To date just over 88,000 claims had been received by the RPA.
Cross compliance - August hedge-cutting derogation
If you wish to trim hedges in arable fields where oilseed rape / temporary grass is going to be sown in August, then please read our online guide, here. We also cover information on others situations where hedges can be trimmed from now onwards.
Trimming grass margins – anything to worry about?
We have put together a short guide covering various considerations that you need to take into account if planning to trim grass margins at this time. That can be found here.
Greening 2015 – Remember to establish EFA catch crops or cover crops options
If you choose the cover / catch crop options in order to meet your 5% EFA obligation this year, then our message is to make sure you establish the right mix in good time to comply with the rules set out in the BPS Handbook.
This is especially important given that the RPA will be inspecting a number of these areas later this year.
The rules are set out in the 2015 BPS Handbook – page 41, but in summary:
- To count as an EFA in 2015, catch crops must be established by 31 August 2015 and retained until at least 1 October 2015.
- To count as an EFA in 2015, cover crops must be established by 1 October 2015 and retained until at least 15 January 2016.
Catch crops or cover crops must be made up of a sown mix of at least two different crops (a minimum of one cereal and one non-cereal) from the list of rye, vetch, barley, phacelia, oats, mustard, lucerne
Alternatively, grass cover could have been used as long as it was undersown in the previous crop and is sufficiently established.
The regulations don’t allow farmers to include crops that are usually grazed, so kale and stubble turnips aren’t shown as catch or cover crops. Farmers can include other crops in their catch crops or cover crops, but these areas cannot count as part of an EFA.
BPS 2015 - End of the fallow period
We have also put together a short reminder on the implications for fallow land at the end of the 2015 period, which ran to 30 June under BPS, here.
Cross compliance
Apart from understanding the new hedge and tree cutting restrictions please ensure that you are compliant with the new soil protection standards. Also ensure that cross compliance field margins are in place, that public rights of way are not obstructed and that surfaces are reinstated post cultivations across arable fields. Finally keep your NVZs and water abstraction records up-to-date. More information can be found here.