August 2016

Welcome to this edition of the Regulation Technical Update
prepared by the Farm Consultancy Group.

Confirmed

Active Farmer:
Readmission to Active Farmer status could be accessed through three routes of which two
have been outlined in Defra’s guidance:
1. Readmission by income: evidence will have to be shown that direct payments were worth more than
5% of the total receipts obtained from non-agricultural activities.
2. Readmission by objective: This could be achieved by the submission of the following, or
equivalent, evidence:
a). A copy of Articles of Association or a Memorandum of Association of the business
registered at Companies House before 18 October 2011 which specifies farming as one of the
principal business or company objectives.
b). A copy of an annual return to Companies House made before 18 October 2011 confirming that the
company declared farming as a principal business objective.
c). A copy of a partnership agreement made before 18 October 2011 formally drawn up specifying
agricultural activities as a principal business or company object.
3. A third possible route of readmission would allow readmission for those that can demonstrate
their agricultural activities are not insignificant

Fallow:
For crop diversification rules, land must be kept fallow throughout the inspection period of 1
May to 30 June.
For the Ecological Focus Area rules, the period of time is 1 January – 30 June.
Pasture Legumes:
Bird’s foot trefoil, Clover, Lucerne, Sainfoin, Sweet Clover
To count for Crop Diversification and/or EFA must not be grown in a mix

Crop Type:
The National List and the Processors and Growers Research Organisation’s (PGRO) Recommended List
both have details on whether a crop is a spring or winter variety.
If the lists do not state whether it is a spring or winter crop, it should be counted as a spring
crop for the crop diversification rules

Undersowing:
If a main crop is undersown with a second crop, only the main crop can be counted for that
area.

Ecological Focus Areas

Buffer Strips:
Buffer strips must be on arable land:
next to watercourses, or
parallel with, and on a slope leading to, a watercourse.
‘Watercourses’ are defined as all surface waters, including coastal water, estuaries, lakes, ponds, rivers,
streams, canals and field ditches. Temporarily dry watercourses are included.
To qualify under the EFA rules buffer strips must have a minimum width of 1 metre. You can use the same
buffer strips to meet the greening and cross compliance rules.

Nitrogen fixing crops:
List of Leguminous crops and pasture legumes is confirmed
Beans/Chickpea/Cowpea/Fenugreek/Green beans/Lentils/Lupins/Peas/Soya and Bird’s foot trefoil, Clover,
Lucerne, Sainfoin, Sweet Clover

Cover Crops:
Cover crops will need to be established by 1 October in the Basic Payment Scheme year and retained until
at least 15 January the following year.

EFA Fallow:
Wild-bird seed mixes and nectar sources can be planted during the fallow period. These should be an
unharvestable mix of at least two crops that support wildlife and pollinators
Wild bird seed mixes should be a balanced combination of small-seed bearing crops. For example, Barley,
Triticale, Kale, Quinoa, Linseed, Millet, Mustard, Fodder radish, Sunflower.
Nectar sources should be a mix including Red clover, Alsike clover, Bird’s foot trefoil, Sainfoin, Musk
mallow, Common knapweed.

Young Farmers:
The young farmer contribution (decision making, risk sharing etc.) to the business must be half or
greater.

Cross Border farms:
Cross border farms are businesses that farm in England and elsewhere in the UK (Northern Ireland, Wales
or Scotland) and will need to meet greening at a holding level. This means that all of your land in the UK
should be counted as one and the new rules should be applied across the land as a whole. So, for
example, it would be acceptable to have all of your greening requirements in one country. Particular care
should be taken with EFA rules as they differ between parts of the UK.

