Defra have announced changes to Pre Movement Testing (PrMT) within Sole Occupancy Authorities which have land further than ten miles from the main holding.
The NFU continues to insist that increases in cattle controls must be evidence based, proportionate, and accompanied with suitable wildlife measures, including culling and vaccination where suitable.
As of 1st October:
- Farmers with SOAs with land further than ten miles from the main holding will have to PrMT between ALL holdings within their SOA.
- Thanks to NFU lobbying, Defra will allow farmers to shed land outside ten miles from their main holding in their SOA and operate the remaining holdings on a SOA as before, to benefit from the PrMT exemption.
- There will also be no need for farmers to apply for a specific licence to allow movements without a PrMT within ten miles, so SOAs spanning less than ten miles from the main holding will be able to operate as normal.
- These changes will pave the way for the introduction of the ten mile rule in 2016 but we are disappointed about the continued lack of a facility to establish new SOAs within ten miles.
- The NFU will again take this issue to Ministers, with recent surveys showing that a significant number of farmers would be interested in establishing an interim SOA agreement for temporary land before the introduction of the ten mile rule in 2016.
To read the NFU's consultation response, please click here.