PRODUCERS were assured that compliance with many of the new greening rules linked to CAP reform would be “fairly straightforward,” at a workshop held in Easingwold on Monday, (3). They also received advice on how to avoid payment penalties, when claiming under the new Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).

Unlike previous agri-environment schemes, which related to specific areas of the farm, the new greening rules would be applied on a whole-farm basis, explained Brendan O’Connor of the Farming Advice Service. Failure to follow the rules would result in BPS deductions and, in extreme cases, could lead to the entire payment being withheld.

Part of the new greening rules included EFAs (Ecological Focus Areas), he said. These were features such as hedges, buffer strips, fallow land, catch/cover crops and nitrogen-fixing crops.

Organic farms and farms with less than 30ha of arable land and more than 75 per cent of land in grass would be exempt from EFA compliance, along with holdings with less than 15ha of arable land. Despite widespread concerns, Defra had confirmed that BPS payments on claims which involved hedges would not be subject to delays, he added.

"Specific rules apply to individual EFA features and these may appear complex at first glance, but in fact they are fairly straightforward,” said Mr O’Connor. “Hedges score highly and it is a good idea to include all hedges alongside arable land in an application. There is no penalty for exceeding EFA requirements and the information may come in useful in future years."

He advised producers to prepare an action plan, ahead of their 2015 BPS claim. The first step was to make a list of eligible land, which covered cropped land, temporary grassland, fallow land and animal feed crops, as well as some horticultural crops.

“Information has been sent out by post to all Single Farm Payment (now BPS) claimants, to help them work out how many different crops they will need to grow, to comply with the crop diversification, or two/three-crop rule. Once these calculations have been made, plans can be made for any necessary adjustments to the rotation.

“It is also worth determining whether the farm will be exempt from EFA compliance and if not, a list of eligible EFA features should be drawn up. It should be accompanied by a map, to record their precise location,” said Mr O’Connor.

The meeting was organised by the Farming Advice Service, in partnership with Natural England and the Campaign for the Farmed Environment