Farmers must ensure they comply with cross compliance rules in order to safeguard future payments, says Strutt & Parker's land management department.

Farmers' Single Payment Scheme claims, part of the Common Agricultural Policy, are dependent upon the satisfaction of a set of rules collectively known as cross compliance.

The regulations relate to Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs) which cover animal welfare and public, animal and plant health and Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) standards which aim to protect soils and vulnerable habitats.

Every year, approximately 1% of farmers are picked randomly for inspection by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) and failures, of which there were 2046 last year, result in significant deductions from the SPS and certain rural development programme schemes such as Entry Level and Higher Level Stewardships which reward farmers for conservation management.

Cross compliance failures resulted in deductions of almost £2.57million from SPS claimants in 2011.

Simon Graves, farming consultant in Strutt & Parker's Northallerton office, said: "The penalties for compliance failures can be severe. It is essential for farmers to review their current position and ensure all staff are properly briefed on the scheme's requirements in order to protect themselves against losing future payments."

He added the most common issues that Strutt & Parker came up against related to the Soil Protection Review, the fertiliser plan for Nitrate Vulnerable Zones, the protection of hedgerows and watercourses and the no spread zones for organic manures.

Mr Graves said: "All businesses claiming the single payment should have read and filled in a Soil Protection Review book by the end of 2010. If it has been correctly completed this booklet generally only requires reviewing and updating annually. However, if growers need to access waterlogged soils for harvesting crops then farmers need to complete section 4 immediately to identify the remedial action that will be taken.

"In Nitrate Vulnerable Zones, arable farmers are required to have a fertiliser plan in place before any applications are made to growing crops. Often this is produced over the winter months before the first spring applications commence. However, for farms growing winter oilseed rape this timing would be too late as it is common practice for a small dose of nitrogen to be applied in the autumn to stimulate crop growth before winter."

Mr Graves added: "It is good practice for all staff to be updated on the protection of hedgerows and watercourses before autumn sowing starts. No cultivations are allowed within two metres of the centre of any hedgerow or watercourse, and no applications of pesticides, fertilisers or organic manures can be made to this zone.

"Similarly, there is a new regulation which requires farmers to map the watercourses on their land and ensure no organic manures are applied within 10 metres of those areas, even where those farms are not within an NVZ. If using contractors, it is the farmers' responsibility to make sure they are aware of this requirement."

For advice and further information about how the SPS affects business plans please call Strutt & Parker's farming team in the Northallerton office on 01609 780306.