained by crop ro-
tations.
Early sowing refers to sowing up to 6 weeks
before the normal sowing season
. This allows for an earlier and quicker establishment of winter crops that can
provide cover over winter and of a root network that leads to soil protection. The period in which the soil lies bare is shorter and, therefore, erosion and runoff
are less significant and water infiltration is improved. Early sowing can also help to mitigate summer drought impacts on spring sown crops, like the extreme
evapotranspiration rates of Mediterranean regions. However, it may require specific cultivation techniques and cannot be applied for all crops.
AGRICULTURE
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