Make your checks - or you might pay the penalty

This year Defra has announced a number of greening rule changes, including the well-publicised ban on the use of plant protection products on nitrogen-fixing crops and fallow.

Additional changes include a ban on cultivating fallow land for weed control which could be a blow for those farmers who had been hoping to utilise whole-field fallow to help control blackgrass.

As a consequence, it is anticipated that many farmers will be looking to use hedgerows, buffer strips and field margins in order to meet their EFA requirements.

However, it is vital that farmers are clear on the eligibility of each of the different options and measure them correctly – or they could face penalties when their BPS claim is processed.

To help farmers, the Rural Payments Agency has introduced a ‘hedge layer’ to rural payments online which should map the location and length of hedges and also specify whether they are EFA eligible. However, this information will need to be checked carefully.

A positive change to the greening rules is the introduction of the new field margin option, which has been given a much higher weighting than options such as catch and cover crops.

Field margins are a one metre strip of uncultivated land adjacent to a bank, hedge, fence or road. It differs to a buffer strip in that it does not need to be next to a watercourse.

This means farmers who establish an uncultivated strip next to a hedge should be able to claim five square metres for one side of the hedge and an additional nine square metres for the field margin. The field margin strip can be located on the same area as the two metre cross-compliance protection zone, but there must be at least one metre of uncultivated land from the edge of the hedge to be eligible.

This means if hedges are particularly wide then it will be necessary to leave an extra metre to ensure the EFA margin extends at least one from the hedge’s edge.

A key message is that most farms should find it fairly straightforward to meet their EFA obligation if they pick the right mix of options. However, if in doubt, seek professional advice to confirm the eligibility of EFA features and for guidance in how they should be managed over the coming months.

James Turner, farming consultant, Strutt & Parker.