Changed

Entitlements:
Entitlement transfer date moved to 21st October from 19th. The “effective date of transfer” must be on or
before 3rd December 2014

EFA Hedges:
Hedges adjacent to arable land were going to count as a full hedge irrespective of what is on the other
side. Now to count as a full hedge it must be adjacent to arable land on both sides

New

Common Land:

Commoners are likely to activate their entitlements against a ‘notional area’ of a common based on the
number of rights they hold to graze animals on the common (as under the current SPS).
· Your notional area of the common will count towards your eligible agricultural area under the
greening rules – so if the common is permanent grassland, it may help you qualify for an
exemption from the greening rules.
· The permanent grassland rules for greening will apply to most commons.

Permanent Pasture:
If a farmer has areas of permanent grassland which are covered by the WildBirds and/or Habitats
Directives (Natura 2000), this can’t be ploughed up. The area covered by these rules can be checked on
the Natural England website at:
http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/designations/sac/natura2000.aspx

Inspections:
Crop diversification will be inspected between 1 May to 30 June
Should any crops be harvested before 30 June, the RPA will accept the presence of stubble as being
evidence of a crop that has already been grown, also photographs.
Seed Mixture:
If there is an area where a seed mixture is sown, this area must be counted as a single crop – it doesn’t
matter what crops are included in the mix.

EFA Catch Crops/cover crops:
These must consist of a sown mix of at least 2 different cover types (1 cereal and 1 non-cereal) that:
· establish quickly
· achieve ground cover
· will utilise available nutrients
This would include Rye, Vetch, Phacelia, Barley, Mustard, Oats and Lucerne. It does not include crops that
are usually grazed – except where grass is undersown in a previous crop.
Catch crops will need to be established by 31 August in the BPS year and retained until at least 1 October
in the same year.

EFA Fallow:
For fallow land to qualify as part of your EFA, it must:
· meet the definition of fallow land for the whole of the fallow period (1 January to 30 June) in the
scheme year that you are claiming it as part of your EFA.
· have a minimum width of 2 metres
· not have any crop planted or sown on it during the fallow period (except Wild-bird seed mixes and
nectar sources as under “Confirmed”)
Land under temporary grass can be used as fallow land, but grass can’t be sown on this land during the
fallow period.

More to come

1. Active Farmer test, disallowance and readmission tests:
2. Dual use:
3. Young farmers: How to verify eligibility.
4. Crop type:
More information on whether or not other crop types not on the National List or PGRO
Recommended List can be classed as spring or winter varieties will be published in October.
5. EFA Hedges where one side is next to a:
· non-arable land parcel under your control
· land parcel under you neighbours control, or
· non-agricultural area (a road for example).
Also how gaps in hedges will be handled
6. EFA Catch crops/cover crops: more information about eligible crops/mixtures

WALES

(differences from England apart from Historic payments)

RPW Online:
From 2015, you will be able to apply for the BPS through the Rural Payments Wales Online (RPW) system.
The paper version of the BPS application will be withdrawn from 2016.
Payment Region Classifications:
In Wales there will be three payment regions from 2015, which are:
Moorland; The remaining severely disadvantaged area; All other land (including disadvantaged area and
lowland).

Transferring entitlements:
From 1st Jan 2015 Entitlements can be leased or transferred only within the region in which they are
allocated

Greening/EFA:
Prior to completing your SAF you will need to complete and submit Field Maintenance (FM) forms for any
changes to your land and to notify RPW of your Greening options selected by 31 October 2014 to be preprinted
on the 2015 SAF. Any additional information can be submitted after this date and prior to the
submission of your SAF but may not be pre-printed on your 2015 SAF.

EFA measures available in Wales are:
• fallow • hedges • stone walls • short rotation coppice • afforested land (that was eligible for SPS in
2008) • nitrogen fixing crops
You are required to notify RPW, from 1 August 2014 via a Field Maintenance form, if you have any of
these features on your land. If these features already exist you should notify RPW by 31 October 2014 so
they can map them in time for 2015. If you have arable land you must notify these EFA features
irrespective of whether you are exempt from the EFA measures in any particular year, ‘potential’ EFA’s,
once registered will be available to you to declare in future years.

Young Farmers:
Maximum number of enhanced entitlements is 25