Every farmer knows that even a relatively minor breach of one of Defra’s cross-compliance rules can lead to a hefty reduction in their annual support payments.
Cross-compliance is the list of seven Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAECs) and 13 Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs) that farmers submitting a claim under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) must comply with.
The Rural Payment Agency (RPA) has a requirement to inspect a set percentage of farms claiming BPS or keeping farm animals each year to check that the rules are being followed.
If an inspector identifies a breach the RPA can reduce the claimant’s BPS payment by 1-5% if they think the breach was caused by a mistake or misunderstanding and by 20-100% if they decide that the breach was intentional.
Changes for 2017
Operating with a set of rules that can be updated year-to-year can be difficult, but fortunately there has been one policy change for the year starting 1 January 2017.
It falls under GAEC1 which covers the establishment of buffer strips along watercourses.
From 1 January 2017, even land parcels of two hectares or less next to watercourses will have to comply with all the rules designed to protect watercourses against pollution and run-off from agricultural sources.
This means taking all reasonable steps to maintain a green cover on land within two metres of the centre of a watercourse of field ditch, or to land from the edge of the watercourse or field ditch to 1 metre on the landward side of the top of the bank.
Common mistakes
Every year the RPA publishes a list of the most common cross-compliance errors in a bid to help farmers learn from other people’s mistakes.
The list tends to be pretty consistent each time, with common breaches including:
- Failure to ensure that all eligible animals conform to national herd/flock health surveillance and testing intervals for TB.
- Cattle movement details not recorded or incorrectly recorded on farm register/database.
- Farmer unable to produce required Nitrate Vulnerable Zone records or records are incomplete.
- Failure to compete sheep movement records or incorrect tagging of sheep.
- Farmer has applied pesticide, fertiliser or cultivated within the 2 metre protection zone around the edge of a field.
- Hedgerow illegally cut or trimmed between 1 March and 31 August.
- Failure to keep medicine records.
Strutt & Parker’s team is experienced in dealing with every aspect of cross-compliance and can offer a useful guidance note on the latest cross-compliance rules in place. Contact a member of the farming department for more details